
Pre-Conference Title:
Rights, Resources, Resilience 2020:
Connecting North America to Asia Pacific
Date:
30 June to 03 July 2020
Description:
The Pre-Conference will bring global perspective into the three main cross-cutting themes – Rights, Resources, Resilience – affecting the gay men, MSM, LGBTI and key populations globally. APCOM aims to bring Asia Pacific voices into these critical discussions in the provision of and access to HIV services, in the fight to end AIDS by 2030, and to protect and advance the rights of LGBTI and key populations. At the same time, to forge stronger links of APCOM and Asia Pacific to organsations and institutions based in North America to foster deeper relations through joint projects and initiatives, in particular due to a sizable Asian and Pacific Islanders in North America.
The virtual pre-conference takes inspiration from our Rights, Resources & Resilience in Asia-Pacific (RRRAP) Summit in 2017 that celebrated APCOM’s 10th anniversary, which covered a broad range of issues from the response to HIV, the health and rights of vulnerable communities, and investment into the community. Sadly, the lack of political will in Asia Pacific continues to undermine human rights situation: punitive legal environment is still in place, and lack of investment into the community. The pre-conference is another attempt to achieve heightened political will to increase investment to MSM-led HIV programs and build partnerships and collaboration between networks in Asia Pacific and North America.
Rights, Resources, Resilience 2020 brings over 10 speakers from Asia Pacific, with sessions on community’s reflections on how investments from PEPFAR and the Global Fund have helped to strengthen the community-led responses, and also reflections from organisations in North America on gaps and challenges, in such times of stigma, discrimination and violence aimed at Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the social justice movement of Black Lives Matter.
The pre-conference will also help APCOM in developing its new strategic priorities in the 2021-2025 phase, and also integrating the effects of COVID-19 pandemic to the rights, resources and resilience of the community working on HIV, health and human rights in Asia Pacific.
Notes on the use of time in APCOM Pre-Conference Schedule:
- AIDS2020 Official Online Programme uses the Pacific Daylight Time Zone.
- APCOM’s Official Pre-Conference Schedule uses GMT+7 (Bangkok, Thailand) as the main time zone, with reference to PDT, as well as each session speaker’s country time zone.
- To convert the session schedule to your country’s time zone, please click here.
Acronyms:
- PDT – Pacific Daylight Timezone
- GMT – Greenwich Mean Time
- DST – Daylight Savings Time
- IST – India Standard Time
- PKT – Pakistan Standard Time
How to join APCOM’s AIDS2020 Pre-Conference?
The only way you will be able to attend the pre-conferences is to REGISTER at the AIDS2020’s website and/or you already get the conference’s scholarship and/or your pass for the conference.
For more information about AIDS2020 Virtual, you may visit the AIDS2020 Virtual Official Website here.
To learn more about APCOM’s AIDS2020 Virtual Pre-Conference,
you may send your questions to [email protected].
30 June 2020, Tuesday
Opening Session (LIVE)
Get to know APCOM’s Ambassadors – prominent thinkers and doers in the region and their unique insights into the cross cutting themes; Rights, Resources, and Resilience, towards ending AIDS by 2030 and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Sustaining the rights, resources and resilience amongst key population and priority population in Asia-Pacific: Our Ambassadors speak
Time zone | City, Country | Time/Schedule |
PDT, DST | San Francisco, USA | 00.00 – 01.00 |
IST, GMT +5:30 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | 12.30 – 13.30 |
GMT +7 | Bangkok, Thailand Jakarta, Indonesia | 14.00 – 15.00 |
GMT +8 | Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 15.00 – 16.00 |
GMT +10 | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 17.00 – 18.00 |
To convert the time into your country’s time zone, please click here.

