Workshop Sessions

At the end of 2006, the Yogyakarta Principles were launched. Since then governments across the world have embraced them, but what do they mean for LGBT activists and their work? Are the Principles usable for activists? Or not at all? Good practices come from Indonesia, but other activists struggle…
An interactive workshop with presentations about work with or without the Principles and discussions with the audience about the meaning of the Principles.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Challenging (or Claiming?) the Grey Suits
LBT Women and the UN

How can LBT women make a difference at the international level? Are you interested in women's rights at the UN and learning about recent gender reform across all areas of the UN system? Or do you want to explore how international human rights mechanisms can support national or regional LBT advocacy?
This practical workshop will use a talk show format to explore tools for international advocacy, with a focus on recent developments for women. Particular attention will be paid to how you can use the international system to bring attention to LBT women's rights priorities in your own country, including through treaty bodies like CEDAW (tasked with monitoring compliance by your government with its international obligations for the dealing with discrimination against women), the Commission of the Status of Women (functional commission of ECOSOC dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women) and the UN Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, including some Special Procedures specifically focused on women.
In addition, we will examine how the Yogyakarta Principles can be used as a tool for LBT women.
So come along, share your experiences, and help advance human rights for LBT women!

Room:

- Back to content overview -

This workshop focuses on the relationship of LGBTQ people, groups and organizations in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) to international (i.e. Western) LGBTQ and human rights groups. On the one hand, cooperation and experience exchange can benefit both international and MENA groups. On the other hand, there is often a feeling in the MENA region that these international groups behave quite paternalistically in their dealings with MENA groups.
In this workshop, we will discuss this cooperation and deal with the advantages and possible drawbacks of this kind of cooperation seen from a MENA perspective.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Homosexuality in Bolivia is still an explosive taboo. Last year's gay pride was attacked with dynamite injuring several people. There are some signs of positive change, but there is still a long way for Bolivian homosexuals to achieve the respect of their basic human rights from the authorities and fellow Bolivians.
This workshop tends to shed some light on the complexity of this subject and at the same time discuss if European gay rights movement should support the Bolivian homosexuals more actively – and if so, how.
The workshop consists of three parts: First a brand new documentary about three young homosexual Aymara Indians in La Paz will be shown. Second the protagonists of the documentary will explain more about their decision to found a new gay rights organization and their dreams for the future. Finally a discussion between the executive director of Adesproc Libertad, the co-chair from ILGA-Europe, and the three protagonists will take place.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

With three different presentations, we will present the colonial legacy of anti-sodomy laws through section 377 that began in India and travelled through South and South-East Asia, and Africa; and ongoing the legal and political challenge in India.
Alok Gupta will attempt to examine the origins of sodomy laws in British Colonialism with a fuller picture of debates and contestations that have shaped both the meaning and the challenges against the law.
Sumit Baudh will analyse the human rights and the criminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts in the Commonwealth, South and Southeast Asia.
Siddharth Narrain will analyse the current legal challenge to section 377 in the Delhi High Court, including an analysis of the text if the judgement which is expected to be delivered in the next few months.
The main questions that this presentation seeks to answer are: What were the strategies used by the various parties that are arguing this case in the Delhi High Court? What are the implications of the expected decision for the LGBT rights movement in India?

Room:

- Back to content overview -

This workshop will examine legal and social issues in asylum claims by LGBT/HIV + persons, with a focus on claims in Denmark, England, Turkey and Israel. Søren Laursen will examine decisions from asylum cases in Denmark as documentation of persecution of LGBT-persons.
Based on the 150+ cases presented to the board since late 1980-ies concerning LGBT-persons, a picture is drawn of the character of persecution and the ways LGBT-persons try to cope. Furthermore the Danish practice in the decisions is described.
Nuno Ferreira will discuss asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in England, including the decision making process, credibility findings, and the 'gay check-list'.
Neil Grungras will review the state of LGBT/HIV+ refugees today, focusing on two at-risk populations: Iranian and other LGBT refugees in Turkey and Palestinian LGBTs in Israel. He will demonstrate to participants how they can act and empower others to save LGBT refugees, whether across the border or across the world.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

