Vilnius Celebrates the Opening of the Rainbow Crosswalk

Within the framework of the “Rainbow Days” 2017 festival, the following activities will be implemented in the cities of Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda: billboard campaign, community events, social campaign “Rainbow Bus”, Eurovision party with the special performance by the French Drag Queen LaDiva Live, and official IDAHOT 2017 reception.

IDAHOT 2017 will focus on “Families”. This focus includes both the role of families in the well-being of their LGBTIQ members and respect of the rights of LGBTIQ families (rainbow families). This year activists around the world will seek to strengthen the visibility and voice of rainbow families and lead to advances in recognition and rights.

The Rainbow Days festivities of 2007 marked the first time that the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia was celebrated in Lithuania. This year, the national LGBT* rights association LGL has organised the Rainbow Days for the fourth time. Previous Rainbow Days attracted a great deal of interest and participation.

Events in Vilnius

On Thursday the 14th of May, the colorful and exquisitely fashionable event Cheer Queer organized by the National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL took place at One-Two Bar, in Vilnius. The event successfully marked the beginning of the Rainbow Days 2015 festivities, a week-long series of events to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), occurring world-wide on the 17th of May.  

Among the events offered for this day was a seminar on importance of the LGBT* allyship (including comedian Oleg Šurajev, politician Aušrinė Armonaitė, comedian Paulius Ambrazevičius, and photographer Neringa Rekašiūtė), a Drag Performance and an art exhibition by the local LGBT* community artists was also organised.  More details here.

As part of the celebrations, LGL presented the Government with an Inter-institutional Action Plan for the Non-Discrimination of LGBT* People. The “Action Plan on Non-Discrimination of LGBT* People 2015-2020, Lithuania” was recently created by the national LGBT* rights organization LGL to provide recommendations for promoting the non-discrimination and full acceptance of LGBT* people in Lithuania, while also taking into account the community’s current status in the country. The Action Plan was also presented at a press conference that was held at the conference hall of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. Find out more here.

Additionally, At 1:00 pm on the 15th of May, 2015, LGL’s Board Chair, Elena Dapkūnaitė, and Executive Director, Vladimir Simonko, presented the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė with the “Change It!” petition signatures, collected in support of the “Change It!” social campaign. These signatures represent Lithuanian popular support for more consistent, meaningful and inclusive responses to the needs of LGBT* people on behalf of state institutions. Find out more here.

Rainbow Award Presented at the Rainbow Days 2015 Reception at the Finnish Embassy

On the 15^th of May, 2015 the official reception for Rainbow Days 2015 took place at the Finnish Embassy. Numerous human rights activists, ambassadors, and figures from the world of culture and entertainment showed their support by attending the event. Over one hundred guests celebrated with Finnish Ambassador Harri Mäki-Reinikka, LGL Board Chair Elena Dapkūnaitė and Executive Director of LGL Vladimir Simonko. Read more here.

Rainbow Bus rolled through the city centre once again!

At noon on the 16^th of May, 2015 LGL’s Rainbow Bus rolled down the streets of Vilnius’s city centre. This year, the national LGBT* rights organisation LGL, author of the censored book “Amber Heart” Neringa Dangvydė, Facebook kissing sensations Pijus Beizaras and Mangirdas Levickas, and other human rights activists invited residents and visitors of Vilnius to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) for the fourth time in Lithuania. On Saturday, the longest rainbow flag in the country was unfurled in an unexpected location in Vilnius – the Cathedral Square. Watch the short video here and read more about the day here.

May 17 started with the event “Trans-Pizza”, dedicated to transgender individuals. This was an opportunity to discuss the expectations by the local trans* community in the light of current policy and legal developments. 

Lithuanian cinemas helped celebrate Rainbow Days once again! At 4 pm on May 17th, 2015, the national LGBT* rights organisation LGL invited the public to a screening of the Italian film “Loose Cannons,” which was held at the “Pasaka” movie theatre in Vilnius. Loose Cannons is a witty, ironic and a little bit dramatic story about LGBT* every-day life under the hot Italian sun. The movie screening was provided by the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute and was for free! Find more details here.

