In China, despite some restrictions – involving the arrests of various activists before May 17 – more than 90% of planned events around the country were successfully carried out. This amounted to a total of more than a hundred events around the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014.

The following is a short report on just some of the highlights from around the country this year.

Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop

On May 11, 2014, Aibai Culture and Education Center, Goldman Sachs and Beijing LGBT Center co-organized an IDAHO event “Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop” in Beijing. This event was also part of Goldman Sachs’ Community TeamWorks (CTW) events in China. 25 LGBT undergraduate and graduate students from 12 universities in Beijing participated in the event. Through interactive one-to-one conversations, volunteers provided career coaching to LGBT college students, involving the exchange of practical tips and personal experiences.

Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop, for IDAHOT 2014 in China.

Queer film screening and discussion in Beijing

On May 16, The Crossroads Centre and the Beijing Queer Film Festival hosted an IDAHOT event with the support of
of the French embassy, DKT International Beijing and the EU Delegation. Taking place in Library of the Goethe-Institute, the event included the screening of the documentary Global Gay followed by a discussion with the producers Valérie Montmartin and Alexandre Marcel as well as the members of the Beijing Queer Film Festival’s Committee.

The producer of ‘Global Gay’, Valérie Montmartin, talking about the documentary.

Release of new report on gay and lesbian well-being

On the same day, The Beijing LGBT Center and Institute of Psychology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences released a report on the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of gay and lesbian people in China, to mark the Day. The report is the first national survey on the mental health of gay and lesbian communities, and it focuses equally on both men and women, unlike similar surveys in the past that were focused only on gay men. A total of 1,600 respondents from all over the country completed the survey, and about 30 percent were found to have a tendency towards depression, and about 20 percent were identified as facing a particularly high risk of depression.

Beijing Queer Chorus joins the global Sing-in for IDAHOT 2014

On May 17, Beijing Queer Chorus (previously known as Tianjien Gay Chorus) performed an IDAHOT concert at Sunrise Hall, Caoyu Theater, Beijing.

Mountain hike in Changsha, Hunan Province

In Changsha, Hunan Province, despite the annual Pride Walk event being suspended by authorities, volunteers still went through with the event by proudly hiking a local mountain trail.

Storytelling and community-building in Liaocheng, Shandong Province

In Liaocheng, Shandong Province, a local LBT community organization gathered at a village fair to share their stories of being LGBT with villagers and raised visibility and awareness of LGBT issues in rural areas.

Further information

• New York Times: Tiananmen Square Anniversary Prompts Campaign of Silence
• Buzzfeed: Nine LGBT Activists Arrested in China – But Gay Pride March Still Planned
• US Embassy in China: Statement for May 17, 2014
• Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in China: Statement for May 17, 2014

Hong Kong saw a great variety of actions during the week around IDAHOT 2014. Organized by an alliance of four human rights organizations  (Pink Alliance, Pink Season 粉紅天, Amnesty International Hong Kong, and Transgender Resource Center), the IDAHOT-HK committee was set up to coordinate the 2014 IDAHOT-HK event series.

RainbowLaces social media campaign

The series kicked off with the #RainbowLaces social media campaign. During the first two weeks of May, Hong Kong’s twittersphere was blasted by the pictures of rainbow laces that the Committee produced and distributed to build awareness in the lead up to the Day. Under the theme of “Express yourself, express your rights, express your support!”, ANZ Bank sponsored the rainbow laces campaign.

Transgender Awareness Session

In partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, the series continued by hosting an Active Transgender Awareness Session on May 14th, as a way of putting specific emphasis on the importance of equal rights for transgender communities in Hong Kong.

Candlelight Vigil

The commemorations of IDAHOT 2014 continued further when the IDAHOT Candlelight Vigil took place on May 16th. At the vigil event, organisers screened a series of short videos and presented a panel discussion which shed light on stigma and discrimination, as experienced by LGBT individuals in Hong Kong and worldwide. Amongst the panelists were Geena Rocero, an American/Filipino trans supermodel who recently rose to fame by bravely sharing her coming out story via TEDTalk. Rocero spoke out on the need for expanded legal rights for all trans individuals.

