Global Partnerships

Organizers on the program committee were also working harder than ever. This year was the first time the meeting was sponsored by a global partnership, which includes PEPFAR, UN AIDS, UNICEF, Global Fund, World Health Organization, World Bank, and the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. The added reach was a big reason why it was the most well-attended Implementers' Meeting yet, as each partner was allowed to sponsor a certain amount of attendees. They also provided funding for the meeting, which was free to registrants, outside of lodging and travel.

While the partnership greatly enhanced the meeting, it complicated the planning process.

Representatives from each sponsoring organization sat on the program committee. They were spread out all over the world, working full-time jobs, so getting people together was difficult. Plus, each committee member had to consult leadership within their own organizations for input on the program. “Anytime you bring in partners, it changes the environment,” says Kenyon. “Obviously you need to take time to reach consensus, listen to each other's priorities, and develop a common vision for the meeting,” which, appropriately enough, was titled Scaling Up Through Partnerships. “We had conference calls very, very often.”

Another new twist was the inclusion of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. “There was a recognition early on that we needed to engage not only those who were implementing these programs, but also those on the receiving end,” says Kenyon. In addition, many people who are living with HIV are also active in implementation — serving as peer educators, treatment supporters, and trainers to help people cope with their illness. The Global Network attendees presented on topics and issues that they felt were important for implementers to understand, and consulted with implementers on best practices. The global partners established a scholarship program to pay for these delegates' travel and lodging. Their presence made for a much richer meeting, says Kenyon.

Lasting Effect

At Courtesy, planners were so focused on growing the infrastructure that there was little time for reflection. The magnitude of their achievement didn't hit Stampfli until she arrived in Kigali about a week before the meeting began. “I don't think that any of us realized the overall impact of what we helped build until we got there. When you saw all the pieces put together before your eyes, it was overwhelming,” says Stampfli.

And the planners have the satisfaction of knowing that their hard work will have a lasting effect, in both tangible and intangible ways. The big tent will remain up for future meetings, weddings, receptions, and events — at least until a planned conference center is built. The meeting brought in much-needed revenue and showed city leaders how to handle transportation, catering, and other aspects of a major conference, helping prepare them for the next big event that comes to Kigali.

“Tourism is going to be keenly important for them,” says Stampfli. “They are not sitting on oil or diamonds or the makings of a major world capital, so in order for them to grow, they need tourists.”

The meeting allowed Rwanda to showcase its success in reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS through a multisectorial approach that brings together government, nongovernmental, and faith-based organizations. The country also had the chance to spotlight to attendees from around the world how much progress it has made since the 1994 genocide. “They've been undergoing a reconciliation process that's very visible,” says Kenyon. “This meeting demonstrated not only to themselves, but also to the world, that Rwanda is back on track. Rwanda is a real star amongst African countries in terms of its leadership and social responsibility.”

The PEPFAR meeting left quite an impression on the planners. Says Stampfli, “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

It Takes A Team

Courtesy Associates staffers share the most memorable aspects of planning PEPFER.

“You don't bring it up,” says Sheila Stampfli, president, Courtesy Associates, Washington, D.C., referring to the genocide of nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda in 1994. Before arriving in Kigali for the PEPFAR meeting, the Courtesy meeting planning staff was briefed on Rwanda's history by a former ambassador to Rwanda, who put in perspective how far the nation has come since then. “Everybody lost somebody — brothers, fathers, sisters, mothers, friends, teachers,” says Stampli. “You are very respectful of this very difficult past and appreciative of the fact that since 1994, they have been building their country, putting it back together, and working together to make progress.”

In fact, Rwanda is now considered one of the safest countries in Africa. “Unlike many other African capitals, the city was relatively clean and safe,” says Brian Awsumb, a peace corps volunteer from Gaborone, Botswana, who attended the PEPFAR meeting.

Like Stampfli, he observed the focus on moving forward. “I got the impression many Rwandans were tired of talking to visitors about the genocide and wanted to concentrate more on the future,” Awsumb says. He didn't encounter resentment against the U.S. for not intervening during the genocide. “The people there could not have been more friendly and helpful.”

Past and present came together during Awsumb's stay at the Hotel des Milles Collines, one of the three hotels in the PEPFAR meeting room block. The property was made famous by the 2004 film, Hotel Rwanda, starring Don Cheadle as the heroic hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, who saved more than 1,000 people in 1994 by giving them shelter in the hotel. Some attendees and planners who stayed in the hotel described the experience as rather eerie. “I did find myself a few times looking off the balcony onto the streets below and visualizing in my mind the road blocks and carnage that made the city so infamous,” says Awsumb. “But it was also just as easy to see the hustle and bustle of the town center and all sorts of new construction projects.”