MAY 15 ABSTRACT DEADLINE APPROACHES FOR NATIONAL GAY MEN’S HEALTH SUMMIT

The 6th National Gay Men’s Health Summit will gather together gay men (as well as, bi, trans men, other men who have sex with men and their allies) to reflect on and celebrate gay men’s lives while working on a brighter future for gay men’s health and wellness.

In sunny Ft. Lauderdale, Florida hundreds of gay men and their allies from throughout the country and beyond will gather August 25 – 29, 2010, and convene at Sheraton Ft Lauderdale Airport and Cruise Port Hotel to share space together and engage about their exciting work and their lives while they attend the 2010 National Gay Men’s Health Summit. The theme of the event is  “Creating a Brighter Future: The Next Decade of Gay Men’s Health” and will be held jointly with the 9th annual Southeast Regional Gay Men’s Health Summit.

Gay men are creative, strong, and resilient. We have developed our own home-grown social networks, support structures, definitions of community, communities and communal rituals, formulated systems and structures for and around health and wellness- all for and by us.

Gay men continue to create, build and sustain lives that are satisfying and fulfilling, even in the face of formidable obstacles, persistent stigma, and incredible challenges. One of the key challenges we face is to ensure that gay men and their allies continue to be involved in the strategizing and implementation phases of Health Care Reform- our voice will be heard. Another key challenge is to develop creative funding strategies and work alongside key policy makers while we simultaneously work with fellow advocates to shape policy such as ADAP and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Gay men face the challenge to fully explore and develop solutions to decrease health and wellness disparities.

At the Summit, gay men and their allies will continue to have frank and open dialogue about race, racism, identity and gender politics, aging and class. We will discuss these and other domains and paradigms for thinking about gay men’s health. Our conversations will cover the broad spectrum of interests for gay men with key focus on strengths-based organizing, emerging issues, and other key hot topics. Gay-identified Trans men will certainly be a key area of dialogue with a focus on discovering, dreaming and agenda setting for gay transmen. We will also broach an intergenerational conversation around youth, adults, elders and ancestors, and the impact of a loss of a large part of a generation as a result of the AIDS epidemic with discussion of how to move forward together. We will look into an expansive research agenda to ensure a holistic approach that is also culturally responsive and appropriate toward gay men and their health and wellness.

We will explore our individual, collective and inter and intrapersonal sexual health through interactive workshops, laughter, and play- a journey of past, present, and future.  We will review and use the Gay Men’s Health Agenda to guide national efforts around political action and local organizing and rallying. The Gay Men’s Health Agenda will seat its first National Steering Committee in collaboration with its Leadership Core. We will continue to think outside the box, challenging and expanding social categories and promoting culturally appropriate and responsive directives with novel programmatic approaches.