One cool contribution, which comes from China, is where LGBT activists were staging a mock same-sex wedding ceremony in public, as part of a campaign for marriage equality. But handing out pamphlets is not allowed in China, so activists feared that they would clash with police, with serious consequences for their safety. So they had the very clever idea of handing out red roses to people who were watching their ‘ceremony’.

The red roses were wrapped in a piece of paper containing the demands for marriage equality. By the time the police forces were able to make their minds up whether this amounted to handing out pamphlets or not, the protest action was over.

Fortune cookies could make for a nice alternative – treats wrapped in a message explaining the point of the protest, or pointing passers-by to further information.

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From the Netherlands, country of flowers amongst all, we bring you a lovely creative idea that will stun your audience:

In Myanmar, for IDAHOT 2014, different LGBT associations came together to create a pioneering photo competition in their context. Called the “&Proud” Photo competition, the event made part of a diverse series of events around May 17 across the country. Organised in the captial Yangon, it helped to promote alternative images of LGBT people, to encourage participation in rights and culture projects, and to create space for community-building.

We asked the organisers more about how they came up with the idea, and how they organised it. And they told us this inspiring story…

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

First prize in Series – &Proud Photo Competition, Yangon. Courtesy of &Proud

We always wanted to organize the photo exhibition to let the people in the country know that we are here among the citizens, and we are the same as you and as proud as you. So, Colors Rainbow and YG event decided to organize that. We had a few aims with the photo exhibition. Firstly, there are not many cultural events for LGBTs in Myanmar, so we felt that it was a good event for people to meet each other and discuss LGBT issues and culture. Secondly, we wanted to show the broad range of LGBT identities. People, certainly in Myanmar, often have a very limited idea of what it means to be LGBT. We felt that photos would be a very personal way of showing people the many different meanings of being LGBT. This links to the third aim, which was to also cater to non-LGBTs. We had quite a bit of media coverage, and a good number of interested people came to watch the exhibition. With this we hoped to bring the LGBT community closer to ‘everybody else’s’ lives. Lastly, we wanted to boost photographer’s interests in documenting the LGBT community in Myanmar, as well as giving amateur photographers a chance to show their own take on the community.

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

We did not have any risks/threats/obstacles. However we were quite worried that there would be only a few photos come in, but we received 44 photos which is ok for a first competition for the LGBT community. For the exhibition we had the photos that were submitted for the competition, as well as the award-winning photo series “The Pink Choice” from Vietnam. With this series, the photographer Maika Elan won a world press photo award for best contemporary series – pretty much the highest achievable award for photographers. By combining the local photos with a professional exhibition, we had more certainty of having an interesting mix of photos, and we were able to show an outside perspective as well. http://www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2013/contemporary-issues/maika-elan/02

First prize in Singles – &Proud Photo Competition. Courtesy of &Proud

We will keep doing this competition every year. And after all the positive responses from the photo competition we are now organising the &Proud LGBT film festival which will be held on 15 and 16 November this year.

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?

It took 3 months including preparation time, although it is advisable to take some more time. We had about 5 weeks for photographers to send in photos, but if you want photographers to make photos specifically for the competition, it is advisable to send out the call for photos a little earlier.

There were 3 people from Colors Rainbow involved, 2 from YG event, and the gallery owner has been a huge help. Besides that we’ve had some help from friends of course.

Our costs were around $2,500 USD. The major costs were: 1,100 for prize money (total of 5 prizes), 500 to get the photos from the Vietnamese photo series printed (they had to be printed in very high quality), 70 to get the competition photos printed. 300 for the rent of the gallery space. It can be organised quite low budget – certainly if you can find a cheap gallery and when printing costs are low.

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

It has had positive effects which caused a slight change to the people in Yangon, at least. They expected something weird, strange, or pictures of make-up artists, but what they see is something they did not expect from the LGBT community. We had over 200 visitors in our 8 day exhibition, which is quite a good turn-up for Yangon. Besides that we reached people through TV and newspaper coverage.

