In Hungary, the International Gay and Lesbian Youth Organisation, IGLYO, organised an IDAHOT seminar in Budapest, together with partners. The organisation Háttér organised a seminar focused on human rights and the legal status of LGBTQI people. In Szeged, the organisation Colorful Circles also organised a seminar which aimed to sensibilise mainly people working in the educational sector to LGBTI related issues. In Budapest, the organisation Transvanilla also organised a one minute of noise against Homophobia and Transphobia, amongst other events in the country.

Transvanilla Shout Against Hate

Rather than holding one minute silence, activists making part of the trans* rights group Transvanilla decided to organise a One Minute’s Noise/Shout Against Hate for IDAHOT 2014. The action took place at the 5th European Transgender Council in Budapest on 3rd May 2014.

The organisers took a video of the action to make their noises and voices heard worldwide, which you can see here:

LGBTI Young People from across Europe join for Budapest Conference

The IDAHOT seminar “Young People’s responses to Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Speech” was hosted at European Youth Center in Budapest. In the framework of the No Hate Speech Movement, this seminar took place from the 15th to the 17th and was organised by  IGLYO  in cooperation with the Council of Europe Equality Division (SOGI Unit) and the European Youth Center Budapest. In order for everyone around the world to follow the seminar, organisers live streamed the event. The seminar aimed to identify and discuss Hate Speech against LGBTI people, and to develop strategies to tackle it. As the organisers explained prior to the event:

‘During the seminar and in the movement there will be prepared some actions to be implemented by activists all over Europe. The aim of the seminar is, amongst others, to get people and organisations not used to work with LGBTQI issues to take the next step towards human rights for all… The topic of IDAHOT “Freedom of Expression” is very relevant when talking about Hate Speech. It’s a question of how you use your freedom of expression. Do you use it to promote human rights and social cohesion or to spread hate and dehumanise LGBTQI?’

On May 17, the activists at the European Youth Centre in Budapest had launched an online action hour against Homophobic and Transphobic Hate speech. The action hour was live from the IGLYO and Council of Europe’s seminar “Young People’s responses to Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Speech” and invited everyone to use their Right to Freedom of Expression and to speak up for Human Rights for all. The main message of the online action was that Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Speech is a direct threat to freedom of expression and the human right to freedom of speech for everyone.

Love is a Human Right !

Also on May 17 there was also the action SZABAD A CSÓK! which included a party, photo exhibition with the title ‘Love is a Human Right’. Additionally, the organiser Háttér had also hosted a seminar about the situation of LGBTQI people in Hungary and Human Rights. The issue of right-wing forces pushing against LGBTI equality and the legal status of LGBTQI communities formed a major part of the discussions. There was also a report presented which highlighted two major problem areas; also highlighted as part of a seminar. One concerned the educational system in relation to sexual and gender minorities, and the other, the uncertain legal status of same-sex couples raising children. The seminar took place on May 16 at the Central European University in Budapest.

Katalin Szajbély . Source: Háttér

Colourful Circles Training Event

Colourful Circles hosted a training which had the aim was to make participants more open to the situation of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) minorities, particularly concerning education and school situations. The key issues were human rights, freedom, justice, equality, human dignity, democracy, rights, interdependence, solidarity, stereotype, prejudice, minority and majority identity, homophobia, coming out, hetero-sexism, and LGBT themes in general. The event took place on May 17 in Szeged and was mainly aimed at teachers.

Colourful Circles Event Poster

Events by Transvanilla Transgender Association

Building upon the success of last year’s workshop addressing transphobia within the Hungarian LGB community and based on the need to continue this kind of initiatives, Transvanilla Transgender Association decided to organize another workshop this year. “We would like to draw attention to the general lack of visibility of trans people, including (or especially) in the “LGBT” community”, the organizers said in their statement.

Banner produced by Transvanilla for May 17 2013

The goal of the event was to find solutions to the following questions:

– How to increase the visibility and the acceptance of trans people in the LGB community?
– How can the Hungarian LGBT NGOs integrate trans people’s point of view into their work
– How can the Hungarian organisations provide a safe and welcoming environment to the trans community

Link to the organization’s website: http://transvanilla.hu

Transvanilla on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/transvanilla

Demonstration at Budapest Houses of Parliament

Amnesty International Hungary, also organised a public event on May 17, outside the House of Parliamentarians in Budapest. They estimated that about 15,000 people were reached by messages about the event.

Local activists also reported that one mainstream television channel, and a couple of online news sites covered the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia in Hungary.

Media Reports:

http://velvet.hu/trend/hot0517/
http://www.origo.hu/nagyvilag/20130517-nem-setalnak-kezen-fogva-az-unios-melegek.html
http://hu.euronews.com/2013/05/17/meg-mindig-sok-a-melegek-elleni-eroszak-europaban/

Nine Hungarian LGBT organizations were invited to discuss the issues, with the goal of finding solutions to the following challenges:

How to increase the visibility and acceptance of trans people in the LGB community;
How Hungarian LGBT NGOs can integrate trans people’s point of view into their work; and
How Hungarian organizations can provide a safe and welcoming environment for the trans community.