Conference over, time to party
Observacion numero uno: There’s an unholy amount of ancient Volkswagen Beetles on the streets of Mexico City. Most of them are cabs.
Observacion numero dos: Mexican chicks are quite hot.
Observacion numero tres: Regularly, you can see a Mexican face which would have been just as easily at home in south east Asia.
It’s over and I have mixed feelings about the World AIDS conference. Obviously, a large part of this humongous meeting of 25000 AIDS professionals, an event with a budget of, I’m told, 53 million euros and a combined estimated spending of the delegates of around 100 million, is primarily creating a conducive environment for face time with known and unknown potential clients, partners, customers, friends and whatnot. In short, a bloody expensive high school reunion, of sorts.
Then, there’s a lot going on of people patting themselves on the back. Primarily in the shape of demonstrations (typically in front of the media center) or self promotion in front of an audience which really doesn’t need to be convinced of anything which is promoted on the conference floors. Of course no one disagrees that HIV is not a crime and that PLWHA (that is, people living with HIV/AIDS) are not victims.
But, of course, having so many professionals in one particular field in one place does allow for some extensive networking possibilities. And that, I suppose, is what it’s all about. And, indeed, why I was attending, selling a platform which soon will be available at NGOspace.net.
Meanwhile, Rouzeh slipped and fell, resulting in a traumatized tendon in her left arm. WIth a nice big piece of bandage wrapped around her underarm, she’s a bit of a Robocop.