 Este taller está enfocado en profundizar discusiones y compartir aprendizajes a partir del análisis de las vivencias y experiencias concretas de las personas LGBT.Ppropiciar el desarrollo de propuestas y acciones.
Jeannette Tineo presentará apuntes para la irreflexión desde lo genero-generacional,
reflexionando sobre las implicaciones ser joven y lesbiana en el Caribe, relacionando praxis políticas en los movimientos LGTB y feminista. Examinará formatos y paradigmas que condicionan, el decir y hacer de las lesbianas jóvenes, en relación a si mismas, otras (os), así como sus espacios.
Iris Luz Hernández analizara génesis y las motivaciones políticas de las marchas LTGB. Presentará resultados del estudio (2007) para indagar las motivaciones políticas de quienesparticipan. Los grupos LTGB, lesbianas feministas y grupos emergentes y no asociados a los grupos políticos formales son el escenario, para establecer propuestas que incida en la erradicación de la discriminación y construcción de nuevos derechos, que confronten la heteronormatividad.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

This workshop will inform attendees about the situation of human rights of LGBT people in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Presenters will look at the challenges and opportunities for advocacy of enhanced protection of human rights in the three countries; Discuss strategies used taking two or three cases; Speak about the human rights advocacy within the Precis project using available European Union, Council of Europe and UN mechanisms.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

In a time when we speak more and more about the buying power of the LGBT community, this workshop will explore how we can take this reality and position ourselves as contributors to the growth of society in general. Our professional partners will advise on building relationships with the mainstream media, governments and business organizations. By doing so, they will highlight the common benefits of such a collaboration.

Moderator:

Room:

- Back to content overview -

We will go beyond the borders of our own community and listen to transgender individuals talk about their own experiences as a minority that has been silenced for so long. How can they feel respected at work? How has the LGBT community paved the way to include transgender people in their policies and advocacy? What needs to be done to allow them a full place within our community and society in general?
Join us in this eye-opening session to be informed by a panel of transgender professionals who share their experiences in the business world and the challenges they face to advance their careers and their lives.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

The Norwegian, Swedish and Danish confederations of trade unions (LO) gather their knowledge and experience with homosexuality in the workplace. Our joint Nordic workshop brings into focus the workplace and the hetero norm, glass walls and social exclusion at the job and finally trade unions and gay networks.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Accommodating multiple gender variant identities in the workplace; including crossdressers, transsexuals. Heteronormative practice in the work environment negatively impacts the lives of LGBTQ people every day. It takes everyone in the work place to challenge the systemic practices that allow these practices to continue.
When you decide to step forward and have your human rights in the workplace upheld you have overcome the first challenge, believing in your inalienable right to be your authentic self. Then the, where, who, what, why, how begins. Where do you begin? Who supports you? What challenges do you face? Education, who designs the resources? Lack of understanding about gender variance as opposed to transitioning. Why take up the challenge? How to overcome heteronormative bias/prejudice and systemic practices? How to take care of yourself while confronting discrimination and harassment. How do you build understanding of the gender variant persons needs in the workplace?

Room:

- Back to content overview -

This workshop focuses on promoting health and well-being for women who have relationships with women. We explore this theme in the context of discourses of safer sex; lesbian families and the constraints of the closet; and partner abuse in women's same-sex relationships.
Through examination of these three issues, this workshop identifies some of the barriers which ongoing stigma, secrecy, stereotyping, inequalities and discrimination pose to the achievement of physical, emotional and sexual well-being in women's same-sex relationships and families. A common thread running through our papers is the understanding that the silences and misunderstandings which surround women's same-sex relationships and families sustain their marginalization. This has important implications for women's interactions with health professionals, educators, the police, and the legal system. These silences and the failure to recognize the needs of LGBT women must be challenged if women are to be supported to build healthy relationships and families.

