Actions for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014 took place across the country in more than ten towns and cities. Local authorities and community allies flew the rainbow flag up and down the country, roundtable discussion events were held, as well as film screenings, barbecues, art projects, installations and exhibitions, theatre performances and many more kinds of events. Just some of them are captured in this country report for IDAHOT 2014 in Australia.

Nationwide

World Love for IDAHOT 2014!

Participants of the group IDAHOT Sydney and Pride in Colours organised a major participatory art project & exhibition called out for contributions from people worldwide. Commemorating Freedom of Expression, the ‘World Love’ project invited people to send in the word for love in their own language, to form a short 3-minute video, shared online for the IDAHOT 2014.

The project was created to bring hope and create awareness that all LOVE is equal and beautiful. For more info you can contact Nick Baldas, creator of the project, at prideincolour@gmail.com.

The finished video is now available to watch here:

The Freedom Stories

A powerful new series of short films called The Freedom Stories was also launched in the week of IDAHOT 2014. Produced by ReachOut.com and LGBTI community health project ACON, the short films highlight the experiences of LGBTQI youth and aim to inspire and give hope.

Comedian Rhys Nicholson, who appears in one of the films, said “I remember being very disappointed to discover that after coming out, nothing really changed in my life. This thing that I had agonised and stressed over for so long was suddenly just a mundane fact. So this is a video about that… with swearing and innuendo. Everyone likes swearing and innuendo right?”

You can watch the films here:

To learn more about the project, visit ACON’s website.

Darebin

The Darebin Intercultural Centre hosted the event ‘Sexuality, Culture and Identity: exploring the connections’, on May 15, 2014. The event featured a screening of the short animation film In My Shoes, produced by the Centre for Multicultural Youth. Guest speaker Alyena Mohummadally also started a conversation around sexual and gender diversity in various communities. See the website for more details.

Melbourne

In Melbourne, communities came together for the IDAHOBIT 2014, in the form of a fundraiser event on May 16, in support of the (Re)framing Gender project. This initiative was created in March 2014 by YGLAM Queer Youth Theatre, with support from Ygender, to support young gender diverse and trans* communities, in and around the Darebin area, in meeting and discussing issues around gender diversity.

The event featured live music, poetry, puppetry, visual art, zine and art stalls and free food. Bitch Please, Trans Woman Distro and Possum Parcel had stalls, and featured performers included:

– YGLAM queer youth theatre group
– Tonié Field, ARIA-winning classical guitarist
– Geryon, lo-fi dream-pop and intricate loops
– Nicolette Forte, roots singer
– Fury, poet
– Ashley Ihasz (Crumbles), singer/songwriter
– Mick Roe, performer/writer
– Coral Ceto, aquatica/folk duo
– Sally Goldner, spoken word and stand-up comedian

The event took place at Northcote Town Hall, and the facebook event is here.

Yarraville, Melbourne

Hobson’s Bay City Council hosted a Premiere of the film
WESTANDPROUD as well as a flag raising ceremony, in commemoration of the IDAHOBIT 2014. The event was held at the Sun Theatre in the district of Yarraville, in the Melbourne area, on Monday May 19th.

Mayor Cr Sandra Wilson and keynote speaker and author Daniel Witthaus officially opened the event at 7.15pm.

The WESTANDPROUD project documents the lived-experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (GLBTIQ) individuals living in Melbourne’s Western Region and aims to expand understandings of local history, by incorporating the voices of GLBTIQ people, who have often been excluded from traditional narratives.

The lives and stories of eight individuals are documented through a series of short films by film maker Caitlin Byran, writer and producer of independent short film ‘The Outside Light’ which was selected to screen at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival and the St Kilda Film Festival 2013, as well as a number of international film festivals.

In the morning of May 19, there will also be a IDAHOBIT flag raising ceremony where everyone can attend. This event began in 2004 and marks the IDAHOBIT as the international day for taking action for a prejudice-free world regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

Communities also came together for a flag raising ceremony, speeches and morning tea on Monday May 19th, at the Civic Parade, in the Altona district.

The organisers said that “Supporting and acknowledging IDAHOBIT is one step forward in strengthening human rights for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation, sex or gender identity. It symbolises our support for and commitment to reducing the barriers faced by GLBTIQ people in our communities.”

For more details see this page or the Hobsons Bay City Council website.

Shepparton

In Shepparton, a two-day celebration of IDAHOT 2014 took place, Friday May 16 – Saturday May 17.

The event featured: FREE BBQ 12 noon – 2pm each day; Live local performing artists; Art/Craft activities; Rainbow umbrellas & merchandise for sale; Community mosaicing project; Leave your messages of love & support on our pink make-shift wall; Flag-raising ceremony.

Daniel Witthaus from the National Institute for Challenging Homophobia Education (NICHE) also launched the ‘oi!’ to challenge rural homophobia campaign. The ‘oi!’ campaign aims to give people in rural communities simple strategies to challenge everyday homophobia and to start everyday conversations about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

‘We can challenge rural homophobia one ‘oi!’ at a time,’ say the creators of the project, which is organised by the Diversity Project Greater Shepparton and supported by various organisations & businesses, including UnitingCare Cutting Edge, Greater Shepparton City Council, headspace, The Bridge Youth Services, Word and Mouth, Berry Street, Goulburn Valley Pride, Mooroopna Cares, No Bullying, and more.

Wyndham City

Wyndham City has proudly supported the Day over the past several years by raising the Rainbow flag and inviting the whole community to take a stand against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.

The event was held on Friday May 16, 2014, at the Wyndham City Civic Centre, and launched
two exciting projects: Safe Schools Coalition Victoria (SSCV) launched the new SSCV project ‘Gender is not Uniform’ campaign, and Transgender Victoria and YGender also launched a trans and gender diverse youth project called ‘What makes an Ally?’.

For more details see the Wyndham City website.

Bunbury

In Bunbury, the True Colours peer support group launched a the project ‘Pledge for a Safe Community’. As a part of the IDAHOT 2014 commemorations, young people from the True Colours peer support group in Bunbury asked local government, civil society organisations and the wider community to sign a pledge of support against homophobia and transphobia. By signing a pledge of support, agencies and individuals commit to be actively involved in promoting a safer and more inclusive community for people experiencing diversity in sexuality and/or gender.

You can find out more about the Pledge on the South West Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia page.

Ballarat

The focus was on ‘Fair Go Sport’ in Ballarat, as Zaque and Ballarat Basketball teams worked together, with local LGBTI communities, to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014. Both the RUSH and MINER players wore rainbow coloured socks during their home game on May 17th to raise awareness. There were also guest speakers at the game, and announcements made throughout the evening, as well as stalls with rainbow pins, stickers and umbrellas to buy. The event took place at MINERDOME Sports Club, Wendouree, Ballarat, Victoria, on May 17, 2014.

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

In Bolivia, a diverse set of community groups, government representatives, artists, musicians and community allies, came together for events in Santa Cruz and La Paz. Highlights included the TransFest festival – to celebrate gender expressions and diversities, and highlight trans* community issues, in Santa Cruz. Government officials also met with activists to develop public policies, on the basis of affirmation of May 17 as an officially recognised National Day Against Homophobia in the country.

The organization Igualdad Bolivia together with the Governor of Santa Cruz and Regional Office of the Ministry of Culture joined forces for the organization of the fifth version of the transgender festival, TransFest Bolivia “TRANSFORMANDONOS”, 2014. Held in the city of Santa Cruz, the event included artistic and live Performances as well as a prize-giving event.

TransFest Bolivia, held around the IDAHOT 2014.

You can watch a full video of the event here:

Press Conference and Government Meeting

On Thursday, May 15, a press conference was held, to draw attention to actions around the Day. These included a meeting between TLGB communities and representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Culture and Education, to elaborate joint actions under the remit of the Presidential Decree (of 2011), which officially recognises May 17 as Bolivian Day Against Homophobia. This action was developed with the support of Colectivo TLGB of Bolivia.

Book Presentation, Vigil and Documentary Launch

On Friday, May 16, a presentation of the book “Freedom to love and feel: Memoirs of gay and lesbian couples in Bolivia” was held as well as a Vigil Against Violence, and the launch of a documentary about homophobia in Bolivia. These actions were also supported by Colectivo TLGB of Bolivia.

Street Parade

A final action coordinated by the Colectivo TLGB of Bolivia, was a street parade on Saturday, 17 May, in which communities and allies came together to promote and defend the rights of sexual and gender minorities.

Photography Exhibition

Finally, the organization ADESPROC FREEDOM GLBT, from La Paz, Bolivia presented a photographic exhibition of artist Andres Palacios called “Sexualidad Paceña”, in one of the most important museums of the city, Musef.

Italy was witness to one of the strongest mobilisations for IDAHOT 2014, in Europe and worldwide. Actions took place in at least 15 cities, and countless topics and communities were the focus of activities around May 17 this year. Progressive voices of faith and individuals joined in prayer, reflection and remembrance in 14 towns and cities, as part of a Global Interfaith Prayer Initiative for IDAHOT 2014. The project ‘ddl405′ launched a video and public call for anti-transphobia and anti-intersexphobia messages to support their campaign. In the north of Italy a local youth organisation brought more than 500 people together to hug a UNESCO monument, amongst many other events.

Global Interfaith Prayer Initiative

For many years now, the Global Interfaith Prayer Initiative, organised from Italy by Gionata, an Italian Project addressing Faith and Homosexuality, and with the support of the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups, has taken place throughout the period around May 17 in various cities in Italy, and other countries. The focus of the vigil is to commemorate the victims of homophobic violence and discrimination. At the same time, organisers and participants also stand up and speak out against prejudice within the Church. The events were organised by local churches and groups, and took place in the following cities in Italy this year:

May 12: Bologna
May 15: Florence and Palermo
May 16: Padova, Parma, Pistoia and Rome
May 17: Borgo Priolo, Catania, Forano Sabino, Licata, Mantova, Pecara, Pinerolo, Rome, Torino and Trieste
May 18: Rome, Florence, Grosseto, Licata, Milan, Naples, Padova, Rimini and Trapani
May 20: Genova
May 22: Milan

The vigils and commemorations are set to continue in Italy until June 13 and will include Palermo, Livorno and Cremona.

Campaign ddl405

On the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the project ddl405 has launched their campaign video for the draft bill DDL405 to put forward to the Parliament. The bill would protect the rights of Italian transgender and intersex people, making a series of changes to the current legal framework.

The claims are to
– stop forced surgery for transgender people to enable them to legally change their name and gender;
– ease off the bureaucracy and relieve the expenses of transition;
– prevent the unconstitutional annulment of marriage in case one of the spouses changes their legal gender;
– end mutilating surgeries on intersex infants.

You can watch the ddl405 campaign video here (launched May 15):

The initiative also invited people to send in their message against Transphobia and Intersexphobia with a picture which was then published on their Facebook page.

Here is a message from Francesca Cellini, a candidate for city council in Bagno a Ripoli:

Francesca Cellini, local Italian politician, leaves her IDAHOT 2014 message.

You can find out more about the campaign on their blog and you can sign the petition here.

Free Expression Zone Bologna!

On May 17, the Cassero LGBT Center in Bologna together with ArciLesbica Bologna and other groups declared a Free Expression Zone on the Piazza dei Celestini in Bologna and later on they also took action in via d’Azeglio and Piazza del Nettuno. The public space was created into a space free from violence and racism, where all identities can be expressed. The space was created together with other civic associations active in the field of LGBT or other social justice questions. The space was occupied with workshops, small events, information tables, and activities from morning to evening.

You can find out more about the Center on their website and on Facebook page.

