General Programme Information
and Explanation of Terms

Please Note: This section explains many of the sometimes difficult-to-remember terms used in the Conference. For information on scheduling your time, please visit the Schedule section.

Introduction
In response to frustrations expressed at previous world AIDS conferences, the organisers of the 12th World AIDS Conference have attempted to facilitate planning and communication among participants in the following ways:

• For the first time, the programme for the World AIDS Conference will be available on the Conference web site (www.aids98.ch), allowing participants to plan their own programme well in advance of arriving in Geneva.

• Various sites at the heart of the Conference venue will feature an "Electronic Talking Tree" to enhance ongoing community and scientific communication, and to provide opportunities for dialogue, exchange and public outreach.

• A number of pathways will be designed to indicate issues that cut across the different tracks. These pathways will be chosen from among important issues emerging in the course of 1997–98.

Main Theme: Bridging the Gap
As the AIDS epidemic advances, there are growing gaps between the established market economies in the "North" – where access to antiretroviral therapy is, to a degree, within reach, and the resource-poor countries of the "South" – where more than 90% of those infected live, with little hope of receiving new treatments.

While the latest scientific advances will take centre stage in Geneva, another key objective of the 12th World AIDS Conference will be to focus international attention on the urgent need to "bridge the gap" between North and South; to make advances in understanding, prevention and treatment relevant to the vast majority of people living with HIV.

The Conference programme has been designed to address these issues.

Plenary Sessions
Featuring some of the world’s most distinguished researchers, community leaders and policy specialists, Plenary Sessions will each highlight specific gaps we must close to control the AIDS epidemic:

– Prevention: Significant scientific and cultural gaps exist in the design and implementation of successful prevention programmes, and these are widening as therapeutic advances are made. This session will examine bio-medical approaches to the prevention of HIV transmission, including vaccines, antiretrovirals, and microbicides; the efficacy of behavioural interventions; and the political barriers to effective prevention efforts.

– From Pathogenesis to Pandemic: Clearer understanding of the pathogenesis of HIV leads to startling possibilities and new directions for research and for action. HIV continues to spread in populations around the world, while scientific progress offers hope that HIV can be contained, and potentially even eradicated, in infected individuals.

– Treatment: Efficacy and Access: This session will examine the most recent advances in the treatment of HIV, the challenges of adhering to complex therapeutic regimens, drug resistance, and the significant political and economic barriers to making effective treatments available to the majority of people infected. The gap between "North" and "South" is perhaps nowhere so great as in access to treatment.

– Consequences of an Evolving Pandemic: The AIDS pandemic has profound social and economic consequences. As understanding and treatment of AIDS advances, the challenges become more complex. This session will examine relationships between AIDS and other diseases, strategies for coping with changing life expectancies, and confronting human rights violations in the context of HIV.

Glossary

The presentation of peer-reviewed scientific information will be the cornerstone of the 12th World AIDS Conference. The programme format will be familiar to many participants, although it has been developed to ensure that substantial attention will be given to "bridging the gap" between North and South, and that issues which cut across tracks and disciplines are addressed.

Bridging Sessions
Bridging sessions will be inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral. Their specific format will vary, and may include debates, round-tables and other non-abstract driven styles. They are designed to forge links between science and community, between bio-medical science and social and behavioural science, and between different regions of the world. They will also address policy, ethical and resource considerations with respect to the chosen topics.

CDs (Compact Disks)
Participants will have the option to receive the official Conference Record (all the submitted abstracts) either on CD, or in print. A charge will apply if both the CD and the printed version are ordered (see the Registration Form). In addition, the Conference organisers plan to produce an updated CD to be available 6-8 weeks after the Conference. This updated CD will contain slides and extended abstracts of plenary sessions, track symposia, bridging sessions, and oral abstract sessions. Updated CDs can be pre-ordered on the Registration Form (CHF 150), but will only be produced (and charged for) if a sufficient number of participants express an interest.

Community Rendez-Vous
The Community Rendez-Vous will be a forum for community exchange and skills development. It will be organised as "bookends to the Conference", beginning Friday, June 26 in the evening with a retrospective which looks back to Vancouver 1996 and ending with a plenary closing on Thursday, July 2. Saturday, June 27 will be a full day including regional, subregional and targeted community-specific meetings (organised in co-operation with existing and emerging networks). A plenary summary session including community resolutions will take place in the late afternoon of Thursday, July 2.

Community Symposia
A number of community-led symposia will be organised in the late afternoons of the first three days of the Conference. These will deal with a number of issues related to community action and HIV/AIDS. The formats for these symposia will vary according to issues, but will focus on interactive exchange using case studies, demonstrations, and workshops.

Community Village
The Community Village will be at the heart of the Conference. It will include NGO booths, an amalgam of Swiss organisations involved, areas to facilitate dialogue and exchange, a platform for public presentations, an information and orientation booth, and the central Electronic Talking Tree.

Grand Round Sessions
The Conference will introduce some new formats to help make the experience more rewarding for participants. For instance, some of the sessions in Track B will be "Grand Rounds", i.e., discussions of instructive case studies illustrating a common theme, such as Resistance to Therapy, or Compliance.

Late Breakers
Because the Conference requires abstracts to be submitted several months in advance, it is important that an opportunity be provided during the Conference for presentation of any important ‘late breaking’ developments in scientific research. Time for ‘late breakers’ has been scheduled for the morning of Friday, July 3. Competition for the limited number of slots available is expected to be fierce. Therefore, the regular abstract deadline should be kept, if at all possible.

Oral Abstract Sessions
The main body of the 12th World AIDS Conference will be composed of oral abstract presentations of track-specific peer-reviewed research. Questions from the audience will be encouraged and facilitated by the session chairs. Note: Oral abstract presentations will also be presented as posters with presenters available for further questions and information.

Orientation Sessions
Sessions to help participants, especially newcomers to international AIDS conferences, will take place in the afternoon of Sunday, June 28. These sessions (approximately one hour long) will be offered at regular intervals during the afternoon. Although the official language of the Conference is English, orientation sessions will be offered in different languages.

Pathways
At world conferences such as the 12th World AIDS Conference, many sessions take place simultaneously. To help participants plan their daily programme more easily, a number of pathways are being designed which indicate issues that cut across the different tracks. These pathways will be created from the important issues emerging in the course of 1997–98.

Plenary Sessions
Plenary sessions (designed for all participants) will begin the Conference each day. These sessions will be devoted to a specific topic/issue and include presentations that cut across the disciplines represented in the four Conference tracks. There will be simultaneous interpretation of these sessions from English into French and Spanish.

Posters
Research results will also be presented in the form of posters. These are generated from peer-reviewed abstracts and will cover a wide variety of research topics. The posters will be organised by tracks with the pathways highlighted throughout. Posters will be displayed from 08:00 until 18:30 from Monday, June 29 to Thursday, July 2, with a daily change. Presenters will be at their posters at set times to answer questions and provide further information.

Rapporteur Sessions
On the final morning of the Conference, a rapporteur– or final summary–session for each track will be given. These sessions will summarise and synthesise the presentations made during the week, focusing on critical issues addressed and important results presented.

Skills Building Workshops
A variety of skills building workshops is being planned to help participants to develop new skills. These will include such topics as: programme development and evaluation, training techniques, health management, computer and communication techniques, and education methods. A main focus of the skills building sessions will be on training people to transfer the skills and knowledge gained into their own communities after they return.

Social-Cultural Activities
Activities and exhibitions related to socio-cultural manifestations of HIV/AIDS will be organised in co-operation with different cultural and educational organisations in Switzerland. These will provide a means for Conference participants to interact with Geneva citizens as well as bringing the Conference to the general Geneva public. A community ceremony will close the activities on Friday, July 3 during the afternoon.

Summary Sessions
On the mornings of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, June 30 to July 3, summary sessions will be given. Designed primarily for persons with little background in biomedical science, these will explain Track A and Track B presentations of the previous day in non-technical language.

Track Symposia
Track-specific symposia will be held on certain topics with state-of-the-art presentations by leading authorities in the field. The number and times of track symposia will differ from track to track, and they may be totally or partly abstract driven and/or involve invited speakers making presentations with a moderator. Some of these symposia will be broadcast by closed circuit television to the respective track’s poster area.

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