NAME: International AIDS Society Conference on HIV pathogenesis, treatment and prevention (IAS 2007)
TYPE: International conference held every two years. The 2007 event was the first international AIDS meeting held in Australia and the largest conference held in Sydney in 2007
by: The International AIDS Society, located in Geneva, and the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM). Support for the initial bid, won in 2003, came from the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau.
CLIENT: The International AIDS Society
NO. ON ORGANISING TEAM: The conference organising committee consisted of nine people (two conference co-chairs, as well as senior representatives of ASHM and IAS).
BUDGET: Top secret
WHAT YOU DID: Because of the serious nature of the conference, the IAS event had an intense agenda with no formal social events. Over four days more than 1000 plenary and break-out sessions were held throughout the centre.
DIFFICULTIES: This was an event which required significant IT input to handle a massive media centre, used by more than 400 journalists, as well as speaker requirements. IT was also crucial to support the IAS’ very interactive website, with webcasts, podcasts, images and transcripts uploaded every day to enable people all over the world to follow the meeting.
SPECIAL TOUCHES: The event ran very smoothly and the feedback from the client on IT services was great. According to the IAS IT systems manager, Florin Costea, the centre’s IT infrastructure should be considered “as the level all others should aim for”.
CLIENT’S COMMENTS: “The downtown location of the centre and its state-of-the-art facilities, the breathtaking views of the harbour, the friendly and easy going people and the mild and sunny climate are only some of the many advantages to holding a conference in the beautiful city of Sydney.”
IAS executive director Craig McClure
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