After Australian LGBTQI communities started taking matters into their own hands (after Sydney city authorities decided not to make their painted rainbow crossing a permanent feature of the city in 2013), the trend has grown and grown, with actions all over the world – many of which you can see in this gallery, put together by the DIY Rainbow project.

Thammasat University, 14 May 2014 © UNAIDS/A.Martin

One of the most impactful of these actions for IDAHOT 2014 – both globally and locally – was the School Rainbow Campaign, in Bangkok, Thailand. Chalk-ins were organised in five schools on May 17, with the participation of young people, community organisations, school teachers and counsellors, and international agency staff. Thai national television and press reported on the actions, and photos of the actions were shared all over the world, in the week around IDAHOT. The campaign provided a way to publicise new lesson plans and information resources against LGBT bullying, and to open debate about discrimination within the schools and among the public in general.

Justine Sass from UNESCO, one of the organisations behind the scheme, told us more about how the campaign was organised – where the idea came from, what the team learned, and what advice they would give to others thinking about organising something similar…

How did the idea first come about?

So you may have seen that UNESCO and Plan International Thailand had done a study last year focused on the extent of homophobic and transphobic bullying in the country. It was the first systematic study of its kind – involving 30 schools and 2,000 students.

As we had the preliminary findings available and were starting to review them with stakeholders we were approached by staff from UNAIDS who were also starting some of their planning for IDAHOT. And we said look we’ve got this piece of data here for Thailand, and we would be really interested in what we could do beyond the launch of the research results. Because we knew that, you get this kind of data and it’s easy to engage some people, but it’s not easy to engage others. And so we wanted to do something that would bring the research into the media and would be an opportunity for us to have discussions in schools. And so that was where the idea originally was formed.

Wat Nuannoradit School, 16 May 2014 © UNAIDS/H.Nhan

And so a number of different agencies and organisations came together. UNESCO, UNAIDS and then we wanted to bring some youth organisations on board, so we approached Youth Lead, which is an Asia-Pacific regional network working with young people from key populations. We also targeted Youth Voices Count which is again a regional network which is specifically targeting young MSM and young transgender people. And then APCOM which is the Asia-Pacific Male Coalition on Male Sexual Health. And YPC is actually a project of APCOM. So we had all these major organisations that were on board for the initiative.

As you can see, these are generally regional agencies which I will touch on later in terms of what I think are some of the lessons we learned. Because we didn’t have a local Thai partner that was directly involved in the initiative, although we had Thai programme staff that were assisting us with the planning. But it was one of the weaknesses I think in terms of the implementation of the initiative.

In terms of the timeline, it was about 3 months before IDAHOT that we started to do the planning, and that timeline was considered to be fairly tight, I would say.

What were the major risks/obstacles you faced, and how did you work around them?

Wat Nuannoradit School, 16 May 2014 © UNAIDS/H.Nhan

We had two major risks. One was that the school year started the week that we were planning the activity. That was enormously difficult for us, in terms of outreach to school administrators and planning with relevant people in the schools. And we had to go through some fairly official processes, where the schools were requesting an invitation letter from UNESCO. And then they had to go through a process of discussion within their school management committees, but their school management committees weren’t convening yet. So really the most enormous hurdle for us was the timing of the Thai school year.

The other big planning issue for us was the rainy season, which doesn’t usually start in Thailand in May, but this year it started earlier than usual. And so when you’re planning an outdoor chalking campaign, you don’t want it to be washed away before anyone gets to see it. We were originally planning to do it in the evenings. So we were going to have students, teachers and this community of young people to do the chalking in the evening, with a ‘reveal’ moment the following morning, where the students would come into the school gates and they would see it, and would interact with it, and we would have further discussions.

It became clear, as the day was approaching, that it was raining every night. The original plan was to have it at the front gates in each school, but often we had to change that to look at places where there might be some sort of an overlay, or a sort of cover. We’d also looked at whether we should put tarps up before. But what we ended up doing was doing it on the morning of the ‘reveal’, so we actually got to the school at 6 o’clock in the morning – which had pros and cons.

New International School of Thailand (NIST), 15 May 2014 © UNAIDS/A.Martin

In terms of cons, the major difficulty that we had was getting people to come and do it. So originally our community members were quite excited about doing the chalking in the evening, and were not happy about getting up there at 6 o’clock in the morning. So our teams got much smaller and we had to be much more creative about what we were doing.

I would say the major pro with that strategy was that it actually wasn’t finished. So we had students coming in that were able to engage with us, beyond the team that we had put together. So we could actually have a lot more conversations, because they would come and say, what are you doing? Can I help? And they would pick the colours and take part in the designing. And so I think it helped us to engage with many more students than we would have.

We did scoping visits to each of the sites first, together with a local NGO representative and the photographer, to see where might work best. And someone from the school was there for those visits. We were typically just looking for an arc, some sort of an arc around the school. In one of the schools it ended up being the school athletics track, and in another it was a roundabout. And each of them was a public location where we knew they would get a fair amount of traffic.

And then on the day itself, people just did take it the way that they wanted to. So there’s one for example, the last one that we did, which is a very fantastic – like in the very true sense of the word – like these fantasy drawings within each of the arcs. And that was the teachers and the local students and staff that had that idea, and just went with it. So we knew where we wanted to do it, and how it might look best, but the drawing itself was quite organic.

What did you learn from doing this action, what might you do differently?

I think this multi-partner planning process was really important, but I think there are also a couple of lessons that we could learn from it. One was the importance of having local youth organisations on board, to help with interactions on the day, and also because of the networks that they have – their capacity to share it with other organisations, and to help build the social media engagement that we wanted to get out of the campaign.

Mathayom Prachanivet School, 16 May 2014 © UNAIDS/A.Martin

The other thing that we learned was the importance of having people in the schools that were really committed to taking it forward. In the schools that we did it in, that looked quite different. In the international school that we did it in, for example, it was the counsellor and that counsellor was really interested in taking it forward because she had LGBT students that were coming to her and were struggling and who didn’t feel like they were getting adequate support. So she really was committed to doing more. In some of the other schools it was the sex education teacher who was interacting with kids in sex education class, and was also realising that gender identity and sexual orientation were not adequately explored in the curriculum. And in some it was really the Principal, and that was really exciting for us, because it had that high-level senior engagement, of the school staff, and in and of itself, which was really important.

Did you originally plan to do a national-level campaign and how many schools did you plan to involve?

Originally we were looking at what we might do on a regional level, and we felt that with the timeline, and due to us being here in Thailand, and us having the data and having a real platform for discussion, that we wanted to start in Thailand, and then possibly do it in other countries as well. So we really focused on Thailand in particular. And in terms of the number of schools that we wanted to do it in, we didn’t have a fixed number. My original thinking on it (and I might have been in the minority) was that I wanted to do it in as many schools as possible. But the feeling was that there was a certain risk to that: if the school wasn’t adequately invested in supporting follow up, we shouldn’t be doing it, because we might be putting LGBT students, or those who are perceived to be, at risk of violence, which is exactly the thing that we were trying to avoid. And then we also had this problem with the start of the school year.

Thammasat University, 14 May 2014 © UNAIDS/A.Martin

So in the end, the number of schools shrank considerably. And it’s a really critical question to ask: do you want to go to the ‘low-hanging fruit’, where there’s already interest in taking this forward – from the teachers and principals – or do you want to go to the more challenging settings? And I think because of the potential risks, we leaned more towards the ‘low-hanging fruit’, but with an advocacy strategy where we would try to reach out to the other schools through social media, through other media, and by making the lesson plans we’d developed available to any school that was interested in using them. And we looked at other media. We had our Director make a statement in the Bangkok Post, for example, around IDAHOT. And then we also did this call to action in the video. We created this video at the end, which said if any other schools are interested, please let us know and we will be happy to help you out you with materials and other types of support.

So out of that also came the social media activities that we did on facebook, on twitter, and the video that was done after IDAHOT which was done in English and Thai, and was also circulated through some of those same channels.

Watch the School Rainbow Campaign Video

How much would you say this sort of initiative might cost?

For the purchasing of the chalk, we probably put in around USD$800-1,000 in materials, and about half of that still remains [so, around $80-100 per school, for materials that were used]. Aside from that the main cost would have been around the production of the video and the translation of the materials. We also had a photographer that came on site over the course of the week to take photographs of the campaign.

New International School of Thailand (NIST), 15 May 2014 © UNAIDS/A.Martin

All of the outreach, planning, social media and communications was integrated into our usual work, so it was relatively low cost I would say. But the social media part I think was really really important. We didn’t put any money into seeding – or when you try to raise the profile of your video or campaign on social media. I’m sure that that may have had an impact on the relatively low impact that we had on social media. UNAIDS estimates that through their channels they managed to reach about 850,000 people. I haven’t got the numbers on ours or on APCOM’s, but we were able reach a lot. But in terms of the likes and engagement that we got on youtube it was relatively low impact. And that could probably have been improved if we had put more money into the social media aspect.

The other thing I think, that is a lesson learned for us, is that the chalking in itself is one thing, and it’s great because you can have a dialogue with the people around it. But the follow up is really important. And so in the schools that we engaged with, there was a follow up in every school. And that looked different in every school, so in one it was an assembly, where the Principal spoke at that assembly, and so that reached all of the school – more than 1,000 kids in that school, and it was a fantastic demonstration of school commitment to the issue. In some of the other schools there were particular lessons that were introduced, or in one of the colleges there was a fantastic open plenary panel discussion, with an artistic performance that was part of it as well. But in each of them it wasn’t just the chalking that was done it was other things subsequent to it. And I think for us, we need to be able to go back to those schools in six months and ask, have you done anything else? Would you like us to offer support in doing something further? So that it’s not just about a one-off event, but about an ongoing commitment of the schools.

