One of the largest global gatherings of LGBTIQA+ change-makers will meet in Long Beach, California, next month for the conference of the ILGA World conference, hosted by the It Gets Better Project.
The biannual conference, to be held on May 2–6, will include more than 600 attendees.
ILGA World is a worldwide federation of more than 1,700 organisations from more than 160 countries and territories campaigning for LGBTIQA+ human rights.
Members will meet to report on the situation of LGBTIQA+ people on the ground in their home countries or territories, discuss the future of the global movement, and collectively chart ways to advance equality worldwide.
The conference theme is ‘LGBTIQA+ youth: future present change’: a powerful reminder of how youth can weave alliances, speak truth to power, and mobilise communities towards change.
“The 2022 ILGA World Conference is one of the first occasions since the COVID-19 pandemic started that the global LGBTIQA+ community is able to gather together again in the same space, and we need this now more than ever,” said ILGA World Co-Secretaries General Luz Elena Aranda and Tuisina Ymania Brown.
“People around the world still face violence and discrimination because of whom they love, how they look and present, or because their bodies are seen as different.
“Often laws and legislation do not protect our communities but exclude and deprive them of their human rights.”
They said that this year has seen more than 240 pieces of anti-LGBTIQA+ legislation proposed in the US alone.
“The reality for most of the world is that every piece of anti-LGBTIQA+ legislation enacted in one country sets a precedent for other governments and hate groups to push for – and to adopt – similar legislation,” said Arand and Brown.
The ILGA World Conference is an opportunity to learn about the lived realities of LGBTIQA+ people worldwide, how every country can play a role, and the future of advocacy.
The full conference schedule is available online.
pinkadvocate.wordpress.com 