Room:

-Back to content overview -

Rural Western Australia is characterised by vast distances and low population density. There is only one city in a state the size of central Europe and few services exist outside this metropolitan area. Evidence shows that people living in rural areas are at increased risk of suicide and queer people are also known to be at greater risk. The combination of these factors presents a serious issue for our state. Funding from the National Suicide Prevention Strategy gave us an opportunity to establish a unique partnership between a mainstream non-government organisation, a queer community organisation and a church group. Through this partnership we were able to run training workshops across 6 rural communities, focussing on issues of diverse sexuality and gender. The aim was to raise awareness of these issues and increase accessibility to support services.
This presentation will provide a background to the project and the work we undertook. The main focus will be a discussion of the barriers that were faced, how we have worked to overcome these and some of the positive outcomes.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Education employees play an important role in creating a supportive and safe learning climate in schools, in which bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity is addressed. This workshop will share information about four training modules that address interrupting bias, classroom strategies for empowering student advocates, communication around controversial topics, as well as the intersections of gender, race, and GLBT issues. The workshop will include sample activities for use in schools, as well as a discussion of the GLBT Training Cadre established by the largest education union in the United States, the National Education Association. The session will be led by two teacher trainers.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

GLISA is committed to building partnerships with LGBT sport associations and Human Rights organizations around the world. The second pillar of the GLISA mission is to make all places safe for LGBT athletes to play sport. GLISA has worked toward the realization of this mission with the convening of the 1st World Outgames in Montreal 2006 and with successful continental games in Calgary 2007 and Melbourne 2008. All of these events featured sport competitions and human rights conferences.
This presentation will discuss the experiences of Outgames coordinators in planning these events and working to build a partnership between LGBT sport and human rights.

Julia Applegate (USA), GLISA International/ GLISA North America
Said Pulido (Mexico), GLISA Central, South America
Jason Rostant (Australia), Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission

Room:

- Back to content overview -

This workshop addresses homophobia and its effects on LGBT athletes in sport, with cases studies from the United States, Flanders and Brussels. Dee Mosbacher examines how US women's collegiate sports, caught in a web of homophobic practices, destroys the lives and dreams of many of its most talented athletes. Koen Vanbiervliet will present two actions that will address homophobia in sports in Flanders and Brussels; a campaign and a LGBT day of sports. Alexandre Gerwinat will address the problems caused by overt and covert discrimination of people with homosexual orientations in the context of (professional) sports research and practice. Results reveal that not only sex but also categorizations regarding sexual orientations are highly salient in sports. Gordon Dunbar will present his study of the Athletic Popularity Syndrome in gay culture, which aims to test how athletic involvement and excellence influence the status system of young Canadian gays and lesbians.

Room:

- Back to content overview -

The claims of LGBT families to equal recognition raise many issues under European Union law, the European Convention on Human Rights, and other international law. The EU's Directive 2000/78/EC prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, including employment-related pension benefits. Yet, the European Court of Justice has largely left it to the national level to decide whether to grant same-sex couples equal rights (outside of marriage). In several pending cases, the European Court of Human Rights has been asked to interpret the Convention as requiring some alternative means (apart from marrying) for same-sex couples to qualify for rights linked to marriage. Are we moving towards a right in international law to have a registered partnership recognised abroad, or even towards a right to a registered partnership law with a minimum content in every country?

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Set against a backdrop of the Bush administration’s policy of endless war and assault on civil liberties, this film is a cautionary tale of a young mayor of a small US village who decided to do the unthinkable.
Life was good in the peaceful village; its charm was almost mythic -- nestled in the misty hills far away from the city traffic, far away from the guns of war. Life was fine for Jeffrey and Billiam, the days passed pleasantly by. But one thing tinged their life with pain. They longed to do the unthinkable. And then one day they thought, maybe things could change!

The director Nancy Nicol will introduce the film and and draw upon her paper (Sexualities, Dec. 2008, co-authored with Miriam Smith), comparing the US and Canadian same-sex marriage battles.

Directed and produced by Nancy Nicol.
Funded in part by The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. 2008 Intervention Video Inc. (54 min.)

Family and Relationships

Room:

- Back to content overview -

Join editor Robyn Ochs, and contributors Lars Næsbye Christensen (Denmark), Miguel Obradors (Spain) and “Senspa” (Uganda), for a celebration of the release – in English, Spanish and Chinese – of Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World. This groundbreaking anthology of bisexual voices contains the writings of people from 41 different countries ranging in age from 15-79 and examines bisexual identity in international context. How does context affect experience? Which are shared experiences of bisexuality, and which are culturally specific? Come learn more about the book, the project and – of course – about bisexuality!

Lars Næsbye Christensen (Denmark), LBL
Miguel Obradors (Denmark/Spain), LBL & Pangea
Senspa (Uganda)
Robyn Ochs (US), bisexual writer, activist and educator

Room:

- Back to content overview -