LGBTI Health Summit Announces Program, Reminds You to Register

Organizers of the 2009 National LGBTI Health Summit announced that, in collaboration with the Bisexual Health Summit, close to 100 workshops, plenaries, and town halls will be offered at this year’s event. An array of topics will be covered, from the aging of the Stonewall generation to new HIV prevention technologies, intimate partner violence, and transgender health care to biphobia, body image, club drugs, anti-smoking initiatives, “what vaginas want,” sexual racism and bareback sex to Qigong, yoga and meditation.

“We were overwhelmed with the quantity and quality of the workshop proposals we received,” said Dr. Simone Koehlinger, director of the Office of LGBT Health at the Chicago Department of Public Health, a lead on the Programming Committee. “Over 220 fantastic workshop proposals were submitted, and we’re delighted to say we will have participant presenters here from as far away as Melbourne, Australia, London and Mexico City, not to mention from all across the United States.”

The Summit begins the morning of Friday, August 14 with a day devoted specifically to Bisexual Health and the needs, opportunities and challenges of the Bisexual Community. Saturday, August 15 kicks off the full LGBTI Health Summit which continues through Tuesday, August 18.

Each day a luncheon plenary will highlight topics such as the pressing need for LGBT health statistics, intergenerational dialogue and exchange, and the intersection of HIV and aging. The opening plenary will feature openly LGBT officials discussing their important roles in maintaining healthy LGBTI communities, coordinated by William Greaves, the City of Chicago's liaison to the LGBT communities.

The full workshop schedule will be posted in advance of the Summit.

Registration for all five days is only $200 and includes continental breakfast and lunch every day, plus special amenities like free chair massages and fun social activities. Organizers urge interested parties to register today at http://www.2009lgbtihealth.org and to make their hotel reservations before July 20, when the special conference rate of $189/night expires.

“We can’t wait to welcome over 300 LGBTI health advocates, community members, researchers, and professionals to Chicago this August!” said Summit co-chair Catherine Jefcoat, director of the Lesbian Community Care Project, Howard Brown Health Center.

Philadelphia hosted the last National LGBTI Health Summit in 2007. This year’s Summit in Chicago – at the Chicago Hilton and Towers on the Magnificent Mile – will be the fourth gathering of its kind. Local organizational partners include Center on Halsted, Test Positive Aware Network, Chicago Hilton Hotel and Towers, the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Office of LGBT Health, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Howard Brown Health Center, Adler School of Psychology, and Sidetrack among others. Organizers may be contacted through the Summit website http://www.2009lgbtihealth.org.