Thousands of HIV/AIDS advocates met up in Washington, DC, for this year’s United States Conference on AIDS (USCA), which took place September 10 to 13. In a series of lectures, workshops and other events, USCA helped build community and highlight the biggest issues facing activists, educators, care providers and people living with HIV today.

As a wrap-up, POZ compiled some social media highlights from USCA that drill down into the top 10 issues we noticed permeating the conference.

1) #BlackLivesMatter



USCA 2015’s opening plenary set the stage for four days of intense discussions about race and HIV/AIDS, which tied into this year’s conference theme, “The numbers don’t lie: It’s time to end disparities!”

2) #TransLivesMatter

On Friday, September 11, transgender activists took the stage at USCA 2015 to make sure their voices were heard in the larger HIV/AIDS community.

3) HIV Criminalization


Several sessions and activists at USCA 2015 focused in on the Sero Project’s motto: “HIV Is Not a Crime.”

4) Sex Workers’ Rights



Should sex work be decriminalized in the United States to help prevent new HIV/AIDS infections? Activists fiercely debated the topic throughout the conference.

5) HIV-Positive Women



Through teaching self-empowerment and pointing out huge gaps when it comes to women and HIV prevention, among other things, female activists had a lot to say about their place in the larger framework of the positive community.

6) HIV in the South

The statistics are clear: The Deep South is the new epicenter of HIV/AIDS in the United States. Southern activists discussed some unique challenges facing them in their fight to end AIDS in their communities.

7) HIV, Latinos and Border Politics




Latino activists made sure their voices were heard—especially those who spoke up for the rights of the undocumented, uninsured and uninformed about the few culturally relevant HIV/AIDS services in this country.

8) Reigniting Activism

 

#2015USCA C4H Booth

Sep 12, 2015 at 11:49am PDT


The HIV/AIDS epidemic is far from over, and activists across the country came together to discuss strategies for how to keep the momentum going in the fight against the virus.

9) Social Media Strategies


This year was by far one of the social media-savviest gatherings to date. Activists connected online, had some fun at the USCA booths and learned new ways to digitally expand their audiences.

10) Youth Activism


Want to know where the future of the fight against HIV/AIDS is headed? USCA’s 2015 Youth Scholars were total all-stars at the conference when it came to keeping the discussions on the cutting edge of empowerment. (Read mini-bios on all the scholars here.)

For more information about what went down this year at USCA, which is organized by the National Minority AIDS Council, visit 2015usca.org and nmac.org, or check out the hashtag #2015USCA on social media.

And don’t miss our related POZ newsfeed item, “10 Tweets From #2015USCA to Empower Your Activism”.