World Aids Day: Special Presentation on Malawi
Sun DEC 01 | 2:00 – 4:00 pm | Guest Speaker Aaron Maluwa
Lethbridge – According to the UNAIDS Global Report 2012, an estimated 910,000 of Malawi’s 15.9 million population were living with HIV/AIDS in 2011. Efforts by the Malawian government to respond to the epidemic have made an impact, as has the role of culture in health promotion, according to Aaron Maluwa of the Museums of Malawi, who will be at the Galt Museum & Archives on World AIDS Day: Sunday, December 1 at 2:00 pm to highlight The Malawi Case.
Maluwa, Director of Mtengatenga Postal and Telecommunication Museum, Museums of Malawi in Blantyre will discuss The Role of Culture in Health Promotion, Malawi Case and how Museums of Malawi, located in one of the poorest countries in the Commonwealth, have worked to make a difference in the HIV/AIDS struggle.
“I am now the National Coordinator for all cultural and public health programs in Malawi responsible for health promotion,” says Maluwa, as well as “sustainable economic community empowerment, school fees for orphans, chickens and goats project for vulnerable people, food security and museum related school programs in environment, culture and development, among others.”
A member of the Commonwealth Association of Museums [CAM], Maluwa will be in Lethbridge to receive the 2013 Friends of Health Sciences Award presented by University of Lethbridge Faculty of Health Sciences on November 22. The award acknowledges his work with the Faculty which was initiated in 2007 when his involvement with CAM brought him to southern Alberta.
“We are pleased to act as the host for one of the gatherings on World AIDS Day and to hear of the work of a museum from across the ocean,” says Susan Burrows-Johnson, CEO/Executive Director at the Galt. Admission to this Galt-sponsored public presentation is free, and donations to the Museums of Malawi will be accepted. Refreshments will be served. Other events taking place in Lethbridge on this day include the Lethbridge HIV Connection’s public Candlelight Vigil from 7:00 – 9:00 pm at 1206 – 6 Ave South (admission is free, donations accepted).
World AIDS Day provides an opportunity each year on December 1 for people around the world to unite in the fight against HIV, to show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate those who have from the disease. The first World AIDS Day was held in 1988.
For details on additional programs and exhibits at the Galt Museum & Archives visit www.galtmuseum.com, call 403.320-3954, or email info@galtmuseum.com
BACKGROUNDER
AARON mALUWA
PHOTO CREDIT: Aaron Maluwa of Museums of Malawi relates stories of the danger of HIV to people in the community. Photo courtesy of heartfeltassociates.com
Aaron Austin Maluwa is the Head of Museum Education Department of the Museums of Malawi. He has 6 years of teaching high school and 14 years of Museum public program design and implementation experience. He is an academic with vast experience in research and community engagement in both program design and implementation. He is the lead person in organizing the joint Museum of Malawi and University of Lethbridge Culture and Health Promotion Research work in Malawi. Aaron is also the National Coordinator of the non-governmental organisation, International Humanity of the Czech Republic on Sustainable Economic Development Projects. He has presented professional papers of his work to over 86 countries and worked on HIV/AIDS project with the Museum of Anthropology British Columbia in Canada. He has won several awards both locally and internationally. He is a graduate of the University of Malawi and Postgraduate of the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Aaron is married to Grace and they have three children, two daughters and a boy whose names all start with P: Purity, Prince and Precious.
MUSEUMS OF MALAWI
http://www.wawamalawi.com/museums.html#museumofmalawi
HIV & AIDS IN MALAWI
http://www.avert.org/hiv-aids-malawi.htm
Commonwealth Association of Museums
The Commonwealth Association of Museums (CAM) is a Commonwealth professional association and an international non-profit NGO working towards the betterment of museums and their societies in the Commonwealth family of nations and globally.