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

Poster for the &Proud Photo Exhibition in Yangon, Myanmar, for IDAHOT 2014. Courtesy of &Proud

Just go for it! It is relatively easy to organise and there are probably more people with photos from the LGBT community than you think. We accepted photos that were up to 2 years old, and accepted both amateur and professional photos. We had 2 categories: series and single shots. In both categories we had 2 prizes. It’s nice to let amateurs enter the competition, because it lets the LGBT community show photos of themselves. As mentioned before: it is a really good idea to combine it with a regular exhibition of LGBT photos from another country, as that will give the exhibition more body and will help you if the quality of the entries is too low. Lastly, there’s also a possibility to combine this with a masterclass or workshop for young photographers.

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

One of the things we would like to change is to focus more on photos from the LGBT community themselves. It would be nice to have a lot of photos from amateur photographers, who take photos of themselves and their friends. Next year I hope we’ve got a wall full of amateur photos – preferably a wall with photos of a lot of happy and confident people who are not afraid to show their identity to the world.

A Freedom Festival is basically a mix of different community activities – such as dance, music, art and photography – which creates space for people to come together to express themselves and find acceptance at the local level.

Where security is a concern, this can take the form of private or very local community actions.

Activists in Liberia reported that their Freedom Festival around May 17, 2014, was pioneering in creating a safe space for LGBT people and their friends and allies to come together, in a context where social spaces do not otherwise exist. You can read more about the initiative here.

We spoke to one of the organisers from SAIL (Stop AIDS in Liberia) who told us a bit more about how they organised, where the idea came from, and what advice they would give to others wanting to do something similar:

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

The idea originated in 2013 when the first IDAHOT event was held. The idea was to raise awareness amongst members of the LGBT community here in Liberia, looking at how homophobia affects us. We had a interactive community roundtable where members of the LGBT community told their personal stories, and it was quite interesting to know that there were issues like family neglect, bullying at school, stigma and discrimination, lack of access to health services, lack of protection in public spaces, hate crimes, blackmail, extortion, depression and deaths.

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

Well over the years there have been risks, threats and associated obstacles, considering the work that we do. We have been able to handle some of these incidents using our partners. We were able to conduct a security training session for members of the community and partners to sensitize them on understanding sexuality as it relates to human rights, which has been a strategy for our work. But there is still a lot to be done looking at challenges around sourcing funding for protection.

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?

Well we use a methodology which involves like-minded or tolerant people coming together to talk about homophobia, and the situation of LGBT people. We were also able to come up with anti-homophobic messages to raise social consciousness and reduce homophobia. ACTION AID Liberia who is a strategic partner to our organization were able to fund the event from their new project titled, “Enhancing the Protection of the Rights of Women Girls and Other Discriminated Groups” (EPR Project), and our organisation is an Implementing partner (with the amount of USD $1,350). The Event brought together 50 participants including partners and members of the LGBT community. We used a private beach, whose owner is a strong supporter of the LGBT Community in Liberia.

We thought that organising social strategies is kind of more effective, when you are doing awareness. So, looking at the community at the time, and our own partners, we came up with the idea of doing the Freedom Festival, where you can just come in and express yourself, as who you are, maybe in your dress code, in the form of poetry, using your talent, that you can sing or you can model… and we wanted to open this up, because there is no social space for LGBT people in Liberia.

So if a kid gets kicked out by his parents, and he comes to a member of our office, maybe he comes to one of our houses for one or two days. But we would not have the funds to take him in for a whole month. Because there are no resources for that. So it is kind of challenging. But the freedom festival we were able to do, as I say, some action in Liberia. Where the idea was to create space and also to promote social consciousness around homophobia.

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

The IDAHOT event held over the past two years has created a medium where conversation has started around anti-homophobic incidents and situations. The EPR Project is expected to raise more consciousness on the importance of protection for discriminated groups, of which the LGBT agenda is inclusive.

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

Well you will have to create an environment where people talking about these issues can feel safe and comfortable.

