Fourteen civil society organisations and trade unions -including ILGA-Europe- have written a joint statement to the European Union and European governments to respond to the threat to our democracies in Europe. The representatives of the signatories handed over the statement to the First Vice-President Frans Timmermans on 26 November in Brussels.
Read the statement in full.

 

Apply now to the workshop “Responding to the anti-gender movement: the rhetoric of the opposition, our movement’s capacities and ways to build our narratives” that will take place in Brussels from 31 January to 2 February 2018. We encourage participation of two people per country, where possible from different organisations and with a different set of competences, to foster cooperation between the LGBTI movement and other groups targeted by the opposition. Deadline for submitting your application is 9 December 2018 at 18.00 CET.
Read more about the workshop and apply.

 

15 activists from Sarajevo Open Centre participated to a 2-day workshop on campaigning and message framing facilitated by ILGA-Europe Senior Campaign and Programmes officer Laura Piazza, which took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 19 to 21 November. Participants worked on building campaign strategies and experimenting new narratives around two main upcoming campaigns: same-sex partnerships and first Pride of Sarajevo.
Learn more about our work on strategic communications.
Visit the online resource centre on strategic communications.

Different forms of artistic expression have an outstanding role in self-portraying life situations, feelings, internal and external battles around the Roma LGBTQI communities. QRTV Europa and Romani Cultural and Arts Company, presented at the ILGA-Europe Annual Conference in Brussels an overview of the artworks, activists and events of Roma LGBTQI people who are trying to awake and empower themselves in a complex, marginalising and sometimes firmly humiliating oppression. The gallery was implemented by Laszlo Farkas aka Gypsyrobot, Hungarian DJ, visual artist, activist and initiator of QRTV Europa.
Read more about BaxtArte.
Read more about intersectionality at the ILGA-Europe Annual Conference.

 

On 1 October International Day of Older Persons, AGE Platform Europe launched a 70-day campaign culminating on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights against ageism to illustrate the harmful effects of ageism and how it impacts people across the life course. Between 5 and 11 November, ILGA-Europe joined #AgeingEqual campaign and revealed the reality about ageing and sexuality for LGBTI people.
Check out our #SilverRainbow campaign from 2015.
Have a look at our resource webpage on age and LGBTI.

Kaspars Zalitis is the board member of Association of LGBT and their friends MOZAIKA and former Co-Chair of Baltic Pride 2018 and EuroPride 2015 and wrote a blog post for ILGA-Europe Blog about the opinion issued by the Ombudsman in Latvia. In his blog, Zalitis describes it as ‘a game-changer’ for the country: “The year 2018 has brought a significant change in Latvia showing that often after great stagnation, progress can happen fast.”
Read Kaspars’s blog.

 

The general assembly of San Marino decided on 15 November that civil unions can be formed between same and different sex couples. Presented first on 18 December 2017, the law text was approved by 40 votes in favor, 4 against, and 4 abstentions. During the discussions at the assembly, MP Davide Forcellini proposed also including sexual orientation among the prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Constitution.
Read more in Italian.
See San Marino’s country page on Rainbow Europe.

The European Court of Human Rights found Russia to have violated rights of LGBT people in holding peaceful assemblies with the rule on 27 November. The Alekseyev and Others v Russia group of cases concerned the continued refusal by Russian authorities to approve requests to hold LGBT rallies in various Russian regions between 2009 and 2014. The Court found violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly), together with Article 13 (right to effective remedy) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention.
Read more about the judgment.
See Russia on our online Rainbow Europe module.

On 14 November, the Swedish parliament took the second of two necessary decisions to include trans people in the Freedom of Speech act's regulation on hate speech. The first decision came in May of this year. The legislative change comes into effect on 1 January 2019. In two steps, trans people have now been given increased protection in Swedish legislation. Since 1 July, trans people are protected within the hate crime legislation. At the same time “transgender identity and expression” was added as a protected ground for unlawful discrimination and insult.
Read more.
Sweden are currently ranked at 10th place on the Rainbow Europe Map.

 

National LGBT Rights Organization LGL (Lithuania), Cultural – Educational Institution DOTYK (Belarus), Journalists for Tolerance J4T (Belarus), and NGO FