Rainbow Sky observes ACON
As part of the ongoing relationship between ACON and Thailand’s Rainbow Sky, a contingent from Bangkok returned to Sydney this week to observe how the organisation operates major safe-sex and health campaigns during Mardi Gras.
Nine Rainbow Sky members, including vice-president Kittinun Daramadhaj and secretary Kamolset Kanggarnrua, spent this week in the ACON headquarters studying the preparations for this weekend’s Mardi Gras celebration.
It was also an opportunity for the Rainbow Sky members to consult with the ACON workers who trained them on a range of schemes in December on their initial visit.
The seven-year-old Rainbow Sky is one of Thailand’s leading HIV/AIDS information and support services. It is estimated 28 percent of all Thai gay men are HIV-positive.
Speaking through an interpreter, Kanggarnrua said the December visit had proved invaluable for a range of services Rainbow Sky is attempting to provide to combat Bangkok’s rising rates of HIV infection.
When we returned from Sydney, we had a meeting with our committee on all the things we learnt in Sydney, and we started to proceed with some of those things straight away, Kanggarnrua said.
Some of those projects have now been completed, and some of them are part of an ongoing process.
But the most valuable thing we learnt from that time was the relationship that developed between ACON and Rainbow Sky. We feel that is very important as now we can share ideas and thoughts, and the idea of working together in the future.
The focus of their last visit was to study how ACON dealt with volunteers groups, financing, relationships with levels of government and sustainability as an organisation.
This week, with ACON in the midst of its Right Here, Right Now campaign for Mardi Gras, Rainbow Sky is following the role of the various departments in taking the message of safe sex, safe partying and general health to the community.
Kanggarnrua said he hopes Rainbow Sky can now establish closer relations with Bangkok’s Pride Festival at the end of October for their own safe-sex campaigns.
We particularly want to get an overview of the campaigns ACON runs through Mardi Gras, the fundraising side of it and the mass production of their materials.
We are also meeting with the Royal Thai consul-general, as well as the Thai-Australia Chamber of Commerce, as we hope to build relationships that we can keep going in the future.
Five of the Rainbow Sky contingent will also be bringing a bit of Bangkok’s best to Mardi Gras on Saturday night when they take part, in traditional Thai costumes, in the parade.
We also want to invite any other Thai friends in Sydney to come and join us and they can contact us through ACON, Kanggarnrua said. We will be waving the Thai flag to show we are now close friends with ACON.
As part of the study plan, ACON will send a contingent to Bangkok later in the year to assist in the further development of Rainbow Sky’s campaigns.
