The Vancouver Initiative for AIDS Innovation

PANOS CANADA

Provoking media and public dialogue on critical global challenges

Panos Canada is a Canadian NGO working on pluralism, media, human security, international justice and peacebuilding. Panos works in partnership with others, especially with other Panos institutes worldwide.

Panos Canada currently has programmes on HIV-AIDS and on human security.

Senior advisors

The Vancouver Initiative will be guided by Shanthi Besso (community education, SFU), Ryan Clayton (youth educator), Maggie Catley-Carlson

(ex-president, CIDA), Maxine Davis (director, Dr Peter Centre), Prof John Harriss (director, SFU School for Inter-national Studies), Tiko Kerr (artist), Ed Lee

(co-founder, Vancouver AIDS Memorial), Judith Marcuse (founder, Inter-national Centre of Art for Social Change), Gillian Maxwell (chair, Keeping The Door Open, Shaheen Nanji (director, inter-national development, SFU) and Prof James Tansey (Sauder Business School, UBC), Mahmoud Virani (chartered accountant).

Some other senior advisors have asked to remain anonymous.

The Commonalities Lens

“The North-South lens is blurred, cracked, and warped. At 50 years old, it's long past its sell-by date. Isn't it time we threw it away?” Read earlier articles published by Drum Beat, Reuters AlertNet and the University of Sussex.

Instead of focussing on differences between countries and cultures, the commonalities lens helps us realise what we share, creating solidarity and the space to learn from one another as equals.

“We tested out the commnalities lens through a ground-breaking visit of Haitian NGO AIDS practitioners to Vancouver. The results were spectacular.” Read article

by Jon Tinker in Drum Beat.

Vancouver has outstanding AIDS expertise — in civil society, treatment, research and policy development. But these resources are insufficiently used internationally.

The Vancouver Initiative (VI) seeks to change this. We hope to help create a strengthened Vancouver AIDS community, with more deeply-rooted global ties, and with a reinforced social justice image. A city which offers the world innovation in AIDS, making the global struggle more exciting — and therefore more effective.

The three principals of VI are William Booth, former ED of AIDS Vancouver, Jon Tinker, ED of Panos Canada, and Pieter de Vos, public health and inner cities specialist.

See a visual presentation of VI

Human Security Atlas

Which states have the most wars? Which wars are the most deadly? Why are armed conflicts on the decline?

Panos Canada was the editorial consultant for this World Bank publication, which provides country-by-country data on human security and armed conflict.

Panos works with the Human Security Report Project at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada. Read or download atlas here.

Panos moves downtown

After some years at the University of British Columbia, Panos moved downtown, to the historic Duncan Building (West Pender and Abbott).

221-119 W Pender

Vancouver BC

Canada V6B 1S5

Phone: (+1) 604 568 3038

Duncan Building, 1913

Original lobby, today

The Haiti Exchange

Funding

Panos Canada accepts general support funding, or funding earmarked for a specific programme or project, but not funding which limits its editorial independence or involves the endorsement of a funder’s policies.

Panos is grateful for recent financial support or contracts from the BC Ministry for Healthy Living & Sport, City of Vancouver, Finnish Department for International Development Cooperation (DIDC), Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT), Human Security Report Project, Panos Global AIDS Programme (GAP), RBC Foundation, Simon Fraser University, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), UK Department for International Development (DFID), University of British Columbia and private donors.

This ground-breaking visit of 10 Haitian AIDS experts (details of team) to Vancouver in Nov 2008 won enthusiastic survey ratings from local participants. 84% ranked its success at 7 or more out of 10. See survey results.

“The Haitian participants were incredibly insightful and articulate.” . . . . “As a paradigm shift away from powerful, technically and intellectually superior North rescuing helpless, resource-poor South, I say a 10/10.” . . . . “Just great to sit around the table and informally chat with the two women and translator. I felt a real sisterhood.” . . . . “An amazing concept with so much worth for all involved.”. . . . More comments

The high-powered Haitian team included people living with AIDS, NGO leaders, two doctors, a nurse, a counsellor, a journalist and members of a youth theatre troupe. Read the team's own evaluation of the project.

Canadian Governor-General Michaëlle Jean wrote: “I am absolutely delighted to extend my congratulations and support”.

In five days, the Haitians took part in 27 small-group meetings with 20 Vancouver AIDS organisations, including public health officials, researchers and front-line workers in hospitals, clinics, drug centres and anti-poverty programmes. The project culminated in a community dialogue at Simon Fraser University on World AIDS Day, 1 Dec 2008.

Read summary report Much more on the Haiti Exchange

AIDS in Two Cities

Port au Prince, Haiti and Vancouver, Canada

In 2006, Panos Canada produced 15 matched pairs of photos by Pieter de Vos showing the impacts of HIV/AIDS, and community responses to the epidemic, in Port au Prince, Haiti, and Vancouver, Canada.

In one of the richest cities in the world, and in one of the poorest, the face of HIV-AIDS looks remarkably similar. View photographs.