Accompanying Rocero on the stage, Michael J. Morrill, Mr Gay Hong Kong 2013, also shared his experiences of the stigma he faced on a daily basis, as an openly HIV-positive gay man.

The event ended with the audience lighting up candles in remembrance of the victims of hate crimes from Hong Kong’s LGBT community, and from around the world.

The whole vigil event can be watched here:

Street Exhibition

On May 17 itself, a street exhibition showcasing the discrimination that LGBT people are facing internationally and locally was organized by Gay Harmony, Women’s Coalition of HKSAR and , and Rainbow Action. Aiming to raise awareness of the suffering of LGBT people, and to promote anti-discrimination legislation around sexual orientation and gender identity, the exhibition graced the pedestrian lanes of Great George Street at Causeway Bay, with art installations and performances. The organisers also held a ‘Domino down’ event – building a legislative Rainbow Road, where over 400 domino bricks (as a symbol of discrimination) were knocked down to show the six-color rainbow as a symbol of equality.

LGBT activists in the Philippines marked the IDAHOT 2014, starting in the first week of May.

The Grand Reunion

Dubbed as a pre-launch of IDAHOT celebration in the Philippines, “The Grand Reunion: (L)ets (G)et (B)old (T)onight” party on May 3 was organized by LGBT Pinoy, Association of Transgender People in the Philippines and TransMan Pilipinas. Taking place in one of Manila’s famous clubs, and featuring icons from the country’s LGBT community, the party aimed to infuse the awareness of the Day within the Philippines’ LGBT communities and allies.

Young Queer’s Fashion Show performance at the Grand Reunion Party

Progressive faith communities take action

Faith-based organization, Metropolitan Community Church of Quezon City, Aurora, Cubao Center, were also amongst those who commemorated the Day. On May 14, they held another pre-IDAHOT event through faith-themed discussion titled “Embodying IDAHOT: Facing Biases & Inner Biatches Towards Personal Transformation & Effective Social Action.” On the Day itself they also screened LGBT-related short movies to church members.

Still in the theme of faith, Kapatid LGBT of Quezon City also marked the Day by inviting LGBT activists and allies from different communities in Manila and nearby provinces to hold a public march at Welcome Rotonda on May 16.

Student groups join the IDAHOT 2014

Student organizations were also actively involved in the commemoration of the Day. Among them was EU Bahaghari, a student organization of Enverga University whose vision is to support LGBT students to be at the future forefront of the LGBT movement. The organization produced a joint statement, together with other student student organizations, in support of equal rights for LGBT people. They also launched a “Pride Pedestrian Lane” in Lucena City, and organised a Gender Empowerment discussion and film screening.

HSBC Philippines’ staff wear purple

HSBC Philippines also marked the Day by encouraging its employees to wear purple on the last working day before the Day (Friday, May 16).

HSBC Staff Poster encouraging staff to wear purple for IDAHOT 2014

Another action of the Day took place in a form a beauty parade. “Trans-Santacruzan,” was mounted by ATP as the lead organisation in partnership with the QC Pride Council and other LGBT orgs, including Gandas Filipinas. The name Trans-Santacruzan is a play on ‘Santacruzan’, a festival which is traditionally held in the month of May to express the Marian devotion of Christians in the Philippines. An estimated 70 transgender men and women, including supermodel Geena Rocero, joined the parade.

The Trans-Santacruzan Parade | Courtesy of Ganda Filipinas

Art project and exhibition

GANDA Filipinas is also a partner of “Revelations,” a collaborative art exhibit featuring the work and images of LGBT artists and individuals. The exhibit opened at 9 p.m. on 27 May 2014, Tuesday at 71 Gramercy to mark the Day and the 10th anniversary of one of the very first LGBT-themed shows on TV (GMA 7) “Out!” and as part of the push for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB) sponsored by Rep. Kaka Bag-ao among others in Congress and by Senator Bam Aquino in the Senate.

