A little over two years ago, the tender to plan, design, build and run the IT infrastructure for the largest conference of its kind in Southern Africa was answered. The conference was The XIII International AIDS Conference. The answer was a fledgling e-business company known as e-volution.
In close collaboration with The AIDS2000 Secretariat, Congrex and Dr Gustaaf Wolfaart of the Foundation for Professional Development, e-volution set about planning the XIII International AIDS Conference IT infrastructure that today glues the operational aspects of the Conference together.
Two years in the making, the IT Infrastructure of the Conference boasts some impressive statistics. 330 PCs are connected to an intricate configuration of powerful servers through 7.1km of cabling all with the purpose of keeping 15,664 delegates, journalists, volunteers and staff connected to each other and the outside world.
"The idea was to remove any conceivable inconvenience and hindrance in communication so that conference participants could feel at home and in touch enough to focus on the pandemic that gave rise to the Conference in the first place - the scourge of HIV/AIDS and its impact on Africa and the world," says Desmond Seeley, CEO of e-volution.
Through the integration of various technologies, the Conference IT infrastructure valued at a staggering R14 million (most of it raised through generous sponsorships) is one of the largest temporary IT infrastructures ever implemented for an event of this nature in South Africa.
"Although it would have been nice to spend hundreds of millions on high tech solutions throughout the Conference, we had to operate within a limited budget and still deliver world class solutions and environments to enable the Conference." Comments Helen Ward, a director of e-volution and Project Manager of the Conference IT infrastructure
"Having said that, it was a challenge to accomplish what we have - deliver a state of the art IT infrastructure on time and on budget, leaving more money for important HIV/AIDS related activities like education, awareness and research." Concludes Ward.
Complex interactive databases storing thousands of records, a collaborative workflow and office environment for the AIDS2000 Secretariat, a personalised AIDS2000 email service designed for the use of delegates and journalists, a Local Area Network within the ICC set to run at 100 Mb per second and connected to a 512 Kb and 128 Kb outgoing Diginet line for the use of the Conference delegates and staff, and the press core respectively all make up the IT infrastructure of the seven days of The XIII International AIDS Conference.
"If we compare this environment to others we realise that only major banks hold similar sized events. Even so, their duration does not last for seven days such as the AIDS2000 Conference." Says Dr Valentin Kisimov from e-volution and IT architect to the Conference.
As international media attention is increasingly focussed on the global scourge that is HIV/AIDS and plight of developing nations is hailed in the face of this dire pandemic, the smooth running of and indeed the outputs of The XIII International AIDS Conference held in Durban, South Africa will be looked upon as a benchmark in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
It is with this in mind that e-volution and its respective partners set about making sure that the Conference IT infrastructure can stand up to the challenge we all face: to break the silence.
Harnessing the power of the Net at AIDS2000
The Internet has the power to connect people, business and ideas. An obvious candidate to turn The XIII International AIDS Conference into more than just a conference, the Internet has allowed AIDS2000 to be experienced as a global event.
As the interactive nerve-centre of the Conference, aids2000.com is designed to manifest the presence of the Conference to a diverse global community.
"The theme and structure of the Conference Website is geared towards creating an online window into the day-to-day happenings and reported results of many sessions and seminars that constitute The XIII International Aids Conference - A "conference experience" for delegates who are not able to make the long trip to Durban, as well as for the countless interest groups involved with and surrounded by the Aids epidemic." Says John Walsh, Creative Director of e-volution.
Commissioned to design and run AIDS2000.com, e-volution made sure that the Website maintained relevance every step of the way. "We designed a community strategy to cater for the various needs of the Conference participants to interest and activist groups to governments to the average man on the street." Says Walsh.
Rolled out in three stages, AIDS2000.com consists of a pre-conference site, a conference experience and a sustainable post-conference site that will report on HIV/AIDS developments as they unfold.
While the pre-conference site focussed on facilitating registration of delegates, scholars and volunteers, submission of abstracts and late breakers, information on the Conference Secretariat and ICC (International Convention Centre), things to do in Durban including maps of the city centre and transport routes, the Conference site acts as a window into the Conference as well as a mouthpiece for the outcome of the daily sessions.
"African flavoured design elements, user-orientated and relevant content, and delegate focused interactivity form the basis of a comprehensive Web environment that is designed as the interactive custodian of the AIDS Conference." Continues Walsh.
