Kenes to manage Asia Pacific AIDS conference in Dhaka

ASIA – International association management company and health conference specialist PCO, Kenes Group, is to help organise the 12th International Congress on AIDS in Asia Pacific (ICAAP12). Kenes announced a new partnership with the government of Bangladesh and Partners in Population and Development (PPD), an inter-governmental organisation of 26 developing countries, to jointly organise the conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Bangabondhu International Conference Centre will host the event, 20-23 November, 2015. For over two decades, ICAAP has become a leading event for AIDS activists, people living with HIV/AIDS, policy makers, government ministries, academics, clinicians, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and international agencies from Asia Pacific to gather. ICAAP12 is the largest AIDS conference in the region, and organisers expect to welcome over 3,500 delegates to the four-day event. The conference is designed to highlight Bangladesh’s and the region’s aim to achieve an AIDS-free generation through science, innovation, and community involvement with government leadership. “People living with HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh consider this conference as a game-changer as they believe the huge gathering will help destroy myths and misconceptions attached to this disease,” says Dr Joe Thomas, secretary general of ICAAP12 and the executive director of PPD. “When deciding on a service provider to organise this important event, we needed a partner we could rely on. Kenes was our management company of choice, responsible for every aspect of the conference,” Dr Thomas added. The ICAAP12 contract signing ceremony in Dhaka last week included Bangladesh state minister for health, Zahed Maleque. Vice-president for special projects at Kenes, Sadik Caglar, said the group’s global management team was “primed, ready and proud to partner with the PPD and ICAAP12 committees towards a successful and memorable conference”.