On the 17th of May, 2015 LGBT*-friendly foreign embassies in Vilnius raised the rainbow flag to honour the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) and to show their support for the LGBT* community. The rainbow flag decorated the embassies of Italy, Finland, Norway, Austria, Germany, Denmark and Holland. Read more here.

Events in Kaunas and Klaipėda

Every spring, as the breeze carries fresh green leaves, the longest rainbow flag in the country waves proudly. On May 19th, the national LGBT* rights organization LGL brought the events of Rainbow Days 2015 to Kaunas. LGL invited the public to the LGBT* Myth Busters Workshop and a Rainbow Days film screening.

At 16:00 on May 19th, a public LGBT* Myth Busters Workshop was held at the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. What does it mean to be LGBT*? Does this community require “special rights”? What types of problems does this social group encounter on a daily basis? Answers to these and other questions were provided and discussed in a 90-minute myth busting session.

At 18:00 at the “Romuva” movie theater, locals came together at the screening of “Loose Cannons.” The film “Loose Cannons” (“Mine Veganti”) (2010) is a witty, ironic, and somewhat dramatic film about daily LGBT* life under the scorching Italian sun. Tommaso is the youngest son of a large, traditional Italian family, who finally dares to tell his family that he likes men at the Sunday dinner table. Who would have thought that his brother would blindside him by coming out first! You can only imagine how the Italian drama unfolds.

After the film, there was a discussion about the representation of the LGBT* community in the media. Facebook kissing sensations Pijus Beizaras and Mangirdas Levickas, and public figures Edvinas Grin and Viktorija Ūke shared their insights. The Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute generously donated the film for viewing.

Source LGL

On the 20th, the Rainbow Days wave finally hit Klaipėda. The day started with the Workshop “LGBT* Myth Busters” and the movie screening of “Loose cannons”. The movie was followed by a panel discussion on LGBT* representation in media. 

Further information on times and locations will be provided soon on the LGL website and Facebook page. 

May 17 actions in Lithuania spread over three weeks, and three cities, and engaged strongly with the international focus on Freedom of Expression. Highlights included a high-profile opening reception co-hosted by 14 embassies, a bus-top tour in the capital city center, movie screenings, debates and discussion events, as well as many other actions.

Members of Lithuania’s principal LGBTI rights group, the Lithuanian Gay League (LGL), put together the following report (May 28, 2014):

The Rainbow Days 2014, a three-week long festival organized by LGL (Lithuanian Gay League) in celebration of IDAHOT (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia), is coming to an end. These last few weeks have seen a number of cultural events happening in Vilnius and in other Lithuanian cities, all of them revolving around the topic of freedom of expression for the LGBT community.

Bus tour through the streets of Vilnius for IDAHOT 2014 in Lithuania. Source / more info

The Rainbow Days started on May 7 with a lecture on the situation for LGBT people in Russia. On the following week, we had a quiz on human rights, the screening of the movie Children of God, a reception hosted by thirteen foreign ambassadors. Following these events, the main moment of our Rainbow Days was organized on May 17: a yellow bus, filled with rainbow flags and colorful people, toured the streets of Vilnius to raise the awareness of the city on issues related to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. On May 21, LGL presented the Baltic Pride 2013 photo-album, and a lecture followed on the challenges faced by queer artists. On May 22, LGL friends were invited to our office for the screening of the movie Roma Boys and a debate on intersectionality and multiple discrimination, and the following day the Rainbow Days moved to Kaunas, the second biggest city in Lithuania, for a lecture on the social construction of gender and another movie screening. Still one event is on our list: in a few days, on May 30, we will be in Klaipeda for a movie screening and a workshop on the relation between communities and social movements.

LGL is very satisfied with the success of the the Rainbow Days 2014. All the events organized saw a huge participation, and we believe that this initiative helped increasing the visibility of the LGBT community in Lithuania, as well as giving a space for the LGBT community itself to discuss topics that are fundamental for our activism and our strife for recognition of all rights.