I think the team overall were really pleased with the impact of the campaign. It was picked up on Thai television, it was picked up in the Thai media, through other sources internationally as well which is really fantastic. And the thing is also for us is that the campaign enabled us to have other people looking into the research that we’d done. We really wanted also to have a discussion around the impact of homophobic bullying in educational institutions here, and I don’t think we would have gotten the attention to the issue that we got, without linking it to the campaign. So I think yes, we’re very pleased. We would like to do it in more schools, we’d like to do it in more locations, we’d like to see it in other countries as well. But I think that for what we were able to accomplish, with the financial investment we were able to make, within the timeline that we had, I think we got very good results.

What advice would you give to other people who might be considering organising something similar?

New International School of Thailand (NIST), 15 May 2014 © UNAIDS/A.Martin

I think that one thing which is really important is the outreach to schools – just thinking about how you make the approach and to whom you make the approach. And that might look different in different settings, depending upon which partners are involved. Again as I say, we felt that having a champion within the school who would be involved beyond the chalking campaign itself was really important. The youth engagement as well, being able to say, if we do this in your school we would really need the following: at least one teacher who is involved, several students who could come and join us, some kind of follow up which could include assemblies, school lesson plans, etc.

Another thing we could also have done – we had stickers that we handed out that linked people to the website – is something else like a flyer or some sort of a handout. That could have been helpful. We could have reached more kids I think, and maybe gotten more interest in the website, and the resources that we have on it. And that could look different in different settings. It could be a hotline, or we could direct people to a specific organisation, or to a service.

The other thing is maybe to think more about working with other organisations that could help raise the social media aspect, to achieve more outreach beyond the communities that participated.

And another thing that was really important to us was to have some kind of broader call to action. So for us that was the video but it could be something else, that just mobilises people beyond those who participated.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Just that, thinking back, it would be great if there were some way of linking the schools together. So that people could learn about what was done in another location, and could share what they learned from it, as a way of taking it forward. That could be one thing that we didn’t explore as a possibility which could be really cool. Even just something as simple as having a one day celebration, further down the line, where you could bring people from each of the schools that participated and have a photo display or something, where they could talk about what they did. That might be interesting, and it might be a way to encourage other schools to participate.

Further Resources

• Find out more about the School Rainbow Campaign here.
• Download the research on LGBT bullying in Thailand, by UNESCO, Plan International and Mahidol University (Eng / Thai)
• Lesson plans on homophobia and transphobia, prepared for IDAHOT 2014, bu UNESCO (Eng / Thai)
• General resources on LGBT bullying, compiled as part of the School Rainbow Project
• Further resources (including lesson plans) on Fighting Homo/Transphobia in and through Education, by the IDAHO Committee
• DIY Rainbow campaign – facebook page

An interesting article on how this type of action becomes institutional: Transport for London rolls out Rainbow Crossings

In Spain, a huge wave of mobilisation was registered for IDAHOT 2014, with numerous groups and organisations taking action in at least 10 cities and provinces, including Madrid, Barcelona, Valladolid, Valencia, Alicante, Melilla, Oviedo, Ávila, Sitges and Seville.

Just some of the actions reported around the IDAHOT 2014 in Spain were:

Valladolid: The Organisation PAC LGTB+ Valladolid held two events to commemorate the IDAHOT 2014

Activities held were (on Thursday, May 15), a presentation of the video “LGBT-Phobia in our streets” and (on Saturday, May 17) a Kiss-In against LGBT-Phobia

The platform Apoyo al Colectivo LGBT+ (Support of LGBT+ people) from Valladolid is formed by activists, joined to fight discrimination. Its main objective is to combat LGBT-Phobia in Valladolid and the wider province.

Poster for IDAHOT 2014 in Valladolid, Spain.

For more information visit their website, follow them on Twitter or see their Facebook page.

Valencia: The organisation LAMBDA – col·lectiu de lesbianas, gais, transexuales y bisexuals (LGTB Collective) – in Valencia , Spain organised various acts for May 17.

On Saturday, May 17 at 7pm, they invited everyone to join on the Plaza de los Pinazo de Valencia (at the exit of the metro station Colón) for the manifestation of the International Day against Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (LGTB-Phobia).

For 2014, in the International Year for LGBT Human Rights, they prepared ‘a surprise to claim an end to the violence worldwide and the escalating LGTB-Phobia that we are suffering from, especially in certain parts of the planet, but with the awareness that no country is free from discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.’

LAMBDA, is a non-profit organisation that was founded in September 25, 1986 prompted by the situation of legal discrimination and social marginalisation homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals were suffering under.

For more information visit their website, follow them on Twitter and visit their Facebook page.

Madrid: Organisations COGAM and Arcópoli take action for IDAHOT 2014

Arcópoli organized a street event on Saturday, May 17 at 6pm, where they created a giant mural about LGBT rights in the world, and held various other activities to raise awareness about the situation of LGBT people in the world. For the finale, they displayed a giant rainbow flag, and performed a theatre act to demand equality commitments from the government of Spain. They also organised a talk with Amnesty International on Monday, May 12, in which they discussed AI’s work done in the field of LGBT rights.