Casa Delle Donne di Milano

On May 18, the Casa delle Donne di Milano organised a conference with presentations and a discussion on the struggles and violence LBT women face, and on good practice to combat homophobia. They also talked about social constructions and the self-image of teenagers. Eva Schwarzwald addressed gender stereotypes and specifically body images; Helen Ibry, an anthropologist, gave a tour of Europe in twenty minutes with numeric data, legislative proposals and political situations of countries; and Milena Cannavacciuolo spoke about popular culture.

Presentation at Casa Delle Donne di Milano

Hug-In in Vicenza

Organised by the local Youth organisation Arcigay, Vicenza (Northern Italy) hosted a big ‘hug’ against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. More than 500 people gathered to hug the Palladian Basilica, a UNESCO monument.

Source: Arcigay Vicenza

Flashmob Venice

The Collettivo Stonewall Venezia LGBTIQueer organised a flashmob against Homophobia on Campo Santa Margherita, Venice. The flashmob was aimed at sparking discussion and increasing public awareness, by participants wearing a mask of Putin in the streets while homophobic insults were shouted and stories told about the impact of homophobic violence. To provide more details they also distributed flyers.

Source: Collettivo Stonewall Venezia LGBTIQ

LGBT Training in Torino

On occasion of the IDAHOT 2014, the LGBT Office of the city of Torino carried out training sessions about gender identity and sexual orientation, as part of a national strategy to sensibilize state officials and police forces.

This year is particularly important for our LGBT Office as the City of Torino, as national Secretariat of RE.A.D.Y, the Italian Rainbow Cities, Provinces and Regions, has been assigned by the national Government the meaningful task of translating in concrete actions the objectives and measures of the national LGBT Strategy.

Top level trainings on LGBT topics have already been carried out for the national Police and Arma dei Carabinieri high rank officials in April 2014 while other top level trainings are going to be hold for CEO belonging to the Minister of Labour and Regions.

Locally, the LGBT Office held its first LGBT training in the jail of Ivrea, a city nearby Torino, on gender identity and sexual orientation in detention. The session addressed police officers, psychologists and social assistants of the Penitentiary Police working in the LGBT section of the prison of Ivrea. LGBT transsexual/transgender persons are likely to experience a double suffering in detention: restrictions of freedom, and restrictions in specific areas of prisons. “Our training focused on sexual identity, applicable law, good practice for the management of transsexual/transgender and homosexual persons in jail aiming at their social and professional reintegration in society,” the organisers explained.

Further details about the national strategy are available here.

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

In India, two contributions to the celebration of the IDAHOT 2014 were reported. Actions addressed the petition at the Supreme Court to officially recognise third gender communities, and also the theme of the Right to Love – with a project started by students from Jamia Millia Islamia.

Queer, Trans and other progressive groups that are part of the Chennai Rainbow Coalition (formed by several formal and informal local collectives working on gender, sexuality, environment, media, youth, culture, HIV/AIDS, and social justice issues), hosted a discussion on ‘The NALSA ruling and our struggle to end transphobia in India’ as part of their IDAHOT action.

At the event, the participants discussed the new developments in the Supreme Court after the petition in April.

The group Orinam, a social and support organisation for LGBT people and allies in and around Chennai, reported on the Supreme Court petition and ruling as followed:

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, after hearing the petition filed by the National Legal Services Authority, passed a historic judgement on Transgender Rights on April 15, 2014.

“Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue,” Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan told the Supreme Court while handing down the ruling.

It was fitting that Supreme Court verdict of India chose April 15 specifically to rule favourably in the National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 400 of 2012]. It was on April 15, 2008, that the Aravani (Transgender) Welfare Board was constituted by the Tamil Nadu state government, as the first of its kind in the country. Trans* and queer communities in the state celebrate April 15 as Transgender Day. Many welfare measures enacted by the TN Transgender Welfare Board have been taken up as country-wide recommendations by the Report of the Expert Committee of the national Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment. Per Justice Sikri, these recommendations are to be implemented in six months (i.e. by October 15, 2014) after re-examining them in light of the legal declaration made in the judgement.

A small group of Indian student activists from Jamia Millia Islamia, also started a project which addresses the issue of the ‘Right to Love’. In the project, the students document true to life stories of love from across the country. “Love shouldn’t need a justification at all. It is our right,” it affirms.

Tahir Ahmed, co-founder of the project, explains, “For one, Right to Love is not just about the right to have sex with a consenting adult. We are talking about all the other rights too—be it the right to marry, the right to own property as a gay couple, the right to economic equality as a homosexual.”

Contributions to the project consist of short five minute video clips, which narrate personal stories of people struggling to cope with being queer in India, where same-sex acts are criminalized and Homosexuality is condemned by big parts of the society as ‘unnatural’.

The newspaper DNA, an English daily released across Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad and Jaipur reported on this project on May 19.

You can watch the first part of the series here:

Hong Kong saw a great variety of actions during the week around IDAHOT 2014. Organized by an alliance of four human rights organizations  (Pink Alliance, Pink Season 粉紅天, Amnesty International Hong Kong, and Transgender Resource Center), the IDAHOT-HK committee was set up to coordinate the 2014 IDAHOT-HK event series.

RainbowLaces social media campaign

The series kicked off with the #RainbowLaces social media campaign. During the first two weeks of May, Hong Kong’s twittersphere was blasted by the pictures of rainbow laces that the Committee produced and distributed to build awareness in the lead up to the Day. Under the theme of “Express yourself, express your rights, express your support!”, ANZ Bank sponsored the rainbow laces campaign.

Transgender Awareness Session

In partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, the series continued by hosting an Active Transgender Awareness Session on May 14th, as a way of putting specific emphasis on the importance of equal rights for transgender communities in Hong Kong.

Candlelight Vigil

The commemorations of IDAHOT 2014 continued further when the IDAHOT Candlelight Vigil took place on May 16th. At the vigil event, organisers screened a series of short videos and presented a panel discussion which shed light on stigma and discrimination, as experienced by LGBT individuals in Hong Kong and worldwide. Amongst the panelists were Geena Rocero, an American/Filipino trans supermodel who recently rose to fame by bravely sharing her coming out story via TEDTalk. Rocero spoke out on the need for expanded legal rights for all trans individuals.

Accompanying Rocero on the stage, Michael J. Morrill, Mr Gay Hong Kong 2013, also shared his experiences of the stigma he faced on a daily basis, as an openly HIV-positive gay man.

The event ended with the audience lighting up candles in remembrance of the victims of hate crimes from Hong Kong’s LGBT community, and from around the world.

The whole vigil event can be watched here:

Street Exhibition

On May 17 itself, a street exhibition showcasing the discrimination that LGBT people are facing internationally and locally was organized by Gay Harmony, Women’s Coalition of HKSAR and , and Rainbow Action. Aiming to raise awareness of the suffering of LGBT people, and to promote anti-discrimination legislation around sexual orientation and gender identity, the exhibition graced the pedestrian lanes of Great George Street at Causeway Bay, with art installations and performances. The organisers also held a ‘Domino down’ event – building a legislative Rainbow Road, where over 400 domino bricks (as a symbol of discrimination) were knocked down to show the six-color rainbow as a symbol of equality.

In Hungary, the International Gay and Lesbian Youth Organisation, IGLYO, organised an IDAHOT seminar in Budapest, together with partners. The organisation Háttér organised a seminar focused on human rights and the legal status of LGBTQI people. In Szeged, the organisation Colorful Circles also organised a seminar which aimed to sensibilise mainly people working in the educational sector to LGBTI related issues. In Budapest, the organisation Transvanilla also organised a one minute of noise against Homophobia and Transphobia, amongst other events in the country.