Co-chairs:
- Dédé Oetomo, APCOM’s Regional Advisory Group Chairperson
- Melissa Jones, Director of Public Health, USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia
Speakers:
- Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman, APCOM Research Ambassador
Research Perspective: What is required to sustain the rights, resources and resilience among key population and priority population in Asia-Pacific - JVR Prasada Rao, APCOM HIV/AIDS Ambassador
Stepping up the HIV and AIDS response, and the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic - The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, APCOM LGBTI Human Rights Ambassador
The human rights of LGBTIQ community in Asia-Pacific and ways of connecting movements in North America, Canada and Asia-Pacific - Michael Bäk – Private Sector Ambassador
Leveraging opportunities for partnerships between HIV, LGBTIQ organisations and the private sector, without disregarding effects of COVID-19 pandemic
01 July 2020, Wednesday
Pre-Conference Pre-Recorded Session
Communities:
Reflections from Key Populations on Engaging with PEPFAR in Asia-Pacific
Time zone | City, Country | Time/Schedule |
PDT DST | San Francisco, USA | 18.00 – 18.45 (30 June 2020 in US) |
GMT +5:45 | Kathmandu, Nepal | 06.45 – 07.30 |
GMT +7 | Bangkok, Thailand Phnom Penh, Cambodia Jakarta, Indonesia | 08.00 – 08.45 |
GMT +10 | Port Morseby, Papua New Guinea | 11.00 – 11.45 |

Speakers:
- Midnight Poonkasetwattana, APCOM
Communities: Reflections from Key Populations on Engaging with PEPFAR in Asia-Pacific - Chanthorn Phorng, Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance (KHANA)
Investing in Local Communities in Cambodia: Reflections from Key Population on engaging with PEPFAR in Asia Pacific - Manisha Dhakal, Blue Diamond Society
Investing in Local Communities in Nepal: Reflections from Key Population on engaging with PEPFAR in Asia Pacific - Aditya Wardhana, Indonesia AIDS Coalition
Investing in Local Communities in Indonesia: Reflections from Key Population on engaging with PEPFAR in Asia Pacific - Lesley Bola, KP Partnership Network Consortium
Investing in Local Communities in Papua New Guinea: Reflections from Key Population on engaging with PEPFAR in Asia Pacific
02 July 2020, Thursday
Pre-Conference Pre-Recorded Session
Getting Involved:
Stepping Up National HIV Programming for Key Populations
Time zone | City, Country | Time/Schedule |
PDT DST | San Francisco, USA | 01.00 – 01.45 |
PKT, GMT +5 | Rawalpindi, Pakistan | 13.00 – 13.45 |
GMT +7 | Bangkok, Thailand Vientiane, Lao PDR Jakarta, Indonesia | 15.00 – 15.45 |
GMT +8 | Manila, Philippines | 16.00 – 16.45 |

Speakers:
- Inad Rendon, APCOM
Getting Involved: Stepping Up National HIV Programming for Key Populations (Introduction to the Session) - Meirindi Sebayang, Indonesia Positive Network
ARV in the COVID-19 pandemic era: Indonesia Voice - Vieng Souriyo, CHIAS
Investments for the Sustainability National HIV Programming: Lao PDR Overview - Dr. Ronivin Garcia Pagtakhan, PhD, MAN, RN, LoveYourself
Philippine CBO’s Innovative Approaches in HIV Service Delivery to respond to COVID-19 outbreak - Muhammad Usman, Dareecha Male Society
Getting Involved: Stepping Up National HIV Programming for Key Populations in Pakistan
03 July 2020, Friday
Pre-Conference Pre-Recorded and LIVE Session
Oceans Apart:
Forging stronger connections across the Pacific Ocean
Time zone | City, Country | Time/Schedule |
PDT DST | San Francisco, USA | 19.00 – 20.00 (02 July 2020) |
EDT, GMT -4 | Toronto, Canada Massachusetts, Boston, USA | 22.00 – 23.00 (02 July 2020) |
GMT +7 | Bangkok, Thailand | 09.00 – 10.00 |

Co-chairs:
- Midnight Poonkasetwattana, APCOM
- Mary Ann Torres, ICASO
Speakers:
- Ryan Tran, ACAS
Rights, Resources, Resilience: Connecting Canada to Asia-Pacific - Vincent Crisostomo, San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Rights, Resources, Resilience: Connecting North America to Asia-Pacific - Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS RST Asia Pacific
Reflection on Rights, Resources, Resilience in Asia Pacific – and opportunities to collaborate with North America - Dr. Chris Beyrer MD, MPH, John Hopkins University
Reflection on Rights, Resources, Resilience in North America for Asian and Pacific Islanders, and what how to forge stronger connections across the ocean