To mark World AIDS Day, GCN and Poz Vibe teamed up to present ‘Poz World Panel’, a live podcast event aimed at platforming the voices of people living with HIV in Ireland. To showcase the diversity of the community and push back against the rising far-right and racist rhetoric, four guest speakers joined Poz Vibe hosts Robbie Lawlor and Veda to discuss their journey as LGBTQ+ migrants living with HIV.

Taking place at Edmund Burke Theatre on December 1, ‘Poz World Panel’ was the biggest World AIDS Day event to ever happen at Trinity College Dublin. To mark the occasion, TCD lit up the front of its historic buildings in red for the first time in a powerful display of solidarity and support.

The event kicked off at 6pm with a special set by queer DJ Manwelli, who welcomed people in and set the mood ahead of the live podcast. Before the discussion with the guests began, Poz Vibe co-host Veda invited a fifth speaker, who chose to remain anonymous, to address the audience.

The speaker told participants about their journey as an asylum seeker and what migrants in Direct Provision still face nowadays. They appealed to the audience to show up for people who are stuck waiting for a work permit and don’t know where to start to build a new life in a foreign country.

Taking the mic after them, Veda spoke about how the stigma against HIV impacted her life and pushed her to remain 10 years in the closet. The activist also talked about the Irish Names Quilt, which was created to honour those who died in Ireland from AIDS and HIV-related illnesses.

The Quilt was created by the Quilt Group, a group of women whom Veda visited recently, saying that when she went there she found the “communtity she’s been trying to build”, a community where HIV Positive people can live free of stigma and shame.

Joining Veda, Robbie Lawlor talked about Ireland’s history of emigration, highlighting the hypocrisy of people who today employ racist rhetoric against immigrants. Robbie also shared his own story of being denied visas to move abroad when he was 21 due to his HIV status.

The two hosts then invited their four guest speakers to share their stories. The first to take the mic was Prateek Bhardwaj, who spoke about living with HIV publicly for the very first time at the World AIDS Day event. He discussed the difficulties of accessing HIV medication in India and how this pushed him to move to Ireland, where everyone can access treatment for free.

After his account, the audience was treated to a short film created by Venezuelan actor and activist Luis Noguera Benitez. Through mixed media videos, Luis narrated his story of finding out his HIV status while he was still in Venezuela and coming out to his mother only one day before moving to Ireland.

The third speaker was Christopher Freibott, who moved to Ireland from a small town in Bavaria, Germany, in 2014. He spoke about how finding out he was living with HIV impacted his private and sexual life and the difficulty of opening up to the ones close to him.

Finally, Phellipe Lutterbeck opened up about living with HIV for the first time in public, sharing his experience of coming out and losing some friends due to their own prejudice. He also spoke about finding a community in Ireland and the massive impact that the Poz Vibe Tribe had on his life.

The World AIDS event concluded with a Q&A, when the audience asked questions about how to make Ireland a more welcoming space for people living with HIV.

Proudly supported by Trinity LGBTQ+ Staff Network, the ‘Poz World Panel: A World AIDS Day live Podcast’ event was a fundraiser for GCN, with some of the proceeds going to Poz Vibe.

Follwoing the event, GCN’s Manager Stefano Pappalardo said: “We were thrilled to have hosted this important community event to mark World AIDS Day in conjunction with Poz Vibe.

“Despite the progress made over the years, stigma remains a persistent barrier to open conversations, equal treatment, and support for those living with HIV.
Events like these are crucial in uniting our community, challenging harmful narratives, empowering individuals, and breaking down the stigma that still surrounds HIV.

“A massive thank you to our gorgeous hosts Veda and Robbie Lawlor, everyone at Trinity LGBTQ+ Staff Network for all their support, the wonderful speakers for sharing their stories and everyone who came along. Your presence made this event truly meaningful.”