Ash Beckham — No Activism Is an Accident
Ash is an unstoppable force in activism without ever trying to be. Her fearless, relatable, and hilarious approach has made her a sought-after speaker, regularly crushing it for events for educational summits, corporate trainings, churches, Boeing, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Bank of America, and even headlining Harvard University’s first LGBTQ Conference. She is a frequent contributor […]
Olga Doletskaya — LGBTQ+ Studies at Risk Conference
Can you start by describing the recent LGBTQ+ Studies at Risk conference? What was the program, and who attended? Talia Kollek, my co-organizer, and I came up with the idea for the conference last autumn. We’re both doing PhDs on Russian queer topics, and doing fieldwork. We were talking about how a lot of the […]
Cabaret Against the Hate Speech
Can you start by describing the work of Cabaret Against the Hate Speech? Cabaret Against the Hate Speech is an ally and LGBT+ organization that runs counter-protests against hate speech. Our three main goals are to sing together, celebrate our community, and challenge hate. We are based in Glasgow, but we have done protests in […]
Paul Canary Kanyamu – Human Rights Defender in Kenya
Where is home for you? I have not found “home” yet. A home is a place that accepts me; where I can move freely as an LGBTIQ person and wave a rainbow flag without fear. I’m originally from Uganda, but in 2018 my parents found out I was gay and threatened to kill me. I […]
Nyasha Zhakata – Global Director, The Dream Academy
Context Safe Place International is a holistic leadership development organization for displaced LGBTQIA+ individuals. Societies often trivialize and overlook the lived experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community. Safe Place International creates pathways for sustainable and fulfilled lives that celebrate their inherent potential. LGBTQIA+ refugees and asylum seekers are at a unique intersection of identity/ They have […]
J.P. Der Boghossian — Queer Armenian Library
Can you tell me a bit about yourself and what led you to establish the Queer Armenian Library? I’m Armenian-American and grew up in the diaspora. My mother’s family, my Armenian side, all live in France because that is where they escaped to after the Genocide. I was born and raised in the States. I […]
Alex Meszaros — Identity.Education, Romania
Can you tell me a bit about yourself and what led you to join Identity.Education? In 2018, I was studying psychology, and for my Bachelor’s degree, I ran a study about internalized homophobia. At that time, I was a part of another NGO made up of students from the university’s psychology department. We had an […]
Daniel Arzola – Artivista Mundial
Pasado Creo que el arte puede ser la respuesta del artista a la realidad y al tiempo que nos rodea. Creo que mi trabajo surgió como una voz ya que crecí en una sociedad donde fui silenciado y atacado desde que era solo un niño. Mi obra habla del valor de la dignidad de cada […]
DANIEL ARZOLA – GLOBAL ARTIVIST
Past I believe art can be the artist’s response to the reality and time surrounding us. I think my work emerged as a voice as I grew up in a society where I was silenced and attacked since I was just a child. My work speaks of the value of the dignity of each person […]
Anette Mäletjärv — Estonian LGBT Association
How did you initially become involved in activism? What led you to join the Estonian LGBT Association? I first got involved in more political activism during Estonia’s civil partnership bill debates. This union for traditional family rights, a Catholic organization, organized a protest against the civil partnership bill, and my friends and I — we […]
Leanne Mc Brearty — Inishowen Pride, Ireland
How did you become involved in Inishowen Pride, and what has been your role in the organization? I was born and still live in Buncrana, County Donegal. I am married with two sons and am a proud ally to the LGBTQ+ community. In addition, I have friends and family who are members of the LGBTQ+ […]
Keio Soomelt — Festheart Film Festival, Estonia
How did you initially become involved in Festheart? I’m the head organizer. In the beginning, there were just two of us: the author of the idea, the artist Teet Suur, and myself. I have worked as a professional cultural organizer for more than ten years. Teet is my friend who came up with the idea […]
Suspended Gay Priest Krzysztof Charamsa Wants LGBT Catholics to Get Angry
Those who leave the Catholic Church for ideological reasons will often fall back on the same sentiments, sentiments that the Church, maybe even organized religion as a whole, is stodgy and oppressive, old and outdated, and reliant on an immutable doctrine that in 2022 would be considered offensive. Former Catholic priest and Vatican official Krzysztof […]
The Kisumu Feminists Society Wants Justice For Sheila Lumumba
When a Kenyan lesbian is murdered, who avenges their death? Feminists? LGBT activists? Anti-violence campaigners? All of these, argues the Kisumu Feminists Society of Kisumu, Kenya, should be the same. This is why when Sheila Lumumba, a nonbinary lesbian, was murdered in Karatina just this April, the Kisumu Feminists Society started two campaigns: #justiceforsheila and […]
서울퀴어문화축제 – 한국 성 소수자 프라이드를 축하
지난 10여년 동안, 한국은 광범위한 국제적 관심의 대상이었다. 한국 대중음악(케이팝)과 한국 드라마의 인기가 지난 몇년동안 천문학적인 수준에 도달하면서 한국은 세계적인 주목을 더 받게 되었다. 그러나 한국 대중문화에서 점점 더 많은 음모에도 불구하고 한국문화의 근본적으로 보수적인 성격과 그 문화가 한국의 소외된 그룹, 특히 성 소수자 공동체에 미치는 영향에 대해 그다지 강조되고 있지 않았다. 한국이 SOGI(성적 지향성 […]
Seoul Queer Culture Festival – Celebrating Korean LGBTI Pride