At the same time, the organisation COGAM also held a discussion event and a a rally. COGAM is the LGBT collective of Madrid that has worked for more than 25 years towards equality for LGBT people. It is one of the founding institutions of the FELGTB and one of the driving forces since the beginning for gay marriage in Spain.

Both organisations are part of the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Trans (FELGTB) of Spain.

For more information:

Acrópoli: website, Twitter and Facebook
COGAM: website, Twitter and Facebook

Alicante: The organisation Diversitat Alicante also hosted a series of events around May 17

As part of the activities of May 17 they organised the following events:

May 10: The first edition of the “Angie Simonis” awards. This award is named after the activist Angie Simonis, who was president of the Collective from 2005 till 2007 and recently passed away. It is their unique tribute to this fighter for the Human Rights of the LGBTI Collective, especially for the visibility of lesbians.

Diversitat’s directive together with its members and partners voted 3 winners of this First Edition: Individual, Collective and Institution/Association. The winners of the Angie Simonis 2014 awards were:

• Amnesty International (Combating Discrimination in the World)
• University of Alicante (for Equality)
• José Luís Rodriguez Zapatero (Civil Rights and Legal Progress)

May 15: Presentation of the theatre play “Wonderful”, at 12:00 Parainfo University of Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig

May 17 : Video forum LGBT event.

Diversitat is a non-profit association comprised of women and men located in the Counties of Alicante, who- among other things- are united as Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual and Intersex (LGBTI) but also in the defence of Human, Civil, Cultural, Political and Economical Rights which everyone is entitled to.

For more information visit their website, follow them on Twitter or visit their Facebook page.

Other actions

The Spanish Scout Association released a statement of support for the IDAHOT 2014. Spanish National newpaper El Diario published a positive round-up of events around the world which was shared over 4,000 times. They link to actions taken in Melilla, Oviedo, Ávila, Sitges, Valencia, Valladolid and Alicante.

In Mozambique, the IDAHOT 2014 was marked by a television debate about discrimination, a university discussion around LGBT rights and legislation, and the publication of an official LGBT-affirmative statement in a Mozambican national newspaper (Jornal Savana). All organised by Lambda, other kinds of online communications were also released.

For the celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in Mozambique, Lambda – Mozambique’s first and only formal organisation dedicated to defending the rights of sexual and gender minorities (since 2006) – organised various education and information activities, with the goal of changing negative perceptions about homosexuality and the LGBT community.

Banner for IDAHOT 2014 commemorations in Mozambique. Source: Lambda

As detailed by AMSHeR, ahead of the Day, these activities were:

• A television debate about the negative aspects of discrimination based on sexual orientation. A psychologist (Lenia Mapelane), sociologist (Santos Simione) and LGBT person (Jam Pedro) will attend the TV show, talk about the subject and discuss the implications of discrimination. This program is scheduled to go on air on the 16th on STV, a Mozambican national TV channel (on a show called “A tarde é sua”) at 4pm.

• A debate on an university, wherewith Lambda expects to create the opportunity for an academic discussion about how the LGBT rights are not recognized and respected in Mozambique and raise awareness about the negative impact of the lack of clear legislation that defends the LGBT citizens. This debate is scheduled for May 19, at 4pm, at CREISPU – Universidade Politécnica, Maputo. The invited speakers are dr. Dário de Sousa and dr. Egídio Canuma, with the participation of dr. Antonio Ndapassoa as the debate moderator. The debate is open to everyone that is interested.

• Publish an official declaration on a Mozambican national newspaper (Jornal Savana), about the celebration of the date on Friday, the 16th.

Lambda communications

Lambda released a newsletter around the Day with ‘an official declaration against homophobia’, and which documents some of the actions around the Day, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. You can read it here (in Portuguese).

On social media, Lambda also published this public note, via their facebook page, in recognition of the Day (in Portuguese).

For more information please see Lambda’s website, facebook page and twitter profile.

As in Serbia, many thousands of people were affected by floods in Croatia, in the lead up to May 17, making some actions non-viable, and shifting activists’ attentions to supporting relief work. Nevertheless, various events did take place around the IDAHOT 2014, with actions planned in the cities of Zagreb and Rijeka, and on the mountain range of Petrova Gora. The Croatian government was also represented at the 2nd Annual IDAHO Forum in Valletta, Malta.

IDAHO Week Rijeka 2014

In Rijeka, communities came together for an IDAHO Week around May 17, 2014. Organisers advised, in the lead up to the event:

“Lesbian Organization Rijeka LORI proudly marks IDAHO in Rijeka for the second time and invites all to IDAHO Week Rijeka 2014. On May 17th at 9 PM at Art-kino we have organized screening of documentary film ‘Once again’, the very first Croatian documentary on lives of lesbians and transgender people. Authors of the film Noah Pintaric and Ana Opalic will announce the screening and talk to the audience afterwards, answer the questions related to the film. This warm movie follows lives of 4 lesbians and one transgender person in a five-year period and gives insight into their relationships, friendships, activism and creative work.”