I think that they should also target their audience, and be clear as to what is it that they expect. At the same time they need to take security very seriously. That’s why we put the focus on private and community activities because in Africa, and in Liberia, there is really not a lot of privacy. So security then is I think the key word in organising.

One strategy is to relate a scenario where someone has encountered a homophobic situation and use the discussion to create a platform.

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

We need to change our strategy now to include more members of the community and to target more strategic stakeholders, such as members of the national legislature and judiciary.

It’s surely one of the most simple human gestures of companionship, but many same sex couples feel uneasy about doing it – even in relatively free contexts, where legal equality has been won.

A hand-holding flashmob could be a great way to open people’s eyes to these issues, which affect the daily lives of so many of us.

It could also be a smart alternative to either a Kiss-in or a Free Hugs Event, especially in contexts where people could face hostile public reactions, violence, restrictions by  authorities, or imprisonment, if they were to organise something more confrontational.

More low key, but perhaps for that even morepowerful, a hand-holding action could actually attract greater public (and media) sympathy for the struggle of LGBTI communities to express their love, friendship and solidarity with one another.

Case study from Austria

Still from teaser video to promote hand-holding flashmobs on May 17, 2013.

On May 17, 2013, an Austrian network of LGBTI allies joined the Global Call to form a Global Rainbow Flashmob to mark the Day. Members of the country’s Green Party Youth section called for joint hand-holding flashmobs to be held across the country, and encouraged environmental activists, LGBTI community groups and the public in general to participate.

In the lead up to the Day they created this great teaser video which features different LGBTI young people explaining why they are organising, and calling on others to join and spread the word. On the Day, actions took place in 7 different cities (Vienna, Graz, Dornbirn, Kufstein, Salzburg, Wels and Baden), and the initiative was picked up by Austrian and international media.

To make it a flashmob style action, all you need to do is to have one couple holding hands, in the middle of the street, who are then joined by more and more couples – before suddenly there are loads of couples holding hands together. If you do it this way, it would be neat to film it (and share it on social media), and also to maybe have leaflets, stickers or print-outs explaining what the broader meaning of the action is (or directing people to a link online).

It’s also the kind of action which could work well in the form of a march, with various couples all walking together from one meeting point to another. Even with just a handful (sorry!) of couples you could easily draw people’s attention, and the photos would work well to share on social media. Such a simple action to raise awareness!

With six couples (or more) you could also organise for couples to participate dressed in a particular colour of the pride flag (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and indigo), which could also make for great visual results.

Or, how about a human chain or collective ‘hug’?

Collective ‘Hug’ for IDAHOT 2014 in Vicenza, Italy (see cover image also). Organised by Arcigay Vicenza

That’s what a network of Italian LGBTI activists, allies and friends decided to do for IDAHOT 2014, with great visual results and a strong symbolic stance for the reclaiming of public spaces for free expression of LGBTI rights, and for companionship and solidarity!

Organised by the local youth section of Arcigay, the city of Vicenza (Northern Italy) hosted a big ‘hug’ against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, on May 17. More than 500 people gathered to ‘hug’ the Palladian Basilica, a UNESCO monument, by hand-holding around it, in the form of a human chain.

Again, this is a low cost action with community solidarity, visibility and well-being at its heart. All you need are folks in the city and a place of choice to ‘hug’ !

For IDAHO 2010, activists in dozens of countries (across Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America) came together for the “Great Global Kiss-in” for May 17. Together with Gays.com, the IDAHO Committee produced a video compilation of the different kiss-ins, which they released on the day, and was shared by tens of thousands of people on social media:

IDAHO 2010 Great Global Kiss-in

But even with just a few participants, and a smart location, the results can be very popular for sharing on social media – especially since participants often work together with organisers to spread the word online. You just need to video the action and spread the word!

To help get your message heard, you could think about asking community organisations in your local town, city or country to share your video, and also encouraging participants and their friends to spread the word too. You can also create a short text or blog post (or even write a short article) which could accompany the video, to explain what the significance of the action is.

