The ILGA’s Annual Conference in Athens is taking place this weekend (28th-31st October 2015), under the theme ‘Many voices, One movement – Together, mobilised for a just society’. For those who do not know, ILGA-Europe is a driving force for political, legal and social change at European level. Their vision is of a world where dignity, freedoms and full enjoyment of human rights are protected and ensured to everyone regardless of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and intersex status.
Context
LGBTQI+ activists are the driving force behind such impressive standard-setting developments. We must continue to support them in countries where equality battles still loom on the horizon. There are still many laws to change, many policies to be adopted, many hearts and minds to win over. Everyone has a role to play to maintain the momentum we have all built up together.
This must happen on a proactive country-by-country basis and involve the entire LGBTQI+ community:
- In several parts of Europe, there is actually a growing sense of urgency to take action. More and more LGBTQI+ human rights defenders are at risk on a daily basis. The legal and political gains of the past decade are under threat. The promise of LGBTQI+ equality is fiercely threatened by the action of opposition groups. Action is needed because when negative public sentiment is allowed to thrive it can set progress backwards, significantly backwards.
- While we celebrate the progress made so far, we cannot and must not forget those within the LGBTQI+ communities whose could be at risk of being “left behind”. We need to work to ensure that the legal, political and social change brought about by our actions is not change for some of us, but for all of us.
Topics
Athens will provide the backdrop for discussions on how ILGA can consolidate their victories and engage the entire movement. Workshops and events will decipher the following topics:
- How can we make use of the European LGBTQI+ movement’s emerging position as a flag bearer of human rights and democratic values to leverage positive change and rally new allies?
- How do we broaden the movement of supporters of equality, especially in the face of opposition groups?
- How can we find new allies to help respond to new threats and challenges?
- How can we reach out to rally new supporters of equality?
- How do we leverage growing public support for LGBTQI+ equality to bring about lasting society changes?
Source: ILGA Europe