Georgia Southern University’s Division of Continuing Education will host the sixth annual Rural HIV Research and Training conference at the Coastal Georgia Center in Savannah, Georgia, Sept. 8-9.

The Rural HIV Research and Training Conference is a two-day forum for exchanging the latest information and learning the newest tools to address the challenges of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in rural communities.

The conference brings together health professionals to share innovative strategies, discuss unique challenges and foster advocacy and community partnerships to address HIV/AIDS prevention, intervention and care, working with children, youth and families in rural communities.

Jeanne White-Ginder will be the keynote speaker for this year’s conference. White-Ginder will discuss her experiences on the frontlines of the AIDS epidemic in the early years and the role that HIV/AIDS stigma plays in fueling the epidemic today.

Her son, Ryan White, was diagnosed with AIDS after contracting HIV during one of the many blood transfusions he received to treat his hemophilia. Until then, AIDS had been considered by the general public as a “gay disease,” and Ryan’s fight to lead a normal life and attend school ironically thrust him and White-Ginder into the media spotlight.

For more information on the speakers, and to register for the conference, visit: http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ce/conferences/ruralhiv-2/.