Annual Conference 2025

Alongside local hosts, Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) and Tolerant Youth Association, we will be bringing activists and allies from across Europe and Central Asia together for a much needed gathering of our movement as we discuss, work together and strategize the way forward.

Take a look back at the highlights from last year’s Annual Conference in Bucharest

This year’s theme: Face Forward

We’re going through challenges unlike anything we’ve seen before, and so are many other social movements. The world is shifting beneath our feet – democracy is unravelling even in places we thought were stable, funding streams are drying up, and anti-rights forces are more emboldened and aggressive than ever. Governments are rolling back fundamental rights, eroding media freedom, freedom of assembly, and, critically, the ability of our organisations to operate. Our communities – especially trans people, intersex people, racialised people, and refugees – are facing unprecedented hostility and are further pushed into the centre of divisive public debates. Political hostility is growing, while institutions and allies we have counted on are retreating or disappearing entirely.

The world is changing, and so are we.

Some of the strategies that got us important wins will not be enough to take us forward. We need to hold our ground and think ahead. We need to navigate the tough challenges while having an even clearer and stronger sense of purpose. We need to refine our vision and organise in ways that match the reality we’re faced with.

It is our moment to reflect and make strong choices for the future, face forward.

At the conference, we will do so through a vibrant programme of panels, workshops, inspo sessions, and debates organised in two thematic tracks.

Track 1: Facing Forward: Political clarity in uncertain times

We have made great changes possible over the years – in legal rights, in public perception and debate, in the strength of our movements. But right now, so much of that is at risk. The political landscape is messy, fast-changing, and increasingly hostile.

The challenge is not just how we resist, but how we stay ahead of the curve.

This track is about digging into the sociopolitical realities we face, challenging our assumptions, and reimagining our strategies. This space will be for hard conversations and finding ways to not just react but make bold strategic choices and lead the way.

Our guiding questions in this track are:

• How do we protect and sustain our legal and policy wins?
• What does it mean to fight for democracy and fundamental rights and freedoms in a time of democratic decline?
• How do we push back against anti-rights narratives and political hate speech?
• How do we take back the narrative and keep bringing people in?
• What strategies help us hold space for those in our communities who are being targeted the most – trans communities, racialised people, refugees and migrants, along with many others?
• What strategies actually work when institutions are turning their backs on us?
• Where do we find leverage – and hope – in this changing world?

Track 2: What It Takes: Building power through challenges

Movements run on time, money, and, first and foremost, people, people, people. But right now, those resources are getting harder to lean on. Funders are shifting priorities, governments are clamping down on foreign funding, international support networks are shrinking, and personal risks for activists are only getting higher.

Again, the challenge is to not just survive but actively shape what we are as a movement.

This track is about exploring what is possible and what is necessary to resource our work when our usual sources shrink, and to keep growing our movements when personal risks are at an all-time high for many. Whether it is about smarter fundraising, building people power, or making the most of what we have, this track will be about clear vision and practical ideas for keeping our movements strong.

Our guiding questions in this track are:

• How do we strategically navigate the funding decline? What hard choices are needed? What alternative funding models are possible?
• How do we make the most of what we have?
• What does solidarity look like in the context of shrinking resources? How do we stand together as a movement, making sure those facing the harshest repression are not left out?
• How do we build our people-power at a time when resources are low? 
• What do we need to do to hold space for difference and resist polarisation within our movements?
• What should collective care look like to sustain us through tough times?

Our movement, and the change we are making are here to stay. What we create together, through care, resistance, queer joy, and vision, will endure, even on shifting sand. And it is up to us to shape what comes next with solidarity, political clarity, and collective courage. This is our moment to face forward, together.

Here are some important dates to pin down in your calendar!

16 April

• Start date to express your interest in attending the conference
• Start date to apply for a conference scholarship
• Start date to express interest in contributing to the programme

16 June                      

• Closing date to apply for a conference scholarship. Selection outcomes will be announced on 2 July. Successful applicants will be asked to fill in the registration form for the conference by 31 July.

31 July                        

• Closing date to express your interest in attending the conference. Registrations will be confirmed on 11 August.
• Closing date to express interest in contributing to the programme. Selection outcomes will be announced on 12 August.

If you have any questions about the Conference, please contact us at: Vilnius2025@ilga-europe.org