Dr. Vallop Thaineua of Thailand and Joep Lange of the Netherlands, president of the International AIDS Society, which was the formal host organization. The content of the conference was run by three program committees, the Community Program Committee, chaired by Senator Mechai Viravaidya and Donald De Gagne, the Scientific Program Committee chaired by Professor Prasert Thongcharoen and Professor David Cooper, and the Leadership Program Committee chaired by Pakdee Pothisiri and Debrework Zewdie. The Leadership Program section of the Conference was, however, thrown into doubt by security concerns. On July 7 the Thai government cancelled a meeting on HIV/AIDS for national leaders planned as part of the conference. The leaders of 13 countries and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan were invited to the summit, which was to be hosted by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but only one national leader and Annan accepted. As at previous international AIDS conferences, both local and international organizations staged protests about various aspects of HIV/AIDS policy at the Bangkok conference. Activists protested during the opening of the conference to call attention to what they said were failures by governments worldwide in fighting AIDS. Tight security prevented any disruption to the ceremony, although Prime Minister Thaksin was heckled during his speech by some sections of the audience. The protests were co-ordinated by Thailand's AIDS Access Foundation. They called for increased worldwide access to antiretroviral treatments and greater financial support for treatment and prevention. Activists said that the United States and other Western nations were backtracking on funding pledges made at the Barcelona conference. Conference Organisation Overview The XV International AIDS Conference is organised by the International AIDS Society (IAS) and the Thai Ministry of Public Health as the local Host. The co-organisers of the conference are UNAIDS, three international community networks: ICW, ICASO, GNP+ and TNCA, a conglomerate of Thai AIDS NGOs. Starting with Bangkok the IAS has established a central conference secretariat to organise the International AIDS Conferences as well as the HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment Conferences. The Local Host Secretariat is located in Bangkok to coordinate the work of local subcommittees. The Community Program Secretariat is located in Bangkok to handle capacity building, outreach and the community aspects of the program. Representatives from the organisers and co-organisers form the basis of the Conference Organising Committee (COC). The Chairs of the conference represent the IAS and the Local Host. The COC in turn appoints two