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.

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

Activists who have taken part in these events report that the atmosphere can become electric – much more than they had imagined – revealing the hidden (or until then silent) power of collective passion for change. It’s also a really simple (and free) event to organise, especially on short notice, and can be easily added on to other actions around the Day (for example, at the start or end of a march, or day of community actions).

Some ways to increase the noise include blowing whistles, beating drums, banging on pots and pans (or other everyday household objects), singing or shouting in chorus, using megaphones, microphones or a stereo, or bringing along your musical instrument of choice.

Check out this video of a One Minute Noise / Shout Against Hate, from IDAHOT 2014, by Transvanilla in Budapest, Hungary.

It could also be held in a local or private space, such as a community centre, perhaps as an ‘ice breaker’ before other events (therefore helping everyone to feel more at ease to express themselves, having participated in this collective act to start with).

Or you could hold it in a public space (in a city square or outside a state building), or as part of a community show or performance for May 17 – encouraging the audience to raise their voices in concert.

The atmosphere could obviously be fun or, actually, it could be solemn – with people really venting their emotions, and shouting from the heart. It could be about unleashing and channeling people’s anger and hurt about injustice into something positive, vocal and collective.

A Shout Against Hate could also take the form of a (filmed) flashmob, where one person starts, and then others – seemingly randomly – start joining in, before – after a while – hundreds of people are joined in a massive Shout Against Hate !