Choosing a strong location is also key – somewhere recognisable is great, such as a famous landmark or city square. Government buildings, town halls and embassies/consulates could also be interesting choices.

Location, location, location! Activists in Paraguay hold a kiss-in outside the national Congress, for May 17, 2013.

Another idea is to hold a kiss-in at – our outside – a restaurant, bar or company in your city which has discriminated against LGBTI people, for example by not letting them show affection for each other, or by failing to take action in a case of violence or discrimination.

Different ideas

One neat idea is to ask people to attend dressed in their favourite colour of the pride flag – creating an assortment of bright rainbow colours on the day. Great for videos and photos. If you like, you could also choreograph the act, so that couples come together in the same colour, and line themselves up to form the six colours of the flag from left to right (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet). Or in the form of a rainbow arc.

Another idea is to turn the act into a flashmob style kiss-in, where one couple starts kissing, and then a few more, and then – as if naturally from amongst the crowds – suddenly tens and then hundreds of people come “out” of the crowds to kiss each other, as if a wave of love has suddenly swept people up! Especially cool for videos, and also for the reactions of people watching.

An online kiss-in is another option, where people are invited to send pictures of themselves and their partner of choice kissing – via a particular hashtag, or to your social media inbox. This could then be made into a collage of kisses for release online on the day, or as part of a community exhibition.

Kiss-in alternative? How about Rainbow Lips?

Banner printed with people’s “rainbow lip” contributions for IDAHOT 2014 in Mainz, Germany. Accompanied by a Rainbow Flashmob balloon release 

One project, from Mainz in Germany, put a slightly different twist on the classic kiss-in, for IDAHOT in 2013 and 2014.

They provided different coloured lipsticks for people to paint their very own “rainbow lips” – first in the street (and as part of an exhibition), and then (in 2014) as part of an online campaign, with people sending their “rainbow lips” photos in.

As they did, photos could either be done with different lipsticks, or by painting the different colours onto a “normal” photo afterwards, using a basic graphics programme. Once the contributions were in, they made for great campaigning visuals – like the banner in this photo!

Organised under the banner of “Kiss the Pride”, you can find out more about the campaign on their website and facebook page (in German).

For something extra, maybe you could merge these ideas, for example creating a rainbow lip kiss-in (or a rainbow lip kiss-in flashmob!) which is then shared by video on social media.

If kissing isn’t your thing, how about a Free Hugs Event or a Hand-Holding Flashmob? Similar choices with love, expression, visibility, community well-being at their heart too.

The tactic has also been popular in Germany, Ukraine, Armenia and various other countries. And, in 2013, these actions inspired the worldwide focus campaign for IDAHOT – the “Global Rainbow Flashmob” with actions in 40 countries, spanning balloon releases, dance flashmobs, rainbow kiss-ins, chalk-ins and die-ins, and many more kinds of actions in support of LGBTI rights worldwide (You can watch the video compilation of the actions here).

Because rainbow flashmob events are not usually classified by authorities as “protests”, they can provide a way for communities to meet publicly and make a visible impact, without alerting authorities to the existence of the action first. In many cases, activists organise privately and do not release the time and place of the action publicly, until after the event.

We spoke with a group of activists from Ukraine, who have been bravely organising these events since 2011, despite widespread hostility to public actions in support of LGBTI rights in their context. They told us this inspiring story, which will maybe help others thinking about organising this event, or who are also organising in hostile contexts where safety is a key concern.

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

Participants gather to release rainbow balloons – in Zaporizhia, Ukraine. May 17, 2014.

Holding flashmobs with the release of rainbow balloons is our tradition since 2011. The format of the event was chosen based on local realities: to conduct any kind of human rights rally or activity the organizer needs to apply to the city municipality, with the exception of flashmobs, because this format is new and yet not established in any Ukrainian official documents. If we decided to apply for the action officially, then, with 100% confidence, they would have banned its conduct under any pretext. In addition, we would have also provoked a surge of homophobic activity which could affect the safety of participants. So only with the flashmob format we have a legal opportunity to join IDAHOT.

