Excellence in Communications via Meetings or Congresses

Summary of work

Symposia at major conferences are often dominated by the same format and same faculty: big names are used to entice delegates to attend, and plenary presentations are followed by questions and answers. Although undoubtedly valuable to attendees in many respects, it makes it difficult for new voices to be heard and to achieve recognition on an international stage.

We wanted to do something different with our symposium: not just the usual suspects; not just the same didactic presentations. Our goal was to provide three up-and-coming HIV physicians the opportunity to partner with and learn from international faculty members, and to present in a competitive (albeit friendly) symposium format at the HIV-11 congress in Glasgow in November 2012.

Inspired by the reality television show The Voice, we paired each rising star with one established expert. These partners collaborated to argue their case for what they anticipate being the key topic in the future of HIV treatment. Competing against two other pairs, they had to convince not only the independent Voice of Reason but – most importantly – the audience who would decide the Voice of the Future in HIV.

“It is fresh, it is new, it is interactive… [the] speakers have been brilliant and clear”
Symposium attendee feedback

Judges comments

This was a refreshingly different entry and a really good example of the power of a simple but great idea. We thought the approach was creative and is one which could be transferable to a number of therapy areas. This may have been a small programme but it was, without doubt, a good one.