Further Information

LGL: Website and on Facebook

They are planning to have movie screenings in three major towns in Lithuania starting on the 15th of May, which will allow people to get better prepared for the big day – May 17th.

The series of action will start with a quiz on human rights, followed by movie screenigs and a get-together evening. On the 17th, to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, they are planning to have an open-bus ride in Vilnius which will include stops for flashmobs and leaflet dissemination. After IDAHOT the actions are still continuing with an artistic session with photo presentation and lecture by queer artists and many more.

The Program is as followed:

May 13, TUESDAY
Quiz
7 pm , bar “Soulbox” (Vilniaus street 39, VILNIUS)

May 15, THURSDAY

Rainbow cinema. Movie “Children of God”
5 pm, cinema theatre “Skalvija” (A. Gostauto street 2/15, VILNIUS)

Rainbow cinema. Discussion
6:30 pm, cinema theatre “Skalvija” (A. Gostauto street 2/15, VILNIUS)

May 17, SATURDAY

Rainbow bus trip
10 am-1 pm, trip begins at Lukiškių street, VILNIUS

Social evening
10pm, club “Soho” (Švitrigailos street 7/16, VILNIUS)

May 20, TUESDAY

“Baltic Pride 2013” book /photo album presentation
5 pm, Contemporary Art Centre, Vokiečių street 2, VILNIUS

Public lecture on queer artists (art critic Laima Kreivytė)
6 pm, Contemporary Art Centre, Vokiečių street 2, VILNIUS

May 23, FRIDAY

Public lecture (project manager of the Equality advancement centre)
1 pm, Vytautas Magnus University, KAUNAS

Rainbow cinema. Movie “Children of God”
5pm, cinema theatre “Romuva”, KAUNAS

May 30, FRIDAY

Public picture (project manager of the Equality advancement centre)
1 pm, Klaipėda University, KLAIPĖDA

Rainbow cinema. Movie “Children of God”
5 pm, Cinema theatre …, KLAIPĖDA

For more info:

Lithianian Gay League website & facebook

LGL activists’ postcard campaign for IDAHO 2013 in Lithuania

On the eve of the Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Lithuanian Gay League will draw attention to the often overlooked bisexual community by hosting a bi meet-up where people can discuss and share over coffee or tea (LGBT Centre in Vilnius, 6:30 pm).

Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights together with the Diversity and Education House and Lithuanian Medical Students’ Association will host two screenings of the film Right2Love followed by discussion: in Vilnius on the 14th (SoulBox 6 pm) and 17th in Kaunas (M.Žilinsko galerijos kino salė, 5 pm).

According to the draft agenda, the group advises, ‘the Parliament will consider 4 homophobic and transphobic legislative initiatives, encompassing the total ban on gender reassignment, prohibition of same-sex adoption, introduction of administrative liability for the “denigration of constitutional moral values” and the amendment to the Criminal Code, which would qualify “criticisms of homosexuality” as not constituting hate speech… It is foreseen that all the above indicated legislative motions will have been considered by the Parliament by December, 2013.’

As regards the draft amendment proposing a total ban on gender reassignment surgeries in Lithuania:

‘The explanatory note on the controversial proposal states that Lithuanian society “views gender reassignment as very controversially; society is not ready to accept gender reassignment practices due to certain psychosocial reasons, and therefore the permission to undergo gender reassignment surgeries will lead to a number of medical and ethical issues”. Moreover, it ignorantly states that it is impossible to reassign gender surgically because it “is determined genetically from the very moment of conception” and that gender reassignment procedure “is associated with the radical impairment of a person, because physically healthy persons who are able to conceive and raise children are castrated in this manner”.’

One of the bills also proposes – in practice – limitations on LGBT activists right to public assembly, in the name of prohibiting “public denigration of constitutional moral values and of constitutional fundamentals of the family life, as well as organization of public events contravening public morality”. The bill was proposed in May, 2013 in reaction to the upcoming Baltic Pride 2013 March for Equality.