"We realised that the Conference is a pivotal event in the fight against HIV/AIDS and therefore AIDS2000.com had to let as many people as possible feel part of the proceedings." Says Walsh. This was accomplished by setting up mirrors of AIDS2000.com in Africa and the USA.
"The site in the USA re-routes users from the USA, Europe and ASIA including Australasia to a server in Texas and users from Africa are pointed to a server based at Internet Solutions in Johannesburg, South Africa. Comments Walsh. "These servers are routed to the production server at the ICC in Durban where updating and maintenance on AIDS2000.com are carried out."
"This may sound extravagant for a website hosting infrastructure, but when you consider that over 1,35 million users have hit the site since Sunday, serving over 5,4 Gigabytes of information, this was a necessary step in securing a successful interactive conference experience." Concludes Walsh.
As international media exposure grows and influential humanitarians such as Desmond Tutu are pleading for the support of the conference, the website warrants a strategic content fulfilment structure that is able to adequately capture and report the essence of the Conference for this week and the months ahead.
New Ideas add progressive flavour to pivotal Conference
Walking around The XIII International AIDS Conference held at the International Convention Centre in Durban this week, it is crystal clear what an impact the new ideas that shape the Conference infrastructure have had.
Countless electronic messaging centres stand ready for delegates to send and receive their personalised AIDS2000 mail across the globe, allowing them to share their views and the views of others with their friends, families and colleagues around the world.
When you consider that part of the fight against HIV/AIDS is connecting individuals and communities, then the innovative use of IT infrastructure deployed within the Conference is a step in the right direction: creating virtual networks of people based on combatting HIV/AIDS.
Another progressive idea at the Conference this year is the creation a "Cyber Shebeen" at the Durban Exhibition Centre. A charming mix of everyday African d'ecor juxtapositions the high-tech environment within the belly of this extraordinary shebeen: browsers are armed with a permanent connection to a dedicated Diginet line allowing delegates to surf the net for valuable info on HIV/AIDS, or view summaries of the day`s sessions on the Conference Website, www.aids2000.com.
"And when we think of the new ideas that make up the AIDS2000 website: the ability for delegates to register for the Conference over the Internet; the facilitation of scholarships, abstract submissions and late-breakers; we realise that innovative IT and communication has played a major role in making the AIDS 2000 Conference the success it is." Comments Desmond Seeley, CEO of e-volution - the company entrusted to plan, build and run the IT infrastructure for The XIII International AIDS Conference.
Continue to break the silence: A virtual community for the future
Today, more than ever, we are dependent on our community. Whether we like it or not - whether we know it or not. Virtual communities present unique opportunities for interaction, knowledge, sharing and support. A virtual community is a community of people sharing common interests, ideas, and feelings over the Internet or other collaborative networks. The AIDS 2000 conference is an example of a virtual community.
For starters - a virtual community is born, grows and lives with the individuals who created it. In September 1998- a humble website called www.aids2000.com was created by e-volution.
With a two year interactive community strategy on the table, we thought it vital that the AIDS2000 website lead the various communities through the build up to the AIDS 2000 conference, and act as electronic mouthpiece for the duration of the conference." Says Desmond Seeley, CEO of e-volution.
Today it serves as a hub of information sharing for AIDS 2000 conference delegates and virtually all other individuals who have anything and everything to do with the HIV/AIDS pandemic - an AIDS 2000 virtual community.
But what makes a website a virtual community? Well, it helps if the site sticks around - giving it a chance to become something which one can go back to, depend on and learn from.
Furthermore, the AIDS 2000 site will exist in its current form for almost two months after the conference itself; and will then be modified to take up the challenge of standing as a beacon of light in the fight against HIV/AIDS This will provide numerous opportunities for discussion, reflections and hopefully - action.
A virtual community website owes a great deal to supplementary activities, such as the AIDS 2000 conference. This is the catalyst that gives involved persons a reason to read and contribute to an ever increasing body of information.
A virtual community website also provides opportunities for interaction, debate and discussion. The AIDS 2000 opinion poll, abstracts, comments, reports and articles all make up a significant facet of a virtual community. It is a place where people talk - to learn about each other and themselves.
It is becoming easier to break the silence - and it has been broken quite conclusively. It may be assumed that few websites promise such a profound effect on humanity, our lives - even our survival.
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