Transvanilla Shout Against Hate

Rather than holding one minute silence, activists making part of the trans* rights group Transvanilla decided to organise a One Minute’s Noise/Shout Against Hate for IDAHOT 2014. The action took place at the 5th European Transgender Council in Budapest on 3rd May 2014.

The organisers took a video of the action to make their noises and voices heard worldwide, which you can see here:

LGBTI Young People from across Europe join for Budapest Conference

The IDAHOT seminar “Young People’s responses to Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Speech” was hosted at European Youth Center in Budapest. In the framework of the No Hate Speech Movement, this seminar took place from the 15th to the 17th and was organised by  IGLYO  in cooperation with the Council of Europe Equality Division (SOGI Unit) and the European Youth Center Budapest. In order for everyone around the world to follow the seminar, organisers live streamed the event. The seminar aimed to identify and discuss Hate Speech against LGBTI people, and to develop strategies to tackle it. As the organisers explained prior to the event:

‘During the seminar and in the movement there will be prepared some actions to be implemented by activists all over Europe. The aim of the seminar is, amongst others, to get people and organisations not used to work with LGBTQI issues to take the next step towards human rights for all… The topic of IDAHOT “Freedom of Expression” is very relevant when talking about Hate Speech. It’s a question of how you use your freedom of expression. Do you use it to promote human rights and social cohesion or to spread hate and dehumanise LGBTQI?’

On May 17, the activists at the European Youth Centre in Budapest had launched an online action hour against Homophobic and Transphobic Hate speech. The action hour was live from the IGLYO and Council of Europe’s seminar “Young People’s responses to Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Speech” and invited everyone to use their Right to Freedom of Expression and to speak up for Human Rights for all. The main message of the online action was that Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Speech is a direct threat to freedom of expression and the human right to freedom of speech for everyone.

Love is a Human Right !

Also on May 17 there was also the action SZABAD A CSÓK! which included a party, photo exhibition with the title ‘Love is a Human Right’. Additionally, the organiser Háttér had also hosted a seminar about the situation of LGBTQI people in Hungary and Human Rights. The issue of right-wing forces pushing against LGBTI equality and the legal status of LGBTQI communities formed a major part of the discussions. There was also a report presented which highlighted two major problem areas; also highlighted as part of a seminar. One concerned the educational system in relation to sexual and gender minorities, and the other, the uncertain legal status of same-sex couples raising children. The seminar took place on May 16 at the Central European University in Budapest.

Katalin Szajbély . Source: Háttér

Colourful Circles Training Event

Colourful Circles hosted a training which had the aim was to make participants more open to the situation of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) minorities, particularly concerning education and school situations. The key issues were human rights, freedom, justice, equality, human dignity, democracy, rights, interdependence, solidarity, stereotype, prejudice, minority and majority identity, homophobia, coming out, hetero-sexism, and LGBT themes in general. The event took place on May 17 in Szeged and was mainly aimed at teachers.

Colourful Circles Event Poster

In Thailand actions for IDAHOT 2014 took place in various cities, involving all kinds of different stakeholders – from UN agencies to schools and young people to trans* and gender non-conforming communities, to artists and community activists. Topics highlighted by local groups included bullying in schools, transphobia, and freedom of expression.

School Rainbow Campaign

As part of a wider effort to wipe out LGBT bullying in schools, a broad coalition of groups – UNAIDS Asia Pacific, UNESCO Asia Pacific, APCOM, Youth Voices Count and Youth Lead – joined forces to organise the ‘School Rainbow’ campaign. The campaign encourages communities to come together to make chalk drawings of rainbows in city spaces, therefore symbolising the importance of diversity, public space use, and messages of inclusivity. The collective art works were mainly produced around school gates and other settings where young people are likely to come together.

Planned, coordinated and executed in partnerships with students, schools, and local communities, the campaign also brought ‘the rainbows into the classroom’ with the support of lessons on sexual diversity, acceptance and the right to education. The chalking rainbows action started on May 12 and went on throughout the week around IDAHOT 2014 in at least 4 schools and universities in Bangkok. To learn more about the School Rainbow campaign, you can see the campaign’s website.