For more information check out Rijeka LORI’s website or the facebook event page.

Laugh Out Proud

Rijeka LORI, together with other groups also held an event on Saturday, May 17th, with the main goal of raising (positive) awareness of the country’s upcoming Life Partnership Act (civil unions for homosexual couples). In the evening, there was a free showing of Stephen Fry’s documentary “Out There”, as well as stand-up event “Laugh Out Proud” with performances by LGBT comedians from UK and Croatia. Performers included Scott Capurro (UK), Lara King (UK) and Marina Orsag (CRO).

Organisers explained before the Day that the aim of event is to fight homophobia and transphobia with the strongest possible weapon – humor, and the goal of the project is to educate people about the LGBT community through laughter and in good atmosphere.

The entire project ‘LAUGH OUT PROUD’ is funded by Horyou, the Action Oriented Social Network for the Social Good, organized by Studio Smijeha association, Centre for Civil Initiatives Porec, Croatia and Standup.rs association.

Dance Out Proud in Zagreb

On May 17, LGBTI communities in Zagreb, came together from 23:00 for a “Dance Out Proud event at the Hotpot Bar. For more information see the organiser’s facebook page.

LGBT Affirmative Counselling Course

Also around the IDAHOT 2014, the University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapce in Zagreb, offered an LGBT affirmative counselling practice for psychology students, on May 14. This was part of the elective course “Applied developmental psychology” led by professor Goranka Lugomer-Armano, PhD, Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb.

Action by Coalition of Groups Merges IDAHOT 2014 and Anti-Fascist Commemoration

The organizers of the event (well-known institutions in Croatia such as the Serbian National Council, the Alliance of Anti-Fascist Fighters in Croatia as well as local municipalities), have this year decided to jointly commemorate this great anti-fascist victory and the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. With this act they stand for a clear message that the struggle against homophobia is also the struggle against fascism and that anti-fascism does not only belong to the culture of remembrance, but is also a vital part of current struggles for better future, not only in Croatia, but also all over Europe.

Organisers explained, in the lead up to the event:

In times of current economic and social crisis that sows poverty and at the same time generates attacks not only on LGBTQ people, but also immigrants, national minorites, workers etc., we find it more important than ever to remember our antifascist legacy and use it to unite our seemingly separate struggles in one common goal: defending human rights and demanding equality for all. As an activist choir, we call upon mutual cooperation and solidarity of all groups fighting for the equality of us all.

Le Zbor, a lesbian feminist choir, performed as part of the action:

This year we are giving a performance at the 70th anniversary of a major anti-fascist event in Croatia: the breakthrough of the fascist army lines that took place on the site called Petrova gora and during which 730 partisans and 12 000 civilians, mostly women and children, were finally liberated from atrocities committed by fascist forces in this area during WW2.

Le Zbor choir, who participated in the IDAHOT 2014 in Croatia

Le Zbor is a Lesbian Feminist Choir from Zagreb. You can find out more about them and their work on Facebook or on and their website.

Zagreb Pride organised a series of events to commemorate the IDAHOT 2014, which included a focus on LGBT Refugees, Asylum & Migration, and on the rise of neoconservative movements in Europe.

Action on LGBT Refugees, Asylum and Migration

Organisers addressed the topic of LGBT Refugees, Asylum & Migration, with an evening of events planned around the topic of LGBT Asylum and the current situation of (LGBT) asylum in Croatia. This was organised in collaboration with other civil society organisations that also work with asylum seekers and refugees.

As an introduction to IDAHO, on Tuesday the 13th, activists organised a panel called “Immigration. Equality. Views from the LGBTIQ community”, where they addressed the topic of LGBT migration and asylum seekers.

The main goal was to raise awareness amongst the LGBT community that ‘LGBT asylum is something that happens in Croatia too, not just in the other EU countries.’

Conference on Neoconservative Movements in Europe

Another activity was also a conference about the rise of neoconservative movements throughout Europe – activists from some other EU countries were invited to discuss the issue, and to establish a network/coalition that will collaborate in the future.

Government represented at IDAHO Forum 2014 in Malta

Croatia’s Minister of European and Foreign Affairs, Vesna Pusic, also participated in the 2nd Annual International IDAHO Forum in Valletta, Malta (May 13-14). He signed the IDAHO 2014 Declaration of Intent – urging governments to defend and promote LGBTI rights – signed by Ministers from 19 European states in total.

2014 was a landmark year for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in Malta. The major event of the year was of course the 2nd annual International IDAHO Forum being held in the country, on May 13-14, featuring the participation of the Maltese Prime Minister, high level ministers from various countries, and LGBTI rights advocates and civil society organisations from across Europe. The University of Malta also organised a significant particpatory photo campaign.

IDAHO Forum co-hosted by Maltese and Swedish governments in Valletta, Malta

This 2nd annual IDAHO Forum was held under the theme: ‘Responses to Homophobia & Transphobia at the National, European & International Levels’.

