Important achievements/events

A transgender questionnaire looking at multiple identities of transgender people, who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, is being distributed to gain more reliable data for ILGA-Europe.

ILGA-Europe and COC Nederland co-sponsor the “Preventing and combating discrimination” capacity-building conference in Sofia for Romanian and Bulgarian NGOs, organised by Bulgarian Gay Organisation (BGO) Gemini in February.

The annual EU National Co-ordination Network meeting takes place in Brussels in March; for the first time, participants from the 10 new member states as well as from Romania and Bulgaria attend.

More than 50 people join ILGA-Europe celebrating the enlargement of its Brussels office at Tervurenlaan on 26 March.

ILGA-Europe’s strategic plan and new organisational structure to reflect the diversity of the organisation’s membership, together with new mission, vision and value statements and according amendments to the Constitution are discussed in the run-up to the annual conference.

ILGA-Europe receives OSI funding for the project “Integration of LGBT health issues into state health policy in Central and Eastern Europe”.

ILGA-Europe lends support to the logistics of the 5th regional meeting of the South-East European Queer (SEE Q) Network, which takes place in Skopje (Macedonia) in October.

In October, ILGA-Europe organises for the first time a side event at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw.

Publications: Again, four issues of the ILGA-EuropeNewsletter are published, and Euro-Letter # 110-117. ILGA-Europe also publishes its policy paper “Meeting the Challenges of Accession”.

Staff news: In January Don Bisson starts working as director of ILGA-Europe’s East Europe, Council of Europe and transgender programmes. Christine Loudes joins the team as policy and research officer in February replacing Sheila Swatschek who was hired on a temporary basis. Miha Lobnik starts working as Don’s project assistant in August, Kim Smouter as stagiaire in September (until December 2005).

In October, Patricia Prendiville starts working as executive director, replacing Ailsa Spindler who resigns in June. Juris Lavrikovs starts working as communications and information officer in October, too.

Annual Conference in Budapest, Hungary

The conference (theme: “Coming out to the EU”, 27-31 October) is hosted by Háttér Baráti Társaság a Melegekért. 220 delegates from 40 countries attend; 68 scholarships are granted.

Göncz Kinga, Hungarian Minister for Social and Family Affairs and Equal Opportunities, delivers a keynote speech.

In this year’s award ceremony, Joke Swiebel, chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights 1999-2004, and Tabajdi Csaba, MEP and Hungarian MP who took a prominent stand in defence of LGBT rights as rapporteur for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (see under “2000”), are honoured for their commitment and support.

A new board is elected: Maxim Anmeghichean (Moldova), Vera Cîmpeanu (Romania), Riccardo Gottardi (Italy), Tatjana Greif (Slovenia), Deborah Lambillotte (Belgium), Jackie Lewis(United Kingdom), Pierre Serne (France) and Nigel Warner (United Kingdom).

Reserves: Philipp Braun (Germany), Vanja Hamzić (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Inge-Lise Paulsen (Denmark) and Maya Salvadó Ferrer (France).

As Tatjana resigns in January 2005, Maya joins the board as a full member. Maxim resigns in June 2005 as he is hired as the new programmes director. Vanja fills the vacancy on the board.