Young People want to be Part of the Action to Tackle Climate Change

Young People want to be Part of the Action to Tackle Climate Change

Commonwealth youths are calling on decision makers to involve them, at all levels, in the restoration of the planet.

The call comes on International Youth Day which is being observed today, Tuesday 12 August, under the theme Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action

“As young people we have a particular interest in a sustainable future and a sustainable Commonwealth,” said Matthew Albert, Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Caucus, which includes representatives from all Commonwealth countries.

“We are the inheritors of the actions of those who have come before and the innovators who can rectify the consequences.”

He said climate change is having far-reaching impacts on young people across the Commonwealth, noting that they were particularly vulnerable to food shortage, rising food costs and affected by conflict caused by the inability to share natural resources.

Director and Head of the Youth Affairs Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Dr Fatiha Serour said International Youth Day gives the world an opportunity to recognise the potential of youth and celebrate their achievements.

“Climate change complicates the challenges that young people face,” Dr Serour said. “However young people are increasingly adding their voices to the call for action on climate change.”

To mark International Youth Day, twenty youth leaders will hold a round table discussion at the Commonwealth’s headquarters in London on the theme “Tackling

Climate Change: a Commonwealth Agenda for Young People.” The outcome of the discussion will form part of a youth position paper on climate change.

For media enquiries, please contact Yvonne Chin, Communications Officer, on +44 (0)20 7747 6514 or email: y.chin@commonwealth.int

(Source:Commonwealth Secretariat)

Coming to an impossible conclution of AIDS2008 conference

Versión en español más abajo

Embargoed until 9 am, CDT, Friday, August 8, 2008

JULIO MONTANER (CANADA) BECOMES IAS PRESIDENTELLY KATABIRA (UGANDA) ELECTED IAS PRESIDENT-ELECT

Dr Julio Montaner named as new President of International AIDS Society as the XVII International AIDS Conference closes in Mexico. Dr Elly Katabira from Uganda becomes the new President-Elect, the first African to hold the position.

Mexico City, Mexico, Friday, August 8, 2008-- The International AIDS Society (IAS), principle organizer of the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, today announced Dr Julio Montaner, Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Canada, as its new President for the next two years. Montaner takes over from outgoing President, Dr Pedro Cahn.

The new President- Elect is Dr Elly Katabira, Associate Professor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at Makerere University in Uganda. Katabira becomes the first ever African representative to hold the position.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr Julio Montaner in 2005 became Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, a programme at St Paul´s Hospital at Providence Healthcare, after serving as the Centre’s Director of Clinical Activities since 1992. He has been a member of the IAS since 1988, an elected IAS Governing Council member representing the North American region since 2002, and IAS President-Elect since 2006. Dr Montaner has authored over 300 scientific publications on HIV/AIDS. He holds the Endowed Chair in AIDS Research at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He is also the Director of the AIDS Research Programme and Immunodeficiency at St Paul's Hospital.

In addition to his work at SPH/UBC, Dr Montaner was an AIDS National Health Research Scholar from 1987 to 1997. He has been involved in the organization of several national and international HIV/AIDS conferences and is founding Co-Director of the Canadian HIV Trials Network. Dr Montaner received his MD at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1981, he joined the University of British Columbia as a post-doctoral fellow, completed a residency in Internal Medicine and Respiratory Medicine and was Chief Resident for the Department of Medicine in 1986/1987.

Dr Elly Katabira has worked extensively in the field of care and support for people living with HIV since 1985. He is the Clinical Advisor at the AIDS Clinic in Mulago Hospital and at the Infectious Diseases Institute of Makerere University Medical School in Uganda. In 1990 he was recognized as a World AIDS Foundation International Scholar. Dr Katabira’s research interests include clinical trials and operational research issues on various aspects of HIV/AIDS care and support delivery, both within institutions and at community level.

Dr Katabira has consulted on HIV/AIDS care and support issues for UNAIDS and WHO, as well as for Family Health International. He is co-founder of The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) and is their medical advisor. Dr Katabira has authored more than 150 scientific articles and abstracts.

Katabira will assume the Presidency of the International AIDS Society on the closing day of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) to be held July 18 to 23 in Vienna, Austria.

About the International AIDS Society

The International AIDS Society is the world’s leading independent association of HIV/AIDS professionals, with over 10,000-plus members from 185 countries. As the convener of the International AIDS Conference and the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, the IAS has a unique opportunity to bring together individuals working in diverse settings and disciplines, from areas of the world separated by geography, culture, language and resources, and to leverage the expertise and knowledge of its members in an effective, sustained global response.

Further information:

In Mexico:

Michael Kessler, IAS Media RelationsMobile: + 52 55 1636 9468AIDS 2008 Media Desk: +52 55 52 68 2818/+52 55 68 2419 Email: mkessler@ya.com

(Cortesy by :IAS)