HIVstory: A Panel Discussion

Manchester Histories invites you to HIVstory: A Panel Discussion for an insightful conversation marking National HIV Testing Week.

In partnership with the National HIV Story Trust, this event brings together voices from across the HIV and AIDS community to explore how individuals and organisations can raise awareness, challenge stigma, and encourage HIV testing. Centring lived experience, the discussion offers space for learning, reflection, and meaningful dialogue inspired by personal stories.

The panel will be chaired by Greg Thorpe (creative producer, writer, curator, and artist). He will be joined by:

• Paul Fairweather, co-founder of George House Trust and LGBT activist
• Ellie Harrison, Positive Speaker at George House Trust & HIV activist
• Orla McQuillan, HIV Clinician & Co-Chair of Greater Manchester Fast Track Cities

Together, they will discuss how storytelling, advocacy, and community action can drive real change and improve awareness around HIV and AIDS.

📅 When: Tuesday 10 February 2026, 5.30pm–7.30pm
📍 Where: Space 0, Contact Theatre, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M15 6JA

Event schedule

• 5.15pm – Doors open, nibbles and refreshments will be provided
• 5.45pm – Panel discussion begins (with a short introductory film)
• 7.00pm – Audience Q&A
• 7.30pm – Event close

This event also marks the final week of Manchester Histories hosting the HIVstory exhibition at the Manchester Histories Hub. We strongly encourage attendees to visit the exhibition and engage with these powerful stories before it closes on 13 February 2026.

The National HIV Story Trust's HIVstory project is made possible through The National Lottery Heritage Fund funding.

Access

The venue is fully accessible, but we endeavour to ensure this event is open to all, so welcome you to contact us regarding any specific requirements you may have before the event as soon as possible: info@manchesterhistories.co.uk or 0161 306 1982. Thank you.

Data Gathering

When registering for this event we will ask you some questions about your age, gender, ethnicity, disability and postcode. Gathering this information helps us to report back to our funders and enables us to better understand our audiences so we can ensure we reach as many people as possible now and in the future. The information is given anonymously.

Photography

This event will be photographed and/or filmed for Manchester Histories’ marketing and documentation purposes (e.g., website and social media). If you’d prefer not to be included in any images, please speak to a member of staff when you arrive and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.

HIVstory is an innovative outreach project by The National HIV Story Trust, which holds the UK’s largest collection of filmed testimonies from people affected by HIV and AIDS. Drawing on these interviews, the project shares powerful real-life stories of love, loss, hardship and hope, revealing how individual lives and experiences intersect within this vital history.

This first-of-its-kind project raises awareness of the AIDS pandemic and encourages positive social change, particularly among younger generations with limited knowledge of this period. The project also aims to support communities affected by trauma and loss, improve wellbeing, and inspire a new generation to engage with this extraordinary history.

This three-year project is delivered in partnership with The London Archives, The Royal College of Nursing, Newcastle University and the University of Central London, with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.