16.08.2006
Feature: Enough of Words
IAC Co-chairperson Stålsett Urges Faith Leaders to Speak More Openly about HIV and AIDSTORONTO, Canada/GENEVA, 16 August 2006 (LWI) - "Time to Deliver" - the theme of the 16th International Aids Conference (IAC), 13-18 August in Toronto, Canada, has been chosen carefully. It "expresses a certain sadness about the gap between what's been said and what's actually done," says Rev. Dr Gunnar J. Stålsett, co-chairperson of the Leadership Program Committee for the conference.
Stålsett, former bishop of the Oslo Diocese, Church of Norway, says the conference's approach will be "not to shame politicians or leaders for what they have not done but place the question: What would it take to achieve that which you actually have promised to achieve?"
But it won't be an easy process, notes the former general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), 1985-1994. He expects the 2006 IAC to lead to more action in HIV and AIDS response. "To move from words to action and find the mechanisms by which you move from words to action is not simple. It has to do with commitment, to stand up and be counted and to say, ok, enough of words! People need my presence, actions, and decisions."
Stålsett points out that faith-based organizations are recognized for delivering the majority of services in communities. But "what people are expecting from faith-based organizations and people representing them is a sense of honesty about the driving forces of this pandemic. There is a certain awkwardness among religious leaders and people in general to speak about the realities and to name them."
He stresses the need for forthright communication when addressing HIV and AIDS issues. "We need to say what it is about. It is about sexuality, it is about drugs, about [commercial sex work], about homosexuality. It is about unfaithfulness and promiscuity. People representing faith organizations need to use these words in order to be heard and be connected to the real issue."
Asked about the influence of religion and faith in this year's IAC, Stålsett says that it is important to keep in mind that the representatives of faith-based organizations are not the only believers present at the conference. "We are not the only ones representing faith and commitment. We are interlocutors with people of faith in other positions."
Over 20,000 participants are attending the conference. (391 words)
(LWI correspondent Julia Heyde, interviewed IAC co-chairperson Gunnar Stålsett at the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada. More information about the proceedings at the ecumenical pre-conference and the 2006 International AIDS Conference is at http://iac.e-alliance.ch/index.php)
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