International gatherings of people living with HIV have been of tremendous importance to many positive people from around the world. Meeting in a safe and empowering environment has contributed both to their personal growth and to a strengthening of the PLHIV movement. These bi-annual international conferences of people living with HIV are a vital component of the global HIV response. While the first international conferences were mainly European focussed, the most recent ones in Poland 1999, Trinidad/Tobago 2001, and Uganda 2003 brought together up to 800 people living with HIV from up to 84 countries.