In Albania, LGBT community groups held their first annual ‘Bike (P) Ride’, through the streets of the capital Tirana, for May 17, in 2012 – braving rain and attacks by opponents. The picture (above) is from 2013, and in 2014, the 3rd annual event took place – again braving the rain – with more than 120 people participating.

More than that, in 2014, activists in various countries also started to organise bike rides for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (Turkey, Peru, Bulgaria and Vietnam).

Not only is this sort of event free and fun, it can be a great alternative to a pride march or other public procession.

We asked Kristi Pinderi or Pro-LGBT in Albania, to explain a bit more about how they came to organise Tirana’s annual bike rides.

Where/how did the idea originate? What were the main assumptions behind the idea, the main expectations?

We did our first Gay Ride in May 2012. Please check out the video because it is very emotional (especially from 0.44):

It was 2012 and the LGBT movement in Albania was working underground and mostly on a volunteer basis since 2009. One of the young environmental activists in Tirana was trying to promote the use of bicycles in the capital and he had just began establishing some bicycle stations where everyone could rent a bicycle.

From our side, we thought it was the time to stand up and have a public event, a public demonstration of our right to feel free!

I remember this guy, who is now one of our biggest allies (Ened Mato from Ecovolis) said to us: why don’t you take the bicycles and just ride at the main boulevard?!

That guy was representing those hundreds of young people in Tirana fed up with the conventional ways of protesting. It was a great idea and we came together: LGBT, young people and environmental activists, and fed up young people, it was very encouraging for us to see other people not necessarily LGBT who were willing to help us.

We didn’t think twice!

The background of the momentum was that several of those involved in the emerging LGBT movement had just came out in their families. They were proud about this and they were all eager and excited about doing something in public. We were ideally some dozens of people ready to ride the bicycle : )

Earlier that week some of us were invited to the most important political show in Albania called “Opinion”, to face some very disturbing arguments about whether it is okay for Albania to have a Gay Pride Parade or not. That show attracted around 80 percent of the entire TV audience on one night, just some few days before we did the first Gay Ride.

We didn’t have even an idea of what to call it : ) We called it Riding against Homophobia, we didn’t even notice how similar Gay Ride was with Gay Pride : ) We just NEEDED to do something publicly, we needed the most important stage in order to feel, finally, free : )

But when the day came, we were shocked to find out that it was a day of heavy rain in Tirana : ) The first Ride was scheduled in afternoon, while during all the day we were just watching the weather outside our windows. We started to discuss either we should keep doing it or skip it because of the rain. I remember I had a phone call with Xheni Karaj from Aleanca LGBT who had managed to notify dozens of LGBT people and our supporters to come to the event and we were trying to make a decision: should we do it or not? Our biggest concern was that no one would dare to go out during that raining afternoon. But we said: well, we have faced and we still face every day much more difficult situations in our lives. The rain cannot stop us, it is the less problematic issue in our lives We decided to take the bicycles and do it… And we did it

The next year we did it again and in 2013 there was no rain. It was a wonderful day of sunshine. In 2012 we were only 13 people, in 2013 we were 80, and in 2014 we were more than 120

What were the risks/threats/obstacles involved and how did you deal with them?

Tirana’s annual May 17 bike ride, 2014.

It is important to collaborate with the police in order to ensure the security of the people who are willing to ride. We had an incident during 2012 but that gave us more energy and increased our passion and adrenaline to keep riding : ) We had a less important incident in 2013 and we had no incident at all during 2014. We even took our bicycles and started to walk instead of riding at the boulevard. And we also showed a big LGBT flag, and of course nothing bad happened. We finally won the victory of feeling free to express ourselves. Because of the gay ride we did for three consecutive years, now the debate is not either we should have a Gay pride Parade or not (because everyone can notice that we are doing it since 2012. : )

If the stereotype of the gay pride parade was a concern to public opinion, now it is not a concern anymore, because we showed to anyone that their “frame” of imagination was wrong and that you can march and show your pride even with alternative “frames”.

How did you get it done? How much time did it take? How much did it cost? How many people did it involve? What were the tactics that you used?

Tirana’s annual May 17 bike ride, 2014.

You need only two, three, four, five or even 80 motivated people who know how to ride a bicycle. And you need a car for those people who still don’t know how to ride a bicycle in order to help them follow the bicycles and feel the adrenaline. It takes always from 40 to 50 minutes to ride in our main boulevard : ) It is cost-less, you don’t need money to do that. It is free of charge : ) You might spend some money to call people, or if you want to have some t-shirts. But you don’t need to have a full staff working during the entire year for a 40 minutes Gay Ride. You can also spend some 200 US dollars for a website, or you can just skip that and create a blog for free : )

How do you rate the impact of this action, and how do you see its effects?

As I mentioned above, we deconstructed peacefully and without financial expenses the wrong phobia and “frame” and prejudices that people in Albania might have had about a Gay Pride Parade. They have been fed with 80’s and 90’s images and videos which do not necessary fit with the demands or priorities of local LGBT communities. Now, by the way, we can freely walk in the boulevard for a pride demonstration. No one would be violated, no one would be thrown stones at, or would be shoot, etc. : ) We don’t debate anymore in Albania about doing or not doing a Pride demonstration.

IT IS NOT IMPORTANT THE TOOL, BUT THE MESSAGE. YOU CAN ALWAYS INVENT THE TOOL, IF YOU DON’T HAVE IT. BUT YOU SHOULD STICK ON THE MESSAGE, REGARDLESS OF THE TOOL : )

What advice would you give to other people who’d like to undertake this activity?