For the past decade or so, South Korea has been experiencing a surge in widespread international attention. The rise of K-Pop (Korean pop music) and K-Dramas (Korean drama TV series) reached astronomical levels in the last several years, thrusting the nation into the international spotlight. Yet not so strongly highlighted amidst this pop culture intrigue […]
CZESLAW WALEK — PRAGUE PRIDE
Prague Pride’s Motivation Before the war began, Prague Pride was more focused on issues like LGBTI crisis alleviation, nondiscrimination in the workplace, and legislation for marriage equality. But, according to Walek, “the day the war began, a team member sent an email alerting the risks to LGBTI Ukrainians, and we knew we had to do […]
What Russia’s invasion means for LGBTI Ukrainians
Putin has consistently portrayed himself — and by extension, Russia — as a staunch defender of traditional family values in order to create a distinct identity against the so-called decadent, liberal West. In particular, Europe — or “Gayropa,” as it is commonly referred to — is seen as a place of immorality and debauchery with […]
How Paul Radecki and LGBT Russians Fought Censorship and Won
In Sims 4, you can be abducted by aliens, build an underwater house, or feed the carnivorous plants in your virtual garden, but what some players value more are the seemingly mundane aspects of the game. In countries where LGBT content is heavily censored and media representation is impossible to come by, Sims 4 players […]
Aspiring Community Activist Josh Stols on the South African Testosterone Shortage
Josh Stols (@jd_justjosh on Instagram) is an aspiring community activist, visiting classrooms across Johannesburg to teach students about what it means to be a South African trans man in 2022. Stols, along with a countless number of transmasculine people, also recently stopped taking depo-testosterone, the most common form of hormone therapy for masculinization. More and […]
Rightify Ghana
How did Rightify Ghana get started? The national government has long denied LGBTQ Ghanaians respect, protection, and recognition. Rightify Ghana came together to raise awareness about the many challenges faced by our community – challenges neglected by the government at the policy level. Our organization seeks to mitigate harm, identify solutions, and ultimately empower sexual […]
James Bates — Gender Community Lending Library, United Kingdom
What led to the founding of the Gender Community Lending Library (GCLL)? In Autumn 2020, I was close to being ‘stealth.’ Not even my closest friends knew I was trans. Now, Autumn 2020 was a horrific time for UK trans people due to, among many other things, the Bell vs. Tavistock court case, which was […]
Steph Lentz — A teacher’s story of LGBT discrimination and fear in Australia
LGBT activist Steph Lentz wants you to know that Australia is under threat from a conservative Christian lobby, with organizations from the megachurch Hillsong to the Australian Christian Lobby pressuring Parliament to pass a controversial religious freedom bill that LGBT activists like Lentz fear would legitimize anti-LGBT discrimination in the eyes of the law. Lentz, […]
Dorottya Redai — A Fairy Tale for Everyone, Hungary
How did you initially become involved in activism? In 2004 I began to make connections to the Labrisz Lesbian Association. It was an intensive year when I came out to myself and others. Activism has always interested me, and through my volunteer work with the Labrisz Lesbian Association, I realized this is something I want […]
Joci Márton — Hungary
Can you start by telling me a bit about your background? What led you to become involved in Roma LGBTQ+ activism? I grew up in Nograd county in northeast Hungary, one of the country’s poorest regions. My family was not an exception and my background is lower working class. When young Roma go to study […]
Tomas Diafas — Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival, Greece
Can you start by telling me a bit more about the Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival? What led to its foundation back in 2018? The festival’s creation was a personal need to show more art in Thessaloniki, my hometown. Compared to Athens, I thought the art presented there was almost nonexistent, and I realized that people […]
Aritha Wickramasinghe — Equality Director at iProbono, Sri Lanka
How did you initially become involved in activism? I was passionate about human rights from a young age. Yet, I was primarily focused on child abuse and child rights — perhaps because I was a child. My activism turned towards LGBTQ issues starting around 2010 when I began working at Clifford Chance in London. Upon […]
Political Candidate Leads Attack at Rainbow Hub in Bulgaria
“This person stormed in and led a group of ten people without hiding his face or pretending it wasn’t him. This affected many people in society. Despite the lack of understanding on the topic of LGBTQI, this was beyond everything that has ever happened before,” states Lilly Dragoeva, Executive Director of Bilitis Foundation. Bilitis and […]
Alvar Ameljushenko — Tallinn Bearty, Estonia
Can you start by telling me what led to the first Tallinn Bearty Weekend? To cut a long story short, it was a few long-pondered ideas, the right person to poke me, and another right person to be by my side realizing the ideas. Ever since I went to my very first bear pride (the […]
Dervish Taskiranlar — Queer Cyprus Association
Can you start by telling me a bit about yourself? How did you initially become involved in LGBTI activism? It was about six years ago after I saw an announcement from the association for the social gathering event. I attended the event, and since then, I have been a part of the organization. To give […]