Communities Make the Difference
World AIDS Day & Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week 2019
December 1 is World AIDS Day, and the beginning of Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week in Canada. The UNAIDS theme of this year’s commemoration is communities make the difference, which acknowledges the important role communities play in the response to HIV/AIDS at the international, national and local levels.
According to UNAIDS, “communities contribute to the [HIV] response in many different ways. Their leadership and advocacy ensure that the response remains relevant and grounded, keeping people at the centre and leaving no one behind. Communities include peer educators, networks of people living with or affected by HIV, counsellors, community health workers, door-to-door service providers, civil society organizations and grass-roots activists.” Indigenous communities are making a difference by collaborating on an Indigenous response to HIV/AIDS. They “raise awareness on the critical role of community to inform culturally safe approaches to holistic HIV testing, care and treatment, and work to address the barriers that stop communities from delivering essential services.”
In the spirit of community action, there are various events and activities happening around Manitoba to mark both World AIDS Day and Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week.
This list will continue to be updated, so check back often!
Events in Manitoba
Collective Impact = Community Innovation
Friday, November 22 | 8:00am-4:00pm
Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg
Registration required, attendance limited
Host: Manitoba HIV-STBBI Collective Impact Network
Hear about community innovations that are creating action on HIV & STBBIs in Manitoba and provide your input into some Collective Impact Network projects that are being developed. For more information, contact Laurie
Bake Sale & Awareness Table
Monday, December 2 | 9am-1pm
Health Sciences Centre, William Ave Mall, Winnipeg
Host: HSC Internal Medicine & HIV Clinic
Stop by for a tasty treat and HIV resources. For more information, contact Bobbi.
Manitoba Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week Testing Event
Monday, December 2, 2019 | 11am-3pm
Neeginan Centre, 181 Higgins Ave, Winnipeg
Free, Everyone welcome
Hosts: Aboriginal Health & Wellness Centre, Nine Circles Community Health Centre, Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, Two-Spirited People of Manitoba, Manitoba HIV Program, Ka Ni Kanichihk & Sisters of Fire
This Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week event will promote testing and awareness of the various HIV tests available in Manitoba. Successful testing initiatives contribute to people being diagnosed and connected with care sooner. Two types of HIV testing– standard STBBI (Sexually Transmitted and Blood Borne Infections) testing and rapid HIV testing– will be profiled and available. Participants will have an opportunity to hear from and engage with people living with HIV. Bannock and tea will be available and raffle prize draws will be held throughout the event. For more information, call Monica at 204-925-3700. Download the event poster.
Documentary Screening at the NorWest Co-op Community Food Centre
Monday, December 2 | 1:30-3:30pm
NorWest Community Food Centre, 103-61 Tyndall Ave, Winnipeg
Host: NorWest Co-op Community Health
Please join us for a free screening in recognition of World AIDS Day and Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week. We will be showing Strong Medicine (27 min – developed by the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network and CATIE, with and for Indigenous people living with HIV) and Positive (23 minutes – a stigma-busting, narrative documentary profiling five diverse HIV+ millennials). Free popcorn and a resources table will be provided. A NorWest nurse will be on site to provide info about STI/HIV testing. For more information, contact Kendra at 204-795-3756 or by email. Facebook event
Brandon STI Testing Blitz (Multiple Locations)
Wednesday, December 4
Host: 7th Street Access Centre & SERC Brandon
7th Street Access Centre, Brandon| 11:00am-4:00pm
STI testing will be available to interested clients, on a walk-in basis. There will also be a prize draw, as well as an informational/interactive display presented by SERC. Contact 7th Street Health Access Centre at 204-578-4800 for more information.
Host: Public Health & SERC Brandon
Public Health Services, A5-800 Rosser Avenue, Brandon | 8:30am-4:30pm
Testing will be available on December 4 at the Public Health office at the Town Centre building in Brandon. For more information, contact Laura at 204-578-2515.
AIDS Memorial Panel
Thursday, December 5 | 6pm-8pm
Club 200, 190 Garry St, Winnipeg
Free, Everyone welcome
Sponsors: Club 200, Canadian Virtual Hospice, Gio’s Cares Memorial Names Project, Nine Circles Community Health Centre, Two-Spirited People of Manitoba, Rainbow Resource Centre, Our Own Health Centre
Join our panelists, who will reflect on the impact of the AIDS epidemic in Manitoba and discuss various historic AIDS memorial initiatives. Contact Albert for more information by email or by calling 204-330-8671. Download the event poster
Immigration and Integration: HIV and Sexuality
Friday, December 6 | 12:30pm-3pm
Sexuality Education Resource Centre, 226 Osborne Street North, Winnipeg
Free, Registration Required
Host: Sexuality Education Resource Centre
A free workshop for service providers in honour of World AIDS Day featuring presentations by Charity Maritim and Frances Amara. Please register before December 5 by emailing Simret or Emile.
STILL BEGINNING: The 30th Annual Day With(out) Art
Friday, December 6, 2019 | 8pm (Opening Reception)
Exhibit runs December 6-18, Wednesday-Saturday, 12pm-5pm
Video Pool Media Arts Centre, Poolside Gallery, 2nd Floor, 100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg
Free, Everyone welcome | Opening reception: cash bar
Hosts: Video Pool Media Arts Centre & Nine Circles Community Health Centre
Nine Circles Community Health Centre and Video Pool Media Arts Centre are proud to partner with Visual AIDS for the thirtieth annual Day With(out) Art by presenting STILL BEGINNING, a program of seven newly commissioned videos responding to the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic by Shanti Avirgan, Nguyen Tan Hoang, Carl George, Viva Ruiz, Iman Shervington, Jack Waters/Victor F.M. Torres, and Derrick Woods-Morrow. This program is viewable in Poolside Gallery at Video Pool between Dec 6 – 20, with a free opening reception on Friday, December 6 as part of First Fridays. Click here for more info or contact Kelsey.
Have a World AIDS Day/Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week event you’d like to promote? Contact us.
