International World AIDS Charity Day - Report Example

International World AIDS Charity Day The World AIDS Day is an annual event that seeks to sensitize the public concerning AIDS. In addition, it seeks to raise funds for sponsoring the medication for AIDS victims especially in the developing countries. The prevalence of AIDS in the third world countries is alarming with an approximate number of infected people standing at slightly over seventy million people (Casey, 2009). Most of these people come from poor backgrounds and, therefore, cannot afford the money required for buying medication. The rationale of the event is to collect money that can be used to subsidize the medication for management of AIDS in the affected countries (Sharon, 2011). Our goal is ensure that every person infected with AIDS gets the required medication regardless of individual economic status. The event is on its 20th year and so far over six hundred billion dollars have been raised. It has attracted the support of many international celebrities who have contributed both materially and in kind for the cause. Our vision is to raise sufficient funds to finance not only the purchase of drugs but also raise public awareness on the issues related to AIDS. We also seek to encourage further research on finding a cure for AIDS. To this end, our long term strategy is to work with the leading pharmaceutical companies and researchers to put more effort in finding a cure for the disease. The date of the ceremonial commemoration is on 1st July. The chosen location will be in London. Other commemorations will be marked in all major cities in the world. The venue will be at the Oxygen arena. All proceeds from the event will go to charity. Strategic Aims Objectively, the event seeks to raise funds for the purchase and supply of drugs for the treatment of AIDS victims in the developing countries. We intend to raise fifty million dollars that will be used to buy the drugs to be distributed in these countries. We also intend to secure commitments from world leaders that this scourge will be tamed and appropriate programs will be put in place to curb its spread. The “AIDS free world” accord which details elaborate plans to wipe out the pandemic will be presented to the leaders to persuade them to take deliberate measures to lower the rates of new infections in their countries. In addition, the event also aims to put more emphasis on the research for a permanent cure for the disease. Research on this field has been sluggish. Consequently, the event aims to gain a clear commitment from leading pharmaceutical companies and researchers that research for a cure will be given a priority. Objectives One of our objectives is to raise funds towards the support of AIDS medication. Our target is to raise over fifty million shillings in cash. To obtain these funds, we will design arm bands, t-shirts, caps, and bandanas to target people attending the event. The sales will begin on days set before the start of the major event. In addition, branded merchandise will be availed in selected outlets to make them accessible to the public. Another strategy to raise funds will be through organizing a charity concert before the main event. Leading musicians will be invited to entertain participants at a nominal fee. In fact, the invitation of leading artistes will serve a twofold function of attracting larger crowds to the concert and also increase the sales of the branded merchandise. The event will also run an online campaign through the social networking sites to raise funds. We intend to spur online interest on AIDS as an imminent threat to humanity. The other objective for the event is to raise awareness concerning AIDS in the developing countries. The rate of HIV/AIDS infections is highest in the developing countries. The disease is most prevalent in African countries. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for about forty percent of the documented infections (Luter, 2010). The implications are dire considering that most of those infected are the breadwinners for their families. The result is that their families struggle to raise money for their treatment and also for other basic obligations such as food and education. In order to raise awareness on this matter, the event intends to use celebrity endorsements. The celebrities have a tremendous effect on the general public opinion and we intend to capitalize on this to ensure that message on the negative impacts of AIDS in the world reaches everybody. The celebrities will be encouraged to speak publicly in support of this cause and also on social networking sites to reach a global audience. The event also intends to provide a platform to fight against the stigma associated with the disease. It has been previously reported that increased deaths linked to AIDS is due to stress. The people infected are alienated by society and they lose hope in life with some resorting to committing suicide. This should not be the case. The event seeks to address the issue of stigmatization in the society. To this end, the event will showcase people infected with AIDS who are leading normal and successful lives as a way highlighting the possibility of managing the disease. In addition, it would discourage discrimination against those who are infected. It should be noted that with proper medication, the condition can be managed. Opportunities and Risks The hosting of an international event brings an opportunity to reach a wider audience. This will provide us with a chance to present our message to the entire world. The selected venue was based on the aspect that it is a metropolis. The population of London comprises people from different cultures and demography’s globally. Therefore, by locating the event in this city, we are targeting to reach these people who represent the world. The international aspect of the event provides a wide scope of the mandate of the event. We intend to raise our objectives and concerns not as regional issues but as those that affect the globe. Consequently, the international dimension augurs well with our overall vision. International events