Local tech startup connects worldwide delegates to AIDS 2020: Virtual

What was set to be a physical event hosted by San Francisco and Oakland (USA), will become the first virtual edition of the International AIDS Conference as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The virtual conference will be attended by thousands worldwide including over 2000 scholarship recipients.

AIDS 2020: Virtual will enable delegates to access and engage with the latest HIV science, advocacy and knowledge traditionally presented at the conference. It will be a compelling combination of virtual sessions and community networking, including exhibitions, workshops, the Global Village and Youth Programme, satellites and pre-conferences, that will reach audiences around the world.

AIDS 2020: Virtual will continue to shine a spotlight on this year’s host cities, San Francisco and Oakland, exploring the tale of these two cities through science, innovation and activism, while underscoring the Bay Area’s dedication to health equity in its “Ending the HIV Epidemic” initiative.

Photo by Anna Shvets© from Pexels

AIDS 2020: Virtual is organised by the International AIDS Society (IAS). Their commitment to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing global health landscape and to persevere in the face of uncertainty is stronger than ever. The theme of this year’s conference is Resilience and there is no better word to describe the HIV community and their ability to come together in a shared commitment to the global HIV response.

Crossing borders digitally

The Geneva-based organisation, IAS, asked Flexiroam Africa to create a solution to close the global digital divide by providing online access to their scholarship recipients across the world.

“It has been a privilege to be part of this landmark event and in the midst of the global pandemic, create a unique solution to power online access to the globally important AIDS2020: Virtual. Our teams in South Africa and Malaysia have worked tirelessly on this project and it has been a great example of what is now possible in the current era of increased digitalization. We are working across time zones with Flexiroam and the IAS teams in South Africa, Malaysia, Switzerland and the United States and all of this has been online.

Our business was able to pivot during these unprecedented times and move from offering a global data roaming solution for travellers to connect people globally to a virtual conference. This opportunity was truly borne out of crisis and we are humbled by the trust and support shown to us by the IAS. There is a strong working relationship with our suppliers in Asia and together we’ve created this exciting and new connectivity solution,” said Jacqueline Aylett, CEO and founder of Flexiroam Africa.

To give scholarship delegates online access to conference events and sessions, Flexiroam will provide unlimited mobile data during the five days of the conference. Not only will AIDS 2020: Virtual showcase the latest developments in HIV research, the affiliated Covid-19 conference will present brand-new data on the pandemic, its relation to HIV and beyond. Additionally, Flexiroam Africa is providing smartphone devices from the IAS to those scholarship recipients requiring hardware support.

Conference delegates are presented with the Flexiroam SIM card via an ambitious global shipping initiative. Upon activation through the Flexiroam App, they will have unlimited data during the Conference while riding on Flexiroam’s network of partners.

For more, go to https://www.aids2020.org/