The 21st International AIDS Conference was held from July 18-22 in Durban, South Africa. In attendance was a delegation of 16 representatives from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, including Peter Severson, Director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado. Our delegation was composed primarily of young adults, and they also attended an interfaith pre-conference event with representatives from different faiths from across the globe. “This shows our church’s deep commitment to forming young people into faithful advocates for justice in their communities,” Severson said.

The conference theme was “Access Equity Rights Now,” and took place in Durban, which also hosted the event in 2000. Many of the plenary speeches and presentations centered around the progress made from the last Durban conference, as well as the steps needed to ensure that AIDS would be ended as a public health crisis by 2030. Activists, advocates, politicians, researchers, scientists, and many members of key affected populations were present. Activist groups brought their protests to the main stage several times. “Activism was part of the proceedings from the beginning,” Severson observed, “as all the attendees had a higher level of access than usual to key decision-makers.”

Severson noted that the experience of seeing face-to-face advocacy in action at this level would inform the ways in which he engages public policy makers in Colorado around issues that affect vulnerable populations, especially when those populations lack the ability to influence decision-makers on issues that affect their lives. Severson’s reflection for the ELCA Young Adult Cohort, “Jesus, Politics, and the Praxis of Protest,” expands further on this theme. “Generally speaking, people in our ELCA congregations in Colorado and across the Rocky Mountain Synod are likely to have some idea of who to talk to about issues in their community. But that isn’t necessarily true for everyone in their neighborhoods,” Severson said. “I think our congregations need to be active centers for justice where people know they can find resources to exercise their public voice on critical issues, whether it’s HIV treatment or affordable housing or food assistance.” 

Connect with Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado at www.lam-co.org and on Facebook and Twitter.

The International AIDS Society has more information about AIDS 2016.