LGBTIQ Communities doin’ it for ourselves – COVID-19 as a case in point

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LGBTIQ communities doin’ it for ourselves – COVID-19 as a case in point

COVID-19’s impacts are far reaching and many in queer communities are doing it tough. Australia’s AIDS Councils moved rapidly to respond to COVID-19 providing community education, guidance and support as the crisis unfolded. They did so while sustaining essential programs such as counselling and needle and syringe access and as the organisations themselves underwent unprecedented upheaval.

As the immediate crisis eases, looking to the horizon is essential: the world has changed and will be increasingly different as COVID-19 affects all aspects of economic and social life. It is changing our lives, jobs, organisations and communities, and the possibilities for each, and it will continue to do so.

In this session Darryl will explore the response to COVID-19 by AFAO and its AIDS Council members, each of them established by gay communities and thriving today as LGBTI community-controlled organisations responding to an ever-widening range of issues. What characterises this peculiarly community response to COVID-19 and how does it differ from mainstream responses? Why did it occur? What lessons might we draw from it? And for a strong, queer-centred health and wellbeing agenda, what must we do next?

About Darryl O'Donnell

Darryl O’Donnell is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations. AFAO leads Australia’s national effort to end HIV and supports stronger civil society responses to HIV in Asia and the Pacific. He has more than 25 years’ experience in HIV community, research and public sector roles, including with the Centre for the Study of STDs, forerunner to ARCSHS, on the first HIV Futures Study in 1997. From 1999 to 2013, he worked for the New South Wales Government, including as the Director responsible for HIV, STI and viral hepatitis policy and programs. He joined AFAO in early 2016. AFAO is delivering a multi-country grant in eight countries in Asia and the Pacific. In addition to his role at AFAO he holds an Adjunct appointment as Associate Professor at the University of NSW.

Access

This event will be livestreamed over Zoom. The seminar is open to all attendees, but to reduce the chance of disruptions, we ask that you register your email address.

This event will not be live-captioned.