For more information see:

• Lithuania Gay League: The Parliament Will Consider Five Homophobic Bills in Autumn Session

Film screening of documentary Beyond the Pink Curtain, discussion and Pride video preview

On May 17th Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) screened “Beyond the Pink Curtain” at Cinema Skalvija in Vilnius (6:30 pm). The film looks at homophobia in both the East and West of Europe and the role of the European Union in anti-discrimination. The screening was followed by a discussion and launch event. Organisers offered the following report:

‘On 17 May 2013, i.e. International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), the LGL organized the “three-in-one” event at Skalvija cinema centre: (1) the screening of the documentary film “Beyond the Pink Curtain”; (2) the following discussion, titled “Open and Safe?”; (3) the preview of the Baltic Pride 2013 promotional videos. The discussion mainly focused on the topic of public visibility of LGBT* individuals in Lithuania. The panel of the public discussion included psychologist, criminologist, LGL representatives and members of the local LGBT* community. As a result, the benefits and the possible negative consequences of living openly as an LGBT person in the Lithuanian society were discussed. In addition to this, the discussion addressed the following questions: why is it important to be open about one’s sexual orientation or gender identity? why the society does not accept individuals for who they are? what is hate crime and why it is committed? why the hate against LGBT* people gets so much public support? The questions from the audience were answered as well.

The general impression I got from the discussion is that there is so much unsaid things, which need just a simple conversation and a dialogue within the community itself. Taken in an account the extremely diverse background of the speakers in the pannel, the complexity of LGBT* every-day reality was captured quite successfully, thus effectively setting the tone for further conversation.’

On the eve of the Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Lithuanian Gay League also drew attention to the often overlooked bisexual community by hosting a bi meet-up where people could discuss and share ideas, over coffee or tea (LGBT Centre in Vilnius, 6:30 pm). One of the organisers reported that the event was very successful, with more planned for the future:

‘It was really informal, cozy and structureless meeting where people coming from different backgrounds could feel safe and welcome. And it was great for everyone, to enjoy company of strangers whom we all had so much in common. We started with a small introduction of ourselves also answering a question “why I am here?”. Not every participant was bisexual, some of them were just curious about what the meeting will be about while others were genuinely interested in the topic.

Then we moved towards playing a game (which in fact was an informal training method) – biphobic bingo, where everyone had to talk to others and find out if they ever in their lives heard certain remarks, sayings of biphobic nature (like “you should make up your mind”, “I wish my girlfriend was bi too”, “I was bisexual once, before I turned gay”, “you are just scared to admit that you are gay”, etc). We have a lot of fun with this and used this fun method to discuss a lot of important issues like: coming out as a non monosexual person, biphobia and homophobia around us, LGBT movement and so on.

Our meeting ended with everyone saying that such peer group is useful and they would attend it again and again and invite friends with them too. In July, before Baltic Pride, I think we will have another meeting, this time it would be useful to bring an aspect of bi empowerment.’

For more details please see the facebook event page.

You can find out more information and make contact with the organisers through the LGL facebook page.

Postcard Campaign

The Lithuanian Gay League also sent a postcard to each Member of Parliament in Lithuania drawing their attention to the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 to member states on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Pictures of members of Lithuanian Gay League staff sending the postcards to members of parliament:

The postcard says “We Recommend” and on the text on the back gives the Council of Europe recommendations in a nutshell.

LGL has recently published a monitoring report on the implementation of these recommendations, which can be read here.

Film screenings in Vilnius and Kaunas

Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights together with the Diversity and Education House and Lithuanian Medical Students’ Association also hosted two screenings of the film Right2Love followed by discussion: in Vilnius on the 14th (SoulBox 6 pm) and 17th in Kaunas (M.Žilinsko galerijos kino salė, 5 pm).

On the eve of the Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Lithuanian Gay League will draw attention to the often overlooked bisexual community by hosting a bi meet-up where people can discuss and share over coffee or tea (LGBT Centre in Vilnius, 6:30 pm).

Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights together with the Diversity and Education House and Lithuanian Medical Students’ Association will host two screenings of the film Right2Love followed by discussion: in Vilnius on the 14th (SoulBox 6 pm) and 17th in Kaunas (M.Žilinsko galerijos kino salė, 5 pm).