Workshop Sessions

The Council of Europe (47 member states with 800,000,000 people) promotes respect for human rights through its institutions: the Committee of Ministers (representatives of national governments), the Parliamentary Assembly or PACE (members of national legislatures), the Commissioner for Human Rights, and the European Court of Human Rights. Each of these institutions plays an important role in strengthening protection of the human rights of LGBT persons.

Speakers will discuss the work of the Council of Europe's Secretariat, DH-LGBT (the Committee of Experts on Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, which has prepared the first draft of a proposed Recommendation by the Committee of Ministers to member states), the Commissioner (Mr. Thomas Hammarberg), and PACE. The Chair will conclude by reviewing the Court's case law on issues other than the rights of same-sex couples (to the extent that the speakers have not covered it).

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Rising Through the Challenge Best Practice, Good Practice, whatever...let's talk about our successes!

Using models rooted in adult education, community development, and social movements, this workshop will present strategies and tools for engaging in best practice within your organization. ARC International and Mulabi are currently involved in a joint research project on "best practice", in conjunction with St. Francis Xavier University. In October of 2009, they will sponsor an International Dialogue focused on this topic and produce an on-line publication in early 2010.
Some of the successful practical approaches to advancing human rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity to be explored in this research will be featured in this workshop. In addition, participants will have time to offer cross-regional analysis and share their own stories of best practice.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Should the binary male/female role be a model? Should we all be considered Trans? What does being Trans mean in Asia, in Africa or in Latin America?

Come and listen to what activists from each of those regions have to say about their struggle as people but also as Human Rights defenders.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Drawing on case studies of the experience of the panellists in organising the First Asia Pacific Outgames held in Melbourne, Australia in January 2008: The aim of this workshop is to explore and learn from the experiences of active members of the LGBT human rights community in ensuring the inclusion of the diversity of our collective experience in our organising work (and play).

The premise of the workshop is that for global LGBT movements to become truly representative of our communities there needs to be effective operationalisation of principles of engagement and ownership, accompanied by genuine commitments to both new processes and outcomes. The workshop will explore the underlying principles that underpin successful growth as a movement of inclusion mutual respect and justice.

Greg Phillips (Australia), ABSTARR Consulting
Caudia Stapledon (Australia), Minus18
Jason Rostant (Australia), Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission

Room:

- Back to content overview -

A major survey - the first ever - of LGBT life in Denmark has just been published. The most significant findings will be presented and compared to the findings of a similar survey (Supporting LGBT Lives) just carried out in Ireland.

The presentation will be followed by a debate about which strategies should be adopted by the authorities and the LGBT communities to address the issues identified in the survey.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Young LGBT people across Europe face discrimination and exclusion in their everyday life. They experience estrangement from family, bullying and marginalisation at school, which can lead to such problems as underachievement and school drop-out, low self-esteem and mental ill-health. These in turn have a negative impact on the capacity of young LGBT people to manage the transition from school to work and to become confident and independent adults who can contribute to society.

The report by IGLYO and ILGA-Europe is a response to the need to bring attention to the social exclusion of young LGBT people in Europe and to put the issue on the agenda of national and European policy-makers. This publication highlights the effect that discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity has on young LGBT people’s capacity to be socially included and to become active citizens.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Claudia will examine the quickly changing trends that are facing corporate diversity in today's working environment. The audience will be invited to participate in a Q&A at the end of her presentation that promises to be lively and thought provoking for the LGBT community.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Robyn Garner and Anaraa Nyamdorj will discuss the media’s role in perpetuating societal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons in Mongolia. In Mongolia, there is widespread ignorance, hatred and fear of sexuality minorities - a societal mindset that is continually fuelled by the negative rhetoric that appears in the media. We contend that the media has played a key role in the ongoing and systemic discrimination against, and persecution and stigmatisation of, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community. Nino Susanto will present the work of Q! Film Festival: Using Films and Art as an effective medium of campaign for the Rights of LGBTQ community in Indonesia. The presentation is about showing how using this creative media as a tool to overcome the challenges faced on working and bring out the issues of Sexual Diversity and Gender Identity in the most-populated Muslim country, Indonesia.