The main expectations we had were to speak out for LGBT rights regardless of the political and social situation as well as to have fun. Another expectation was to set up a tradition of celebrating the 17th of May.

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

The anti-gay movement wasn’t so well organized in our city in 2011, because we weren’t visible before. Thus, while organizing our first rainbowflash – our first event aimed at society – we knew that we would face a number of challenges, but till the end we did not know which ones exactly. A few days later after this action, after the first articles about our event were published in the media, we saw growing anti-LGBT activity. The situation worsened in the next years, together with the strengthening of the national LGBT movement, holding Pride weeks, and the increased visibility of our organization, but also with appearance of the first homophobic draft laws in the parliament etc.

A participant writes a message of hope, to tie onto the balloon.

The more we were visible, the more homophobic discourse intensified in society – created by religious fanatics and nationalists, and approved by the authorities, thereby provoking hatred, discrimination and violence against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. But at the same time we previewed some safety issues. For example, we decided not to spread publicly the place and exact time of the flashmob. Participants and journalists were invited either personally or through our friends/supporters, taking into account all of the same safety concerns. Since 2012 we already had this challenge not to allow violence as we observed, for instance, homophobic groups in social networks which organized a campaign to encourage people who were ready to use violence against the LGBT community, in cases where they detected attempts to carry out human rights meetings. Groups of aggressive hooligans were also created to patrol popular public places in our city, during the whole flashmob day.

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?

The same idea of every year’s performance was to voice and to discuss the current situation – to write on a piece of paper our dreams and wishes, tie them to the balloons, before we let them color the sky. This part of our flashmob remained unchanged. But every year we tried to add something new.

Balloons colour the sky in Ukraine. May 17, 2014.

For example, this year we recorded a video media message. Last year we lined up in a row, composing the media inscriptions “F*ck homophobia” and “Love is stronger than hate”. In 2012 we composed the letter Z with the balloons like in Gender Z (the mark of our city of Zaporizhia). The main event (communication, wishes writing, balloon release) was always about a half an hour of duration. After this part we organized a kind of picnic for the participants. The action didn’t require significant expenses, only costs of balloons, stationery and/or banners’ printing.

This activity gathered about 20 participants every year, those people who decided to be open, visible and brave, despite of the threats.

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

Every year the IDAHOT performance raises a huge discussion in society about homosexuality, gender identity, and LGBTQI’s position in Ukrainian society. It’s the most important impact – to increase visibility. We also observe a rise in supporters of our organization, including among journalists – one of the most powerful tools of shaping public opinion.

Watch the video of their IDAHOT 2014 action here:

Since 2010, Portuguese LGBT rights group, rede ex aequo, has been organising ‘Free Hugs’ events for IDAHOT. They told us a little bit more about where the idea came from, how they organised, and what the impact has been.

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

“A hug against discrimination” – Poster for the 2014 campaign in Central Lisbon

The first time rede ex aequo did an action on IDAHOT was in 2010. The idea was to go to a public space and bring visibility towards the discrimination LGBT people are facing, and through a simple gift – a free hug – accompanied by a bag with info on the day and data on discrimination and souvenirs, the people on the street would be engaged and informed, and by hugging people they would develop empathy towards the other.

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

The biggest obstacles lay in the permission of the Municipal authorities to hold the action in the public space, and getting media coverage in order to achieve higher visibility.

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

We had a member of the board entirely devoted to the event (free hugs). It was necessary to get the Municipality’s permission to use the public space, to produce the souvenirs and t-shirts (including the design), contact famous people (in order to get more visibility), coordinate volunteers, and publicise the event.

Celebrities were invited to join the action for May 17, 2014 – giving free hugs to passersby

For the conference (in 2014), it was organised in partnership with the National Youth Council, so our contribution was mainly in the draft of the program and the choice of the guest speakers. And of course, advertising the event.

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

The action had a great impact. More than 200 people hugged, and we had media coverage (1 TV channel, 3 newspapers)

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

Just do it. It takes some planning, and some effort. But if you can get volunteers, it is feasible.