Be creative and stick to the message not to the tool. The tool should be creative as well. If you don’t have a tool, think twice and think locally, it is there… Don’t copy and paste! Use your imagination, because it is fun : ) And don’t forget that public demonstrations are for the public, of course, but they should be for us, for our community first of all. These events should inspire us and only if we are inspired we can then inspire others.

If you did this action again, what would you do differently?

Nothing else. Next year we might consider having young musicians with violins and guitars to play beautiful songs and music. We can stop the ride in the middle of the boulevard and listen to them peacefully, and avoid screaming and all the other standard noises of an aggressive protest. You can give the message through riding a bicycle, smiling, being happy and listening to a violin… That’s what we need : )

The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia was commemorated with three different events in Bulgaria: A discussion with MEP Candidates, a Live Art Installation, and a Bike Rally in Sofia on May 17.

Discussion event focuses on European elections

For IDAHOT 2014 in Bulgaria, a key discussion event took place with the participation of Victor Lilov, MEP candidate from Reformatorski Block (Reform Block Coalition) and Genady Kondarev, one of the founders of Zelenite Political Party (the Greens), on a broad range of issues concerning LGBTI people. Another MEP candidate, Ilhan Kyuchuk, representative of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, who was unable to attend personally, also sent a letter of clear commitment to work in support of LGBTI equality if elected to the European Parliament. The same commitment was shared by Victor Lilov, while Genady Kondarev reaffirmed that commitment to LGBTI rights has been on his party agenda since its founding. The event was co-organized by Bilitis and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee.

Live art installation satirises ‘gay propaganda’

A “Live Art Installation” in front of the National Parliament also served to mock institutionalized homophobia and transphobia by creating a live chain of people wearing T-shirts with different letters, making up the phrase “gay propaganda”. The art installation ridiculed the laws which obstruct LGBTI people’s freedom of expression, known as anti-gay-propaganda laws. The art installation was designed by Deystvie LGBT Youth Association, and supported by Bilitis. Some of the participants also wore beards as a sign of celebration of Conchita Wurst’s Eurovision win. The latter was very negatively presented in the Bulgarian media.

Source: Bilitis

4th Bike Rally Against Homophobia & Transphobia

The 4th Annual Bike Rally Against Homphobia and Transphobia in the central part of Sofia also took place, organized by Deystvie LGBT Youth Association, and supported by Bilitis. Christiana Daneva from Bilitis, member of the board of EGLSF since March 2014, took part in the rally and expressed the support of EGLSF.

IDAHOT 2014 in Albania included the premiere of the first documentary on LGBT communities in the country, a Festival of Diversity and a set of panels, and the 3rd Annual May 17 Gay Ride through the streets of the capital, Tirana.

Alliance Against Discrimination of LGBT and Pro LGBT organized the Third Tirana Gay Ride Against Homophobia at the “Boulevard of Martyrs” on “Mother Teresa” Square. You can watch a video of the action here:

IDAHOT 2014 Bike Ride in Tirana, Albania

Two groups also held a premiere screening of the documentary “SkaNdal” – the first ever documentary about the LGBT movement in Albania (with English subtitles). LGBT community members appeared for the first time with their faces and names and shared their personal stories about how the LGBT movement has changed their lives. You can watch the video trailer here:

Documentary film screening in Tirana, Albania.

Pink Embassy hosted a “Festival of Diversity” between 12-17 May, similarly to previous years. Activities included movie screenings, an NGO fair, parties and conferences. The group focused on Freedom of Expression through a specific media campaign on free speech/no hate speech.

Pink Embassy, in collaboration with the Human Rights House in Albania and Open Mind Spectrum Albania (OMSA), and Affiliate of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI), also jointly organized the first LGBT Pride in Albania under the slogan: Say YES LOVE! About 60 activists from Albania as well as Macedonian human rights activists attended the event.

Say YES LOVE! Pride event in Tirana for IDAHOT 2014.

A video of Say YES LOVE! Pride can be viewed here:

Further information

• Historia Ime: IDAHOT 2014, ‘a three part journey to acceptance‘
• About the 3rd Annual Ride: www.tiranagayride.com
• Information on Pink Embassy events: www.pinkembassy.al

This year three different organizations hosted IDAHOT actions in Turkey. Actions included the launch of an online LGBTI Magazine, a bike ride against hate, film screenings and a set of panel discussions.

Queer Adana hosted a Bike Tour against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia and Sexism in Adana on May 17, starting at noon. The Tour was followed by the TansX Istanbul Film Premiere Gala in Adana, which took place at the Seyhan Cultural Centre. Trans X Istanbul is a personal documentary film and part of the multi-platform project Trans X Turkey about the human rights situation of Trans* communities in the country.

Bike Tour against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia and Sexism in Adana, May 17

The Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD) celebrated May 17 by launching a new e-Magazine, named “Çark”! Çark Mag aims to popularise community issues and events, covering LGBTI nightlife and community friendly places, culture and art-related news, reviews, and interviews, and will also collect relevant news from Istanbul and other cities in Turkey.

SPoD also hosted a panel and reception together with the Consulate General of the Netherlands on May 17 in dedication to the worldwide IDAHOT celebrations.

Kaos GL Association hosted IDAHOT actions for the 9th time this year with a chain of panels and social events in May. The theme of the 9th year was “resistance”, in reference to the nation-wide protests that started in May 2013 in Gezi Park.

Istanbul Street Parade for IDAHOT 2014

Communities demonstrate in Istanbul as part of a month of commemorations

Further information

• Queer Adana: homepage
• SPoD: website
• Kaos GL: website