Moderator:

Room:

- Back to content overview -

How does not respecting Human rights slow down access to health care for LGBT communities? How can we incorporate the Human rights dimension into health care programs? How do prevention programs succeed within contexts of Human rights violations? Is data collection possible in hostile environments? 
Questions that will be answered in this workshop! The workshop will explore new approaches and understanding of what it means to express differing sexualities beyond identities and labels, and find a discourse that is meaningful to the daily lives of those from the global south, and is larger than just LGBT rights.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

This workshop will present the findings of the first study of its kind undertaken in Canada which explored the needs of gay and lesbian elders, their caregivers and elder care professionals. The uniqueness of this research was that it engaged these three populations in, what was for most, the first ever opportunity for dialogue.
Concrete experiences, rooted in lives lived under the oppression of homophobic institutions, related to the coping strategies of these elders, as well as practical steps to undertake to improve their lives, will be presented. As well, the ongoing work that was a result of this research will be explored and discussed.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

This workshop includes four presentations which deal with heteronormativity and homophobia in various kinds of educational institutions and practices - with examples from Belgium, Sweden, Canada and Finland.

Alexis Dewaele will present the results of a qualitative research project focussed on the discourse of both heterosexual and homo- or bisexual youngsters concerning gender normative behaviour and attitudes towards homo- and bisexuality.

Anette Sjödin will present the "Beneath the Surface" project, which aims to combat discrimination and exclusion in school on the grounds of sexual orientation. Methods and best practices on how to approach the issue of sexual orientation in school as a workplace issue for employers, employees and trade unions will be presented.

Jukka Lehtonen discusses how heteronormativity is maintained and challenged in practises of the vocational upper secondary education in Finland. His research is part of a larger project "Citizenship, agency and difference in vocational upper secondary education".

Michael Bernier presents an analysis of students' reactions as witnesses or victims of homophobic incidents in Quebec schools. Are these incidents reported to the school staff? If yes, what happens when they are reported? If not, what are the reasons mentioned for not denouncing that kind of incidents?

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Major human rights breakthroughs have been made in the area of sport; Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali and Martina Navratilova are iconic athletes and human rights figures. Sport can demolish stereotypes and promote diversity but it can also harbour bigotry and discrimination.
Some countries are allowed to send only male athletes to the Olympic Games; homophobia and racism remain unaddressed at the highest levels of major sports.
This workshop will explore the power of sport to both perpetuate and overcome discrimination and share examples of effective human rights activism in sport!

Room:

-Back to content overview -

LGBT activists face religiously-based opposition to marriage, registered partnerships, and equal rights around the world. In this workshop, presenters will examine how religion might influence LGBTQ rights.
Jimmy Ciliberto and Federico Ferrari will present the results of a research conducted on a sample of Italian psychologists concerning their ideas, representations and prejudices about Family and Homoparentality.
Michael Adee will in his presentation provide key insights and skills to how LGBT activists and LGBT persons of faith can effectively counter the religious arguments that sanction homophobia and support discrimination.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

LGBT magazines, researchers, activists and lobbyists are constantly creating streams of information, including books, articles, papers, dissertations, research reports, discussion lists and blogs. In Europe these are being produced in many different languages, although the content may be useful across borders. We need each other’s information for our work, but few of us have the time or capacity to keep abreast of the information streams. And despite the amount of information being produced, journalists are not always able to find useable information. Is it time to work across the disciplines, internationally, to bring an information intermediary into the information flow, to package the information for greater accessibility?
A panel representing the fields of research, activism, lobby and journalism will interact with the workshop participants to investigate and discuss our information needs.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

The workshop shows the evolution of the representations of 'sexual practices between men' in the eyes of the Arabs since the beginning of colonialism to date. It is an attempt to position the international LGBTQ solidarity movement and the work for LGBTQ rights in the Middle East in the explosive context of Islamist extremism and the war against terrorism marketed and promoted in the name of human rights and minority rights.
This workshop is recommended for everyone interested in the LGBTQ rights and LGBTQ movement at the international level. It attempts to explain the radical opposition of certain Arab and Muslim countries to any sort of LGBTQ rights agenda away from the easy 'homophobia' tag.

Room:

- Back to content overview -