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

We are planning to do it next year. We will do it later in the afternoon (it was too hot). We’ll plan a little bit earlier in the year. And we will try to integrate the action with other actions in the same day.

Photos from Free Hugs for IDAHOT 2014 in Lisbon

“Artist Paul Harfleet plants pansies at the site of homophobic abuse, he finds the nearest source of soil to where the incident occurred and generally without civic permission plants one unmarked pansy. The flower is then photographed in it’s location and posted on this website, the image is entitled after the abuse. Titles like “Let’s kill the Bati-Man!” and “Fucking Faggot!” reveal a frequent reality of gay experience which often goes unreported to authorities and by the media.

This simple action operates as a gesture of quiet resistance, some pansies flourish and others wilt in urban hedgerows. The artist began by planting pansies to mark his own experience of homophobia on the streets of Manchester (UK) though he plants pansies for others both on an individual basis and as part of various festivals and events. Perhaps most poignantly The Pansy Project also marks locations where people have been killed as a result of homophobic attack, for example a pansy for Michael Causer who was murdered in Liverpool in 2008.” – from The Pansy Project

Paul, and other ‘guerrilla gardeners’ in various countries, have often taken these kind of actions to mark the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia. In 2013, for example, Pansy Project workshops and acts happened for May 17 in places as diverse as the UK, South Africa and South Korea. Meanwhile, in 2014, the Pansies were planted for the IDAHOT in Bristol, London and Brussels.

Guerrilla Gardening in for IDAHOT 2013, in the Jongro area of Seoul, South Korea, by the Korean Gay Men’s Human Rights Group

Pansies are a significant choice of flower because, in English, a “pansy” is also a (quite old fashioned) slur for “gay”. So the planting of pansies, as symbols of hope against LGBT violence and discrimination, also works to turn that prejudiced meaning around. The same is true in various languages. In Spanish, for example, the pansy is called “el pensamiento” (deep thought) and is also used as a slur for feminine, gay or bisexual men. In French, the flower is also associated with thinking and thought (la pensée), as well as male femininity or homosexuality. In Portuguese the flower is called “amor-perfeito” (perfect love), and carries connotations of feminine and queer as well.

Pansies are also usually quite cheap to buy, and May is a great time to plant them!

Choice of flower

Other flowers might also be meaningful choices in your context, or depending on the issues you want to address. From roses, daffodils and tulips, to sunflowers, orchids and lilies, you can find out about plant symbolism in this handy Wikipedia page. And, meanings often vary by culture, Hanakotoba is the Japanese language of flowers, for example.

Planting a tree or seeds

Planting a tree or sewing seeds together, as a community, might also be an interesting group activity to mark May 17, and to leave the mark of your fight against hatred for the future. Like with the Pansy Project, this could be done as an act of remembrance, and hope against hate, at the site of a hate crime. Or you could do your planting as an act of community expression and way of coming together, in a public park for example.

Shape, colour and form

Another option could be to plant flowers in a meaningful shape or form, such as a heart, or to plant different coloured flowers together, in separate rows, to make up the colours of the rainbow flag.

When David Morley was killed in a homophobic hate crime in London in 2007, Paul planted a thin pink line of 3,000 pansies along London’s Southbank in a form which traced his last steps.

‘Pansy! For David Morley’. Courtesy of The Pansy Project

Permission and security

Because this is an act of adding something to public spaces, it is probably unlikely to be met with repression, or to require permission from the police or from local authorities.

So, where freedom of expression, assembly and association for LGBTI communities are limited, ‘guerrilla gardening’ can offer a significant – and effective – way of expressing yourself and making your mark, visually (and ecologically), in a public space, without it being repressed as a ‘protest’.

Please do, however, consider these risks in your own context.

Alternatives

Another way to do a similar kind of act is to get people together in a disused or uncared for public space, where there is soil to plant with or ground to use, and to ‘occupy’ the space with gardening activities (which could also include clearing up, sculpture or other crafts activities, the adding of a public bench or seating, etc.). In São Paulo, Brazil, for example, there is a whole movement of people who come together to do this on certain days, and it is also a way of bringing people together from different generations.