Various high level ministers and national level politicians participated in the conference, which also featured the participation of the Prime Minister of Malta. Many civil society organisations from the international LGBTI rights field were also represented at the conference, including ILGA-Europe, TGEU (Transgender Europe), ORAM International and the IDAHO Committee. Key international institutions and agencies were also be represented, including UNESCO, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, the Council of Europe, the Intergroup on LGBT Rights of the European Parliament, and the European Commission.

Helena Dalli (Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs & Civil Liberties, Malta) and Erik Ullenhag (Minister for Integration, Sweden) speaking at the 2014 IDAHO Forum in Valletta, Malta.

Key outcomes included the signing of an IDAHO declaration of intent – a 12-point plan and commitment to defend LGBTI rights, which can be read in full here (pdf download).

A full list of the ministerial signatories to the IDAHO Declaration – representing 17 states – can be found here.

We are committed to the principle of the universality of human rights and reaffirm that cultural, traditional or religious values cannot be invoked
to justify any form of discrimination, including discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. – IDAHO Declaration of Intent, 2014

Amongst other highlights, the Prime Minister of Malta, Dr. Joseph Moscat, gave a well-received speech to the floor, in which he urged other governments to “throw away your prejudices”:

This event is ultimately about the Europe that we aspire to live in. Having so many countries represented, especially at Ministerial level, augurs well for what we are trying to achieve. We need to stamp out homophobia and transphobia once and for all. Such a goal cannot be achieved easily. We must work together.

I’ve heard people say that lesbians, gays and transgender people shouldn’t be given special rights. I have to agree with them. They don’t deserve special rights. They deserve the same rights as anybody else. Nobody should be turned away from a job because of their sexuality. Nobody should face intimidation or violence because of who they are. And no government should turn a blind eye to prejudice in society.

We are building a better Malta. I am certain of that.

And to other countries I say: throw away your prejudices. You’ll be surprised at how good it will make you feel.

A video of the Prime Minister’s welcoming speech can be viewed here:

The Prime Minister also commented on the publication of the latest Rainbow Index from ILGA Europe, which judges how countries are performing on LGBT rights questions:

“I’m pleased to say that the fastest climbers in the past year were Malta – up 22 per cent – and Montenegro – up 20 per cent. Progress can happen quickly if the will is there.”

For full information on the IDAHO Forum 2014 please see the dedicated website: www.idaho2014forum.org

University of Malta public photo campaign

In a Betapsi Malta & We Are initiative, students, MEP candidates, lecturers and international activists at the University of Malta had their photos taken, to take a collective stand against homophobia.

At least 57 people had their photos taken, and 52 posters were made. Below is just a snapshot – You can see larger versions of each here.

The organization UNIDI Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic organized the 2nd GLBTH University Forum, in commemoration also of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014. Progressive communities of faith as well as LGBTI family groups also came together to take action on the IDAHOT. The Day in the Dominican Republic was also marked by a video awareness-raising campaign against transphobia, by Transsa Dominica.

The 2nd Forum for Diversity University UNIDI took place in the city of Santo Domingo under the theme “Educating for Diversity” on Friday, May 16, 2014.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Community Church, ICM, and Circle of Parents, Mothers, Families and Friends of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) organized a parade in the Independence Park of the capital city, under the name “7 laps against Homophobia”. The Action was held on Saturday May 17 in the afternoon.

These groups were accompanied by various civil society organisations. Participants walked around the park to raise public awareness around LGBTI rights issues and, in particular, to challenge decision makers to develop public policy for the protection of human rights, to ensure better quality of life for sexual and gender minorities.

Finally Transsa Dominica organization prepared a series of videos to raise awareness about the importance and need for a gender identity recognition law in the Dominican Republic. You can watch one of the videos here:

Photos from IDAHOT 2014 in the Dominican Republic

Diverse events took place in Porto and Lisbon around the IDAHOT 2014. Some highlights include a “Free Hugs” action against homobitransphobia in central Lisbon, a 3-day LGBT Film Festival, and a conference, under the banner: “The World is not a Rainbow: Geographies of Discrimination”. Vigils of remembrance for victims of LGBTI hate crimes also took place in both cities, as part of the IDAHOT Global Interfaith Prayer Initiative 2014.

Free Hugs event

The group, rede ex aequo, organised a Free Hugs event in commemoration of the IDAHOT 2014. The group hailed it a ‘big success!’, and you can find photos of the event on this facebook album.

LGBTI communities and allies come together to give free hugs for IDAHOT 2014 in Lisbon. Source: rede ex aequo

Conference
LGBTI activists and allies, and civil society and government representatives also came together for a conference, “O Mundo não é arco-íris: Geografias da Discriminação” (The World is not a Rainbow: Geographies of Discrimination). The event was organised by a coalition of groups, including ILGA-Prtugal, rede ex aequo, CNJ (Conselho Nacional de Juventude; National Youth Council) and the IPDJ (Instituto Português de Juventude e Desporto; Portuguese Institute of Youth and Sport). It was held on Saturday May 17, in the Palácio Foz, in Lisbon.