also attract a large pool of multinational companies who may offer sponsorship. In order to raise more funds, an event has to attract sponsors who will cover the costs and even make other contributions. With an international event, the scope that is covered transcends geographical boundaries thus the sponsors get a universal reach for their brand. We intend to attract sponsors from airlines, global pharmaceuticals, as well as other multinationals. It is easy to market our event to these kinds of companies since our audience reflects the demographics that comprise their target markets. A challenge that comes with organizing international events is the issue of different cultures. It is quite difficult to come up with a program that fully caters for the particular interests of the diverse communities that attend the event. For instance, catering for the food that the participants may need is quite difficult. Another issue concerning the cultures is regarding the language. Participants come from countries that speak different languages thus translation has to be considered. Even the promotional materials have to be in different languages so as to be relevant to the different participants. The challenge occurs when executing the event since it is almost impossible to translate several languages concurrently. In addition, the message might be lost in the course of translation. The other difficulty associated with international events is the issue of regional laws and regulations. The legal framework differs in countries thus one has to be familiar with the regulations and laws in the country where the event will be hosted. Some countries have specific laws that regulate safety measures and standards that must be observed for an event. It is also common for the procedure for obtaining licenses to differ even in different cities within the same country. To ensure that our event will be successful, the planning would be made early. In addition, we will use the services of a local events agency which is proficient in organizing international events. Pre-event and Post-event Evaluation We intend to host a successful event, and in that regard, there is need to have precise methods to evaluate the success or failure of the event. In organizing the event, we have prepared a Gant chart to clearly outline the order in which the preparations for the event will occur. We intend to start preparations early enough to ensure to guarantee readiness when the day of the event comes. We will review our progress a day to the deadline of each event according to the Gant chart to ensure we remain on track. A special steering committee will be formed to guide the process of preparations. We intend to complete all preparations for the event at least two weeks prior to the event. Arrangements have also been made to facilitate rehearsals of the event to guarantee that everything is working properly and any pertinent issues sorted out before the final day. On completion, an evaluation of the event based on the objectives set out will be done. We have a target of raising at least fifty million dollars and this will one of our key performance indicator. To ensure fairness and professionalism, the services of a professional auditing firm will be utilized. The other evaluation method that will be used to evaluate the event is by the use of feedback forms. The participants and stakeholders will be asked to fill in an evaluation forms in which they will answer questions that concern their opinion on the event. Comments on the social networking sites will also be evaluated extensively to ascertain the impact on awareness that the event raised. The quantity of merchandise sold will be calculated to assess the amount of money raised. The remaining merchandise will also be counted and valued and a decision made on how to sell them at a discounted price. One of the challenges of assessing the event will be on the aspect of measuring the level of awareness raised by the event. It has been proposed that the matrix to be used in evaluating the level of awareness generated be through the response through social networking sites, television programs and radio programs. We will hire experts in media analysis to give further insights on this since awareness is a long-term issue. The records on the previous events will also be used to compare on the strides the event will have made. Summary and Recommendations The international World Aids Day is an annual event that has been commemorated for the past nineteen years. This year’s will be a culmination of the events of previous years and an opportunity to raise funds for this noble cause. Elaborate plans have been made to ensure that this event will be a success and much better than the previous ones. The choice of the venue has been deliberate in anticipation of a large attendance. The event will be one of a kind and it is hoped that above all, it will spur a collective effort globally to combat AIDS (Klug & Lebowitz, 2009). Gantt chart For International AIDS Day Task Person(s) Responsible Mar 1-7 Mar 8-15 Mar 15-21 Mar 22-28 Mar 29- Apr 6 Apr 7-20 Apr 21-30 May 1-20 May 20- May30 June 1- Proposal Alex Sourcing Sponsors Joe Design Of Merchandise Clara Venue Booking Faith Sale of Merchandise Clara, Joy Guests Confirmations Alex Draft Program Fred Local Licenses Faith Final Program Regina Rehearsals Event Day Risk Assessment Form Risk/ Hazard Likelihood Consequence Risk Rating Action Plan Person Responsible Timeframe Terrorists Threat D 5 Extreme -liaison with the government security agencies Alex 16/04/2012 Crowd Conflict C 2 High -Hiring security company to control crowd Faith 25/05/2012 Sunburn C 3 Medium Provision of sun creams Clara 01/06/2012 References Casey, S., 2009. Organizing Successful Events: Albany, NY: Wiley. Klug, C., Lebowitz, J.2005. Events Planning. New York, NY: Addison Wesley. Luter, C., 2007. Secrets to Successful Events. 1st ed. Massachusetts, MA: Pearson. O’Donell, O., Boyle, R., 2008. Modern Events: Creating Value. London. Cambridge. Sharon Bedder. “Events Check list”. May 10 2011.Retrieved from http://www.eventinfo.com Read More