Under the theme ‘Our Lived Experiences. Our Leadership.’ APCOM’s 6th Community Summit is putting the focus on the leadership of key populations, LGBTQI communities, and community-led organisations in the HIV and LGBTQI human rights responses. The Summit will take place 20-22 November 2024 in Bangkok, just ahead of the APCOM HERO Awards 2024. 

“The communities’ lived experiences of stigma, discrimination, inequality and exclusion forms the crucial evidence for positive change that we want to see. The entire team of APCOM is happy to once again provide this platform for community-led organisations in HIV responses and LGBTQI human rights to come together, form solidarities, and input into a new strategic plan of APCOM,”

commented Midnight, Executive Director of APCOM. He continued,

“The next years will be tough for the community, and through sharing of information, strategies, supporting one another and strengthening trust will be more crucial than ever – and that’s why the theme is Our Lived Experiences. Our Leadership.” 

Over the years, there have been a number of changes in the funding landscape and global agenda that affects the resiliency of community leadership at both individual and organizational levels.

The event will gather LGBTQI, HIV, and community health and rights advocates, professionals from the Asia-Pacific region with approximately 60 participants are expected to attend. These include 26 community-led organizations from Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

The APCOM Community Summit is being generously supported by a range of stakeholders including: China Medical Board, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Global Affairs Canada, ViiV Healthcare. 

Community-led and Driven

Being community-led and community-driven, APCOM Community Summit serves as a platform for open dialogue and creates an inclusive and safe environment for key populations and LGBTQI communities.

APCOM places great importance on leadership, participation, and representation of key populations and individuals with diverse SOGIESC. 

The Community Summit facilitates discussions that bring together valuable knowledge on communities’ unique needs and strengths resulting in a comprehensive understanding of the complex social, cultural, and structural factors. This leads to more targeted and effective programme recommendations on LGBTQI inclusion, and HIV response that are tailored to the specific needs of each community. 

To move forward we need to engage with all these issues on a regional level and the APCOM Community Summit provides exactly that – an opportunity for members, stakeholders and influencers of the Asia-Pacific HIV, LGBTQI and human rights sectors to focus their knowledge, skills and networks on reinvigorating our vital mission here in the region.

See our previous APCOM Community Summits:

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