A full house to commemorate the IDAHOT and to hear Miguel Vale de Almeida, Mart and Ramos from ILGA Portugal, and Ana Monteiro from Amnesty International. ‪#‎cnj‬ ‪#‎idahot‬ Source: CNJ

State supports fight against homo/transphobia in schools

On Friday, May 16th, the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science, organised the event “Luta contra a homofobia e transfobia nas escolas” (Fight against homophobia and transphobia in schools), between 9.30 and 12.30 in the auditorium of the Pedro Alexander Secondary School, in the district of Odivelas, in the wider Lisbon Metropolitan area. The event included the participation of the Secretary of State for Equality and Parliamentary Affairs, as well as the Secretary of State for Basic and Secondary Education. Representatives of ILGA Portugal, rede ex aequo and AMPLOS, were also present.

3-day LGBT Film festival

Rede ex aequo also organised an LGBT Film Festival during the 16th, 17th and 18th of May, with a special focus on engaging young people. As organisers explained: ‘the main objective of this event is to sensitise young people in general to questions related to homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism, especially in terms of that phase of “coming out to you, yourself” because, as we know, this time of coming to consciousness of, and accepting yourself, is special, delicate and often difficult for a majority of young LGBT people, still misunderstood and victims of prejudice and discrimination.

Poster for LGBT Film Festival – IDAHOT Portugal 2014. Source: rede ex aequo

Lisbon Muncipality supports IDAHOT 2014

Lisbon municipality sent out an official message in commemoration of the IDAHOT this year. Local activists advise that they are now entering the process towards official political recognition on the part of Lisbon city authorities, which must be passed by the local assembly. The message from May 17 is reproduced here in full (in Portuguese):

Amanhã, dia 17 de maio, comemora-se o Dia Internacional Contra a Homofobia e Transfobia.

Em 2005, esta data seria proclamada por ter sido o dia, em 1990, em que a Organização Mundial de Saúde retirou a homossexualidade da “Classificação Estatística Internacional de Doenças e Problemas Relacionados com a Saúde“. Todavia, passados 24 anos, a “disforia de género”, que cataloga as pessoas Transgénero, Transexuais e Intersexuais, ainda persiste nesta classificação internacional, pelo que continua a fazer todo o sentido assinalar esta data como um renovado momento de combate à discriminação por razão de orientação sexual ou identidade de género.

Em Portugal, segundo os dados da Agência para os Direitos Fundamentais da União Europeia (2013), uma em cada cinco pessoas inquiridas que estiveram empregadas e/ou à procura de emprego nos 12 meses anteriores ao inquérito sentiu-se discriminada nessas situações. No caso das pessoas transgénero, este número sobe para uma em cada três pessoas inquiridas. Cerca de dois terços das pessoas inquiridas afirmaram ter ocultado ou dissimulado na escola, antes de completarem 18 anos, a sua orientação sexual e/ou identidade de género.

Igualmente, as famílias LGBTI (Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Trans e Intersexo) continuam a não ser reconhecidas pelo estado português, sendo impedidas de adotar e co-adotar crianças em plena igualdade com as outras famílias e impedidas de recorrer à procriação medicamente assistida.

Por todas estas razões, gostaria de assinalar este dia, lembrando o muito trabalho ainda por fazer para combater esta discriminação, afirmando o compromisso do Município de Lisboa no desenvolvimento de políticas locais que promovam a plena cidadania das pessoas LGBTI.

No âmbito desta celebração, participarei na tertúlia “Lisboa Arco-íris”, promovida pelo Chapitô – Rua da Costa do Castelo, Nº 7, no dia 28 de maio, pelas 21h30 e convido à vossa participação.

João Carlos Afonso
Vereador dos Direitos Sociais
Câmara Municipal de Lisboa

Vigils of remembrance in Lisbon and Porto

Progressive communities of faith, and local LGBTI rights supporters, came together in both cities around May 17 for services of prayer, reflection and remembrance of the lives claimed hate crimes against LGBTI communities. These events formed part of the IDAHOT Global Interfaith Prayer Initiative 2014, which was co-ordinated by Gionatta group, based in Italy, and with the European Forum of LGBT Christians. You can find out more about the Prayer Initiative here.

Activists plant “rainbows in the garden!”

On May 17 also, ILGA Portugal and authorities from the district of Misericórdia (Junta de Freguesia da Misericórdia) joined to organise the event “Arco-Íris no Jardim” (Rainbows in the Garden). The Royal Princes Garden in Lisbon (Jardim do Príncipe Real em Lisboa), hosted a rainbow market (from 11am to 8pm) of gourmet products, urban crafts, brick-a-brack, and information booths with material from LGBT associations.

A picnic was also held, of the group “Famílias arco-íris” (Rainbow Families), which is a project of the group CoLeGaS (Coro Lésbico, Gay e Simpatizante).

