In Salzburg, Austria, members of the local LGBTI community will ‘escape queerphobia’ with a charity walk for IDAHOT 2016. Walk4Idahot will take place on March 21 in central Salzburg and will hope to also raise awareness of discrimination within Salzburg and Austria.

For more information on events in Austria and across the world please keep an eye out for our upcoming 2016 annual report. 

walk4IDAHOT is now getting into is 3rd round and is organised by Bernhard Damoser, the initiator of HOSI Salzburg, Grüne andersum, ÖH Salzburg and SOHO Salzburg. The Office for Women of the city of Salzburg supported the event.

For this year, the organisers decided on the title „Breaking Barriers with LOVE!“

Over 300 people took part in the walk. Amongst them were representative of the province Martina Berthold as well as Vice-Mayor of the city of Salzburg Anja Hagenauer. The march started at 2pm on May 16 at the main station and included a number of stops with speeches on LGBTI-related topics along the way. The march went through the city for about 3km and ended at the Glockengasse. The march was accompanied by music programme.

Aside from issues on a national level, the organisers addressed the global situation of Human Rights for LGBTI.

Like the years before there was also an Afterparty at the 3Stein Gaybar.

Find more details here.

Also in Salzburg, members of the Paracelsus Medical University (PMU) decorated the campus for IDAHOT.

Es Wird Besser Osterreich and the City of Vienna Anti-Discrimination Unit for Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender People hosted a panel discussion titled “Building Bridges for LGBTI Youth” for IDAHOT. Dan Savage and Terry Miller participated on the panel as special guests.

In Austria, events took place for the IDAHOT 2014 in at least two cities. Actions were focused on raising awareness of the victims of LGBTI-phobic hate crimes, on the present situation of LGBTI rights in the country, and on the importance of freedom of expression for LGBTI communities.

Rainbow Flash Balloon Release

The groups Homosexuelle Initiative Wien, HOSI (Homosexual Initiative Vienna), To Russia With Love Austria and Queeramnesty organised three different actions to commemorate IDAHOT in Vienna, starting with a rainbow flash event, in which rainbow coloured balloons with personal messages attached to them were released into the sky. This action took place at the Morzinplatz, where the headquarters of the Gestapo were located during the NS-regime and from where homosexuals were deported into the concentration camps.

RainbowFlah Vienna. Source HOSI Wien

IDAHO Classical Concert

In the evening, there was a IDAHO Classical Concert, with the participation of a group of young musicians and music students, from the CMG (Classical Musicans’ Group). The concert was conducted under the banner ‘Spring Is in the Air’ and included classical songs on themes of love and affection.

IDAHO Night

These events were followed by the ‘IDAHO- Night’ which was organised by Queeramnesty. The party focused attention on the situation for LGBTI communities and civil society in general in Russia, activists from Queeramnesty informed at the B72 (the venue). The night was accompanied by the bands ‘Petra und der Wolf’ and ‘Clara Luzia’.

The groups HOSI Salzburg, and the Homosexual Initiative in Salzburg, in an joint effort with other local groups, organised the Walk 4 IDAHO demonstration, as well as a party on May 17. The organisers wanted to use this event to show the importance of freedom of expression for LGBTI people worldwide.

Walk 4 IDAHO Salzburg

The Walk 4 IDAHO 2014 was organised to raise awareness within society that LGBTI people worldwide are still confronted with discrimination, violence, prosecution, abuse and murder. The participants of the demonstration also made clear that in Austria LGBTI people cannot enjoy full equal rights and social acceptance, yet. After the demonstration there was a Party at the 3Stein Gaybar.

HOSI Salzburg is a group that works for the region of Salzburg, Bavaria and Oberösterreich for over 30 years now. They offer support, meeting points, information material, consulting and much more to LGBTI people and people your are interested in LGBTI issues. The 20-30 volunteers at HOSI Salzburg also organise events and activities and they publish the magazine COMING IN, 4 times a year.

A teaser video for the hand-holding campaign can be viewed here:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=uW1NkPjGqXw%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Balloon release in Vienna

The national LGBT organisation HOSI also joined in the Rainbow Flashmob celebrations by organising a central event in the capital Vienna.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pUX9K6HeUKs%3Ffeature%3Doembed

IDAHO March in Salzburg

One of the regional HOSI branches organised a protest IDAHO march in the city of Salzburg

In addition, the makers of the Austrian short film “Homophobia” released the film for free on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAxE…). “Homophobia” follows the story of a teenager in the Austrian Military Forces whose feelings for a comrade come to the surface on their last night patrolling the Austrian-Hungarian border.