Further resources

For more information including tips on how to select your site, how to make your planting, and how to take the best possible photos, see the Pansy Project website!

And remember to send us a picture of your event at contact@dayagainsthomophobia.org or www.facebook.com/may17idahot, so we can share it more widely. If you’re organising for May 17, you can also use the hashtags #PansyProject and #IDAHOT to help get your message out.

Main Photo: Courtesy of the Pansy Project

This sort of action could be done in both open contexts, as well as possibly in places more hostile to LGBTQI rights organising. It makes an interesting alternative to either a public march or demonstration, or to a rainbowflash balloon release. It’s also more environmentally friendly than releasing balloons.

The idea comes from an action for IDAHOT 2014 in Singapore, organised by Move Community (a local activity hub for LGBT individuals, and their families, extended families and friends). We asked one of the organisers to tell us more about how they did this action, where the idea came from, and what the impact was – and they told us this great story!

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

The idea sprung out from an event my niece participated in Malaysia. I was contemplating to create something similar to promote friendships, harmony, healthy living among LGBT and other communities for IDAHO day. Since many of our active members love kite flying more than running and we thought it is more interactive, so we changed it to kite flying.

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

As we were doing it in a popular public place for kite flying managed by Singapore government, there was a fear of being stopped by the authorities. I am happy that it didn’t stop there. I consulted Singapore Kite Association (SKA) for their advice. I called and went down to speak to the venue receptionist to find out some facts.

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?

It took about a month’s time planning, meeting, and following-up with SKA, volunteers, printer and participants. We managed to engage SKA to teach us how to make kite on the event day. We formed 6 teams and printed different colored T-shirts (based on the 6 rainbow colors) for the event. We spent SGD480 (SGD16 x 30) for printing of the 30 t-shirts (about 280 Euros). About 27 people attended the event. We collaborated with another social group and invited them to join this event.

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

As we didn’t do any post event survey or feedback, we cant really measure the impact of this event to our communities at large. We were OUT, having fun flying kite in the public together with public – straight, family, local, foreigners. It was a great achievement to me personally as I overcame some of my fears, coming OUT to SKA, gained understanding, engaged and made friends. I also hope our members and friends feel more comfortable to be seen OUT in public (with an open gay group) after the event, which many people still do not wish to.

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

Be brave. Be OUT . Be yourself! Live OUT proud with Rainbow! no matter how small you are

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

I have not really thought about it yet. There is a possibility of inviting different LGBT and non-LGBT groups to form teams.

You can view some more event photos here on facebook.

And you can find out more about Move Community here.

The Global Rainbow Flashmob for the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia 2013, saw loads of dance flashmobs all over the world – in cities as diverse as Johannesburg, London and Jakarta. Check out the Global Rainbow Flashmob video for inspiration:

The Global Rainbow Flashmob 2013 – Original Version from IDAHO Committee on Vimeo.

However many participants you have, these can be really effective actions, especially if you film your performance and share it online. As well as catching the attention of the public, this is a fun action, and you can get fit doing it.

Whilst it might be difficult to stage a dance flashmob with a unique choreography, like they are done by artistic or commercial groups, it can be simple and really effective to pick one well-known dance and to invite people to join in.

If you like, you can organise a rehearsal first (or post a video of a routine online first, so people can practice at home), or you can simply invite people to turn up on the day and express themselves in their own way – whatever way you like!

Whilst pop anthems are a great choice, waltz, rock-and-roll, samba or reggaeton could also be great alternatives – whatever style you like!

To make the video really buzz, you might want to organize for participants to dress in rainbow colors. Color combinations make for excellent graphic and symbolic results.

For example the dance could start with different sexed pairs of different colors (e.g. one man in yellow and one woman in red) and at some critical moment the dancers change partners and reassemble as same-sex couples of same color. The underlying image here is that each dancer has found back harmony with someone of the same sex!