Also on the 17th, a public march was held by the group Gir@s, as well as a meeting of the group GRIT (Grupo de Reflexão e Intervenção sobre Transexualidade). There were also DJ sets from António Almada Guerra and D.M.A..

Palestinian women’s groups held a day long program to commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia 2014. The programme included a session with the participation of students and school authorities.

Palestinian women’s/LBTQI group ASWAT had a study day for school counsellors to raise awareness about sexual orientation and gender identities.

You can find out more about Aswat on their website.

LGBT activism in Chile has increased substantially in recent years. The growth of LGBT organizations can be seen in the many events held for May 17, 2014 – with actions held across the country and tens of thousands of people participating in IDAHOT 2014 events in the capital, Santiago.

Chilean activists take to the streets of Santiago for IDAHOT 2014.

The organization Iguales Chile Santiago organized on May 17 together with the Municipality of Maipú an activity in the Plaza de Maipú in which they demonstrated with a 100 metre long rainbow flag, and held a series of “closet” discriminatory audio presentations, designed to sensitize people about what life in the closet is like for LGBT people.

On the other hand the MUMS (Movement for Sexual Diversity) organization, together with other groups, participated in a massive parade that was held in the city of Santiago de Chile and started from the Plaza Italia – with over 50,000 in attendance. It was conducted under the slogan “March Against Discrimination ” and participants were encouraged to use the hashtag #YOMARCHOEL17 to add their support online.

The organization MOVILH encouarged local authorities across the country to raise the LGBT rainbow flagm with more than 22 municipalities and five embassies participating – in a clear show of support from the communal governments, for inclusive and anti-discrimination policies in the country.

Local authorities fly the rainbow flag all over Chile for IDAHOT 2014.

The organiation It Gets Better (Todo Mejora) organised various activities for May 17 in the country including a media campaign to prevent homophobic bullying.

One of the many It Gets Better country affiliates – in Chile – takes action for the IDAHOT 2014.

The agenda of May also included the following activities:

• Art Auction to support programs for children and adolescents who suffer homophobic bullying and family rejection.
• The Interagency Gender Working Group of all UN agencies focused on suicide prevention and the homophobic bullying that affect children and adolescents presentation.
• Event with the High Commissioner of Human Rights, and the National Human Rights Institute focused on the effects of homophobia on children and adolescents, with the participation of more than 50 schools in different districts – principals, teachers and students.

From the government area, the Municipality Providencia held a working week of events that began on May 13 with an Opening Ceremony of the Week against Homophobia in presence of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra Providence and ended on Friday May 23 with Forum called “Homoparenthood and AVP”.

The commemoration of the IDAHOT 2014 took place in at least 17 cities in Indonesia, from Sumatra to Papua, and from May 7 to May 16.

The events took place in 13 Indonesian regions (Medan-North Sumatra, Lampung-Sumatra, Jakarta-Java, Bandung-West Java, Solo-Central Java, Cirebon-West Java, Kupang-East Nusa Tenggara, Manado-North Sulawesi, North Minahasa-Sulawesi, South Minahasa-Sulawesi, Gorontalo-Sulawesi, Palu-Central Sulawesi, and Papua) was organized by Suara Kita, although an IDAHOT event was cancelled in one region (Lombok-West Nusa Tenggara) due to security issue. They were extremely diverse, ranging from public discussion at universities, hearing with state agency, community discussion, community gathering, press release, LGBT movie screening, road rally, radio-television talkshow, solidarity act to help low-income group, and consolidation-evaluation of the 2014 IDAHOT events.

The events involved 29 organizations and communities whose backgrounds were not only from LGBT community but also from women groups, religious groups (both Muslim and Christian), student groups, research/study groups, worker activists, environmental activists, pluralism activists, and media. Overall, the 2014 IDAHOT events ran well as planned, although a public discussion in Medan had a minor disturbance.

The highlights of the conducted events include the discussion on the impact of a particular well-known Islamic party towards the LGBT rights movement in the country, and a movie screening of ‘Tales of Waria’, a documentary about the Indonesian transgender community. Activists also created an online video campaign which popularised the issues faced by trans* communities in the country.

Coordinated by Suara Kita, Indonesia’s LGBT-themed media and journalist group, the whole list of IDAHOT events in Indonesia can be seen from the agenda below:

At the end of the 2014 IDAHOT, a evaluation and consolidation meeting was held, gathering some of executive organizations in the 2014 IDAHOT in Jakarta. Due to limited resources, only organizations from Jakarta (Java), Manado, Tomohon, and Palu (Sulawesi) were invited to come. The consolidation meeting evaluated the 2014 IDAHOT events and made plans for the next IDAHO in 2015. Hopes are that more participants would contribute to the event with more varied backgrounds such as students, activists, and government agencies.

All 2014 IDAHOT events will be compiled into a book (both in English and Indonesian version) that will be distributed to various individuals and entities (NGOs, universities, LGBT communities, government agencies, foreign embassies, donor organizations, and general public) either in hard and soft copy form.

Public discussion in Medan on May 23

Public Discussion at the Muslim University in Jakarta on May 26