Ottawa, February 25, 2010

From March 4-7, 2010 at the Delta Centre-Ville in Montreal, Quebec, the Canadian AIDS Society (CAS) presents Leading Together 2010: The 6th Canadian HIV/AIDS Skills Building Symposium. The event will assemble all players in the field of HIV/AIDS to build on the common vision of a future without HIV/AIDS.

The largest event of its kind in Canada, Leading Together 2010 will feature 65 workshops and over 50 poster presentations. It will gather over 550 participants from across the country, including researchers, health care professionals, support workers, counselors, educators, policy makers, workers from Canada’s community HIV/AIDS service organizations and people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Opening Ceremony, with Building Capacity through Community as its theme, will be held at 6:30 pm on Thursday, March 4, in the Régence Ball Room at the Delta Hotel.

Guest speakers will include:
Dr. Rainer Engelhardt, Assistant Deputy Minister, Infectious Diseases and Emergency Preparedness Branch
Doris Peltier, Aboriginal Women and Leadership Coordinator, Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network
Ken Monteith, Executive Director of COCQ-SIDA
The evening's entertainment will be provided by 2008 Juno Award winner Billy Newton- Davis.

Highlights will also include daily plenary sessions held in the Régence Ball Room from
8:00 am - 9:30 am beginning Friday, March 5 to Sunday, March 7. Key topics featured will include: Gay Men and Men Who Have Sex with Men, the International Context of HIV/AIDS and Criminalization.

Representatives from the media are invited to the Symposium. Please note that media restrictions are in place due to disclosure issues surrounding people living with HIV/AIDS.

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For more information or to arrange for interviews, please contact:

Tricia Diduch, Communications Consultant
Canadian AIDS Society
Tel: 613.230.3580 (130)
Cell: 613.355.6098
E-mail: triciad@cdnaids.ca