Anna-Louise Crago is on the board of directors of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. She has also worked as the Communications Director for Stella, a Montréal-based support and information group organized by and for sex workers, and is a founding member of La Coalition pour les droits des travailleuses et travailleurs du sexe and the Living Monument, a group of mostly Aboriginal, street-involved people.
She has been a prolific AIDS activist for several years and her work has focused on a wide range of issue including: needle exchange and mobile vaccination clinics for homeless youth and injection drug users, HIV funding restrictions on sex worker groups, condom shortages faced by sex worker groups in sub-Saharan Africa, and the role and challenges surrounding increased access to HIV testing in Africa.
Presenters Include:
Giselle Dias has been doing prison work for the past 12 years and has been active in the penal abolition movement since that time. Giselle is currently the Policy Analyst at PASAN (Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Action Network) and is looking at best practice programs with regards to harm reduction in prisons across Canada.
Amir Baradaran is enrolled in master of Communications Studies at Concordia University. His thesis sheds light on the (non)governmental response to the HIV/AIDS endemic in Iran. He has occupied leading roles in Quebec’s student movement, Iranian diasporic cultural and artistic institutions, and different Queer organizations, including Egale Canada. He is also the International director of Iran’s AIDS Film Festival.
Cynthia Lee has been a member of Stella, a Montréal-based support and information group organized by and for sex workers, since 2003 and is currently the education coordinator. She has 7 years of experience in the sex work industry and is committed to doing popular education around issues that effect sex workers.
Harvey Michele is a two spirited first nations activist living with HIV/AIDS. He is a member of Circle of Hope, the Quebec Labrador First Nations Health and Services Commission, as well as the research unit of the Canadian Aboriginal Aids Network.
This event is co-presented by McGill Global AIDS Coalition, QPIRG McGill and SSMU as part of CULTURE SHOCK 2006.
Culture Shock is two weeks of events dedicated to exploding the myths surrounding immigrant, refugee, indigenous peoples and communities of colour. This year’s events are committed to moving beyond the multicultural dribble dictated by the Canadian state to illustrate the dynamic nature of these communities. They seek to bring together members of these communities to engage in dialogue about issues relevant to their lives, as well as to educate non-members around some of the issues faced by minority groups. CultureShock 2006 will feature speakers, panel discussions a series of workshops and much more.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: WWW.SSMU.MCGILL.CA/CULTURESHOCK