A rainbow kite flying event to celebrate gender and sexual diversities, an evening of storytelling and discussion, and actions by the staff of Credit Suisse marked the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia 2014 in Singapore

Kite Flying for Harmony

‘Kite Flying for Harmony 2014′ made for a wonderful and colourful start to the IDAHOT commemorations in Singapore this year. The event took place in Marina Barrage on Saturday, May 17 from 2.30pm to 6.30pm. The organisers, Move Community, explained that the kite flying day was organised to help foster social harmony, friendship and healthy living among LGBTI allies & communities in the country. Under the slogan “Flying Rainbow, Connecting Lives”  participants designed and made their kits, and wrote their ‘harmony statements’ on their kites, with guidance and support from Singapore Kite Association (SKA).

“Flying Rainbow, Connecting Lives” – community activists fly rainbow kites for IDAHOT 2014 in Singapore

Community Book Reading

Later on in the Day, at 7.30PM, at Books Actually, LGBTI communities and allies gathered together for another IDAHOT event – readings of “I will Survive Homophobia” and “Calling It Out – Singapore”, which were organized by Oogachaga.

“I will Survive Homophobia” is a collection of stories that brings together real-life experiences of love, grace, faith, dignity and courage from 21 ordinary gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Singapore who have survived extraordinary circumstances.  Calling it Out, on the other hand, is a campaign against homophobic bullying in schools.

The director of Oogachaga, Leow Yangfa, also honored the Day by expressing his view on homophobia and transphobia through an op-ed that was published by Yahoo Singapore on May 17.

Credit Suisse

The staff of Credit Suisse Singapore also joined the IDAHOT 2014 commemorations, with a series of internal events focused on LGBTI rights around the world and on the 2014 global focus on Freedom of Expression.

The IDAHOT is getting increased attention from corporations, which see the Day as a powerful entry point for action.

Major international corporations have now understood that in order to build valid and credible Diversity and Inclusion strategies for their employees and also reach the LGBT market, they have to engage with the wider picture and both support the LGBT community and take position on the principle of non-discrimination against LGBT people.

The Day offers a perfect opportunity for both.

Many companies regularly mark the day with special messages on Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms. Some go beyond this and organise specific events. While most events are still geared towards their LGBT employees, corporations increasingly also use the day for external messaging and outreach. Some examples of what we’ve heard of include:

Barclays has put the message for the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on all 3,400 of its ‘hole in the wall’ machines. The screen shows a couple, with rainbow-painted fingernails and bracelets, joining hands and reveals that Barclays is working with the Lesbian and Gay Foundation to spread the word about IDAHO. The bank’s ATMs in the UK see 685,000 transactions a day, meaning the message will reach millions over the course of the seven-day campaign, culminating on IDAHO. More info here

Transport of London

A classic London black cab has been transformed with a LGBT pride rainbow to mark the Internation Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on Sunday May 17.

Read more about this initiative

At Westpac, Australia, IDAHOT morning teas are being held across the country, with discussion provoking events being held in Melbourne and Sydney, where over 300 employees and peers came together to discuss removing homophobia and transphobic behaviour in the workplace.

MTV‘s staying alive foundation broadcasted, with the support of the IDAHO Committee, as series of  portraits of young LGBT people in 2014. In 2013, MTV Brasil scheduled a whole day of LGBT programming on May 17.

In China, Goldman Sachs, Aibai Culture and Education Center, and Beijing LGBT Center co-organized an IDAHOT event “Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop” in Beijing. This event was also part of Goldman Sachs’ Community TeamWorks (CTW) events in China. 25 LGBT undergraduate and graduate students from 12 universities in Beijing participated the event. There were also 25 volunteers from Goldman Sachs, 20 volunteers from Aibai and Beijing LGBT Center, 5 media journalists and 3 observers from IBM and General Electric attending this event. Through interactive one-on-one conversations, volunteers provided career coaching to LGBT college students with practical tips and personal experiences.

Meanwhile, in  Hong Kong the Standard Chartered Bank organised a special “Transgender awareness session”

In 2014,  Thomson Reuters marked the Day with a special photo competition and fundraiser event to support LGBT organisations working in difficult contexts

We are seeking to update this section. If you have information about other activities carried out by companies to mark the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, please write to us

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