Rainbow chalking at New International School Thailand | Photo by UNAIDS/H. Nhan

Study, event and infographic on LGBTI bullying in Thailand

In addition to the School Rainbow event, UNESCO Asia Pacific also commemorated the Day by releasing the first ever systematic study (and infographic) which documents bullying on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools in Thailand. The study formed part of a joint effort of the agency, together with Plan International Thailand and Mahidol University. The study was released as part of another IDAHOT event, “Bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people in Thailand: Risks and Realities,” at Thailand Knowledge Park (TK Park), 14 May, 5.30pm-8pm.  Organized by UNESCO Asia Pacific, UNAIDS Asia Pacific and the Embassies of the United States and the Netherlands in Thailand, the event also included a film screening and panel discussion showcasing experiences and perspectives on the realities and risks of discrimination and bullying against LGBTI young people.

Power Rainbow Workshop for Young People

Still on the theme of anti-bullying, Anjaree Foundation held a ‘Power Rainbow Workshop’ for young people (high school and college students) on May 17 at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre. The workshop provided a forum for LGBTI students to exchange stories of their school life as well as for educators and students to discuss how to reduce bullying, violence and discriminatory practices within school environments in particular, as well as within Thai society in general.

The Panelists of Power Rainbow workshop

Thai Transgender Alliance Actions

The day before May 17, trans* communities and their allies came together to focus on issues of both transgender rights and freedom of expression, as part of an IDAHOT event organized by Thai Transgender Alliance (Thai TGA). Held in Bangkok Art and Cultural Center from noon to 6.30 PM, a “Where Everyone Can Express Themselves” workshop aimed to shed light on the freedom and rights of Thai transgender individuals in accessing state public services, private sector services and employment.

Participants of the “Where Everyone Can Express Themselves” Workshop

IDAHOT Bangkok Actions

The city of Bangkok also has its own IDAHOT Working group, which is made up of individual LGBTIQ activists, and supported by Rainbow Sky Association Thailand volunteers, Anjaree Foundation, Galaya Club, People’s Empowerment Foundation, and some HIV-focused organisations such as SWING and The Poz.

The working group  conducted an IDAHOT campaign this year which was also focused on the concept of freedom of expression. Comprising a smart, cost-free social media advocacy campaign, which plays on the freedom of expression concept, the working group launched the campaign: “IDAHOT Selfies; This is me! This is us!”. The campaign invited LGBTIQ communities and allies to take selfies and post them with the #SiamIDAHOT hashtag on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. These selfies were collected into one post-campaign image to create a visual tapestry/representation of LGBTIQ identities in Thailand.

The working group also conducted candlelight vigil ceremony on the evening of May 17 to close the IDAHOT celebration in Thailand together with the above organizers.

The Bangkok IDAHOT 2014 Candlelight Vigil

Egyptian activists marked May 17, 2014, with the “Everyone is Different” online campaign, as well as a day of action to support trans communities, sport activities, theatre plays, media productions, videos, articles and radio episodes about homophobia.

The campaign “Everyone is Different” started on May 11 and included a series of events until May 17.

The organizers started the week of events on May 11, the Egyptian Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. This day is highly symbolic because it marks the case of the Cairo 52 – a group of gay men who were arrested in 2001, after attending the Queen Boat nightclub. This year marked the 3rd year in which the EDAHOT was commemorated in the country, serving to remind people of the persecution LGBTI communities face in the region, historically and today.

Everyone is Different Campaign – E/IDAHOT 2014

The week of events also included several sessions and seminars in two major cities. These actions addressed topics including of the role of media in perpetuating homophobia and transphobia, and the persecution of LGBTI communities and other minorities.

A day of activities to support trans* communities, sport activities, a theater play, media production videos, articles and a radio episode about homophobia also marked the EDAHOT – IDAHOT 2014 period in Egypt this year.

Further information

• Bedayaa LGBT Organization: Facebook page.