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.

Cyprus’s first ever LGBT Pride March was held at the end of a two week festival this year, which started on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. A very much unprecedented level of mobilisation took place this year, with an extensive series of creative and diverse events held.

This year’s IDAHOT commemorations come very soon after the Northern region of Cyprus decriminalised homosexuality – a change which made same sex relationships no longer outlawed in any country in Europe.

Led by the group Queer Cyprus Association, this years events were also joined and supported by Accept (from Southern Cyprus) and the LİSTAG Family Group from Istanbul.

First Pride Cyprus. Source: Queer Cyprus

Queer Cyprus also organised an open air festival, designed to reclaim public space for expressing and celebrating differences. The festival was called ʺGayri-resmi geçitʺ in Turkish (ʺRecklessʺ in English). During ʺRecklessʺ, local activists also launched the film festival ʺQueer Shorts and Documentariesʺ with the screening of the film My Child, directed by Can Candan. Members of the film team were also present during the parade and later at the festival.

First ever Pride march in Cyprus. Source: Queer Cyprus

Famagusta Youth Center and Eastern Mediterranean University were also heavily involved in the May 17 commemorations this year.

The country’s first ever LGBTI pride march was organized in Moldova in commemoration of the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014, with the support of the UN Human Rights Office.

About 300 participants – including some members of LGBTI communities in Eastern Europe, as well as diplomats and representatives of NGOs – took part in Chişinău’s “March for Equality”. Participants created a colourful demonstration, with rainbow flags and banners held against homophobia and transphobia.

The UN Human Rights Office supported the event, which was organized by GenderDoc-M, Moldova’s first LGBTI rights organization, as part of its equality and anti-discrimination work in the country.

Although LGBTI activists have tried to hold LGBTI pride events publicly in Chişinău for over a decade, this was the first time such an event has taken place with the full backing of public authorities.

First ever pride parade in Moldova, held on the IDAHOT 2014.

“The event marks an advance for Moldova’s rule of law, as public authorities successfully withstood negative pressure, and upheld the right of all people to equal use of the central public space,” said Claude Cahn, the UN Human Rights Adviser in the Republic of Moldova.

Public opposition to pride demonstrations remains high in Moldova and LGBTI rights are continuously disputed. According to opinion polls, opposition in the Republic of Moldova to peaceful public assemblies by LGBTI people is as high as over 90 per cent.

Following the march, Anastasia Danilova, the Executive Director of GenderDoc-M gave her remarks to the many participants, comprising members of the groups Non-discrimination Coalition, Amnesty International Moldova, Human Rights Information Centre, and representatives of UN agencies in Moldova, and from the Swedish, Italian and American embassies.

“We are happy that there are people in the Republic of Moldova who believe that homophobia and transphobia are unacceptable in our country,” said Danilova. “Today is a day of equality and freedom, the time to be ourselves has come!”

You can watch a video of the event here:

For more information:

• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: LGBTI Communities in Moldova March for Equality

An unprecedented level of mobilisation around the IDAHOT took place this year in Kenya. The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), together with its 14 member and affiliate organizations, prepared a landmark series of actions around the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014, under the banner of Freedom of Expression.

Actions spanned a week and included awareness-raising sessions amongst religious leaders, activities around health and educations, the creation of art works, engagements with UNHCR and debates on proposed legislation.

Kenyan sexual orientation, gender identity and expression minority (SOGIEM) communities are a significant percentage of the world’s population which has their freedom of expression and access to information restricted for a variety of reasons, including religious/moralistic and political rhetoric.

In this context, local activists report that:

SOGIEM individuals in Kenya continue to face attacks on their freedom of expression and being, through attempted introduction of further restrictive legislation and enforcement of existing ones.

To promote and empower SOGIEM and ally communities in the face of adversity whilst making the connection to global homophobia and transphobia issues, for solidarity and human rights actions, the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), has resolved to move forward with plans for the annual global IDAHO and Pride events themed “Freedom of Expression”. Given that PRIDE and IDAHO fall closely within the annual calendar, this year, the GALCK Pride/IDAHO Organizing Committee has also resolved to concurrently hold PRIDE and IDAHO Outreach Celebrations.

Poster produced by GALCK for actions around May 17, 2014.

Organizing the celebration of these global annual events in Kenya has been approached with considerable caution given the unstable environment in Kenya as demonstrated by:

1. Anti-gay rhetoric, ideologies and an increase in active homophobia (violence and harassment) within the general population
2. Proposed further punitive legislation in Kenya that seeks to further suppress the freedoms, rights, lives and spaces of SOGIEM Kenyans
3. An influx of refugees from Uganda
4. Increased national insecurity (alarming acts of terrorism) and the Kenya Government’s response

To mark PRIDE and IDAHO, GALCK and its 14 member and affiliate groups/organizations across the country have prepared a slew of celebratory activities which will take place on different days within the PRIDE week (12th – 16th May) culminating in IDAHO on 17th May.

Also PEMA Kenya’s IDAHOT press release was published in Today’s 17th May 2014 Saturday Nation page 44. It is a local Kenyan Newspaper with wide circulation.

For more detailed information the actions of 14 coalition members, please see the GALCK page here.

Every year, Brussels Pride is organised on the Saturday closest to May 17, to mark the importance of fighting homophobia, biphobia and transphobia even in contexts which might appear supportive of sexual and gender diversity.

100,000 attend Brussels Pride on May 17, 2014

This year, the event, labelled ‘PRIDE4every1″ gathered a 100,000-strong crowd, making it the biggest Belgium Pride march ever, and also the biggest single IDAHOT event this year.

In the Francophone provinces, IDAHOT has been marked for many years now with education campaigns for diversity, lead by regional educational authorities and the umbrella LGBT federation Arc en Ciel Wallonie.

The organisation Alliage had sent the 84 municipalities of the province rainbow flags to be raised on May 17 in a invitation to “show that the municipality is rich of its diversities and proud of them”. 33 of the 84 municipalities raised the flag. More information and details, including a map of the participating counties, can be accessed on the site of the organisation Alliage and a photo album has been set up on Facebook.

33 municipal authorities fly the rainbow flag in Belgium’s Francophone regions for IDAHOT 2014.

In the Flemish provinces, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia saw an unprecedented level of participation. Reporting from the Çavaria LGBT federation:

259 municipalities in Flanders and Brussels participated out of 327 (79%). Also, all the districts of the city of Antwerp participated as well as all the Flemish provinces. Besides flying the rainbow flag a lot of municipalities organized events for IDAHOT, had articles about it in their info magazines, and so on.

Our goal was to make lgbt issues visible from the biggest cities to the smallest villages. The physical presence of the rainbow flag at city halls, public libraries and other public buildings sent out the message that the local government is an ally for lgbt rights. However, the action was not only symbolic. We (or our member organizations) contacted every municipality in Flanders and Brussels, thus opening a channel for dialogue. Some municipalities that didn’t participate are open to working with us on lgbt inclusiveness.

You can find the most recent article (in Dutch) and photos here.

On IDAHOT and the Belgian Pride we also had a campaign about tackling homophobia in sports called Sports4Every1. 11 famous Belgian sportspeople spoke out against homophobia. You can find the pictures and videos they made here  . The campaign was commissioned by the Department of Equal Opportunities of the Flemish Government.

Additionally, the Belgian organisation Inderdaad will be organising a small action on Sunday 17th of May, in the city of Hasselt (Belgium). On the ‘Van Veldeke’ square, they will place a pop-up photo studio, where people can get a photo with a personal message to support LGBT people. Members of the organisation will encourage people on the street to visit the photo studio, and provide more information about the day and LGBT issues. Pictures will be printed immediately and will form a big ‘wall of support’. Also, the picture will be uploaded on their page afterwards. Inderdaad is a organisation for Youth under 30 in the region of Limburg, Belgium. Find more info about them on their website.

Various local pride marches were held in France. Including in the city of Aix en Provence, Caen, Angers and Poitiers. The national anti-homophobia organisation and helpline ‘SOS homophobie’ released its annual report on the state of homophobia and organised events in a dozen cities all over France, including concerts and human chains.

Various other events took place throughout the country, like a giant rainbow flag display in Montpellier (pictured).

IDAHOT 2014 in France – Rainbow Action in Montpellier

LGBT homeless young people in focus

The organisation ‘le refuge’, which cares for homeless young LGBT people held its annual action week around the IDAHOT 2014, with fundraiser events, media stunts, conferences and advocacy actions towards national and local public authorities.

LGBT police forces association join the IDAHOT 2014

The LGBT police forces association FLAG! kick-started an awareness raising campaign and training module amongst national police and security forces, with the support of the Ministry of Interior. The organisation launched a proposal for a police process at the national level to better track and report incidents of homophobic and transphobic violence.

IDAHOT 2014 in France – Police Association Campaign Poster

Strasbourg Sing-in

The LGBT choir, Pelicanto, from Strasbourg, France, joined the global sing-in for IDAHOT 2014 with this spectacular performance of “Uprising” by Muse, featured as part of their “Stras Wars” show. Dedicated to the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014, you can watch the video here.

For more information about Pelicanto, see their website.

Pelicanto, an LGBT choir from Strasbourg, joining the global ‘Uprising’ for equality on May 17, 2014.

Further Information

More information on IDAHOT 2014 actions in France can be found on the dedicated IDAHO France website.

IDAHOT 2014 in Albania included the premiere of the first documentary on LGBT communities in the country, a Festival of Diversity and a set of panels, and the 3rd Annual May 17 Gay Ride through the streets of the capital, Tirana.

Alliance Against Discrimination of LGBT and Pro LGBT organized the Third Tirana Gay Ride Against Homophobia at the “Boulevard of Martyrs” on “Mother Teresa” Square. You can watch a video of the action here:

IDAHOT 2014 Bike Ride in Tirana, Albania

Two groups also held a premiere screening of the documentary “SkaNdal” – the first ever documentary about the LGBT movement in Albania (with English subtitles). LGBT community members appeared for the first time with their faces and names and shared their personal stories about how the LGBT movement has changed their lives. You can watch the video trailer here:

Documentary film screening in Tirana, Albania.

Pink Embassy hosted a “Festival of Diversity” between 12-17 May, similarly to previous years. Activities included movie screenings, an NGO fair, parties and conferences. The group focused on Freedom of Expression through a specific media campaign on free speech/no hate speech.

Pink Embassy, in collaboration with the Human Rights House in Albania and Open Mind Spectrum Albania (OMSA), and Affiliate of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI), also jointly organized the first LGBT Pride in Albania under the slogan: Say YES LOVE! About 60 activists from Albania as well as Macedonian human rights activists attended the event.

Say YES LOVE! Pride event in Tirana for IDAHOT 2014.

A video of Say YES LOVE! Pride can be viewed here:

Further information

• Historia Ime: IDAHOT 2014, ‘a three part journey to acceptance‘
• About the 3rd Annual Ride: www.tiranagayride.com
• Information on Pink Embassy events: www.pinkembassy.al