AIDS Memorial Quilt exhibit at Miami International Airport

News release:

On Tuesday, September 16, at 3:00 p.m., at the Miami International Airport, officials from the Miami-Dade County Health Department, the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), the NAMES Quilt Foundation AIDS Memorial and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department will discuss Remember the Names, a collection of panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt on display at the Miami International Airport from September through December 2008.

The press conference will kick off a week of activities associated with the 2008 U.S. Conference on AIDS (USCA), taking place from September 18-21 at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. More than just a health conference, USCA brings together nearly 4,000 AIDS professionals from across the nation, its territories and Native American reservations for intensive training and partnership building. The information participants take home help them improve – and save – countless lives.

Thomas Liberti, Chief, Bureau of HIV/AIDS, Florida Department of Health; Lillian Rivera, Administrator of the Miami-Dade County Health Department; Julie Rhoad, Executive Director of NAMES Quilt Foundation AIDS Memorial; and Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), the sponsor of USCA, will speak about the importance of USCA in raising awareness about the continued impact of HIV/AIDS domestically, particularly in communities of color. Government and local AIDS officials also have been invited to speak on the importance of supporting HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care statewide.

Paul Kawata, Executive Director of NMAC says, "We thank MIA for displaying the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which has played such an instrumental role in raising HIV/AIDS awareness for over twenty years now. Its presence at MIA not only honors the lives lost to AIDS, but the efforts of those who continue to fight HIV/AIDS on the frontlines of the epidemic throughout the U.S. Many of these courageous people will see these panels when they arrive at the airport over the next few days for USCA."

Evelyn Ullah, head of USCA's Miami Host Committee and Director of the Office of HIV/AIDS for the Miami-Dade County Health Department, says "Holding USCA in Florida is more important than ever. In Miami-Dade County, the most heavily populated county in Florida, at least 1 in 8 black and white men who have sex with men (MSM), and 1 in 12 Latino MSM, are living with HIV/AIDS. We feel the display of panels reflect our call for a renewed emphasis on HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, testing and treatment throughout Florida, all of which play an integral role in reducing fear and stigma associated with the disease."

Florida has an impressive representation at this year's USCA, including:

Welcome Reception, Thursday, September 18, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Level One, Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. Will feature an attempt to create the world's largest human AIDS ribbon. The AIDS ribbon is being attempted in collaboration with One.org, with t-shirts donated by the Southern AIDS Living Quilt.

Host Committee Seminar: The State of HIV/AIDS in Florida, Friday, September 19, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Room 304, Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. Local HIV/AIDS leaders will address challenges to address HIV/AIDS in Florida.

Plenary Luncheon: The 10th Anniversary of the Minority AIDS Initiative, Friday, September 19, 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m., Hall A, Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. Will feature Speaking Hands, of Plantation, Florida, who perform American Sign Language to gospel music.

Reflections: Looking Back, Moving Forward Community Assembly, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel. Will feature a number of influential HIV/AIDS leaders, including Jeannie White-Ginder, mother of Ryan White. Actress and HIV/AIDS activist, Gloria Reuben, best known for her role as a health care professional living with HIV/AIDS on the program "ER," will serve as the evening's emcee. The step troupe of the Delta Eta Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority also will perform.

Closing Plenary Luncheon: HIV/AIDS Issues Affecting Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM), 11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center.

About USCA
The 2008 United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) will take place September 18-21, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, at Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. Since 1997, USCA, the largest annual HIV/AIDS
meeting in the United States, has strengthened the domestic community-based response to HIV/AIDS by bringing together professionals from across the country to learn new skills and build partnerships and collaborations.

The conference's extensive selection of over 200 institutes, seminars, workshops and roundtables sessions addressing every aspect of the AIDS epidemic – from nutrition and treatment to prevention and international issues – enables participants to customize their training and networking experiences according to their unique professional needs. To learn more about USCA, visit: www.2008USCA.org; call: (202) 483-NMAC (6622); or e-mail: conferences@nmac.org.

About USCA's Sponsor, NMAC
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has developed leadership within communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS since 1987. NMAC has furthered this mission by providing a public policy education program; national and regional trainings and conferences; treatment and research
programs and trainings; numerous publications; and a website: www.nmac.org. The agency also serves an association of AIDS service organizations, faith- and community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics,
health departments and other groups assisting people and families. NMAC's advocacy efforts are funded through private funders and donors only. For more information, call: (202) 483-NMAC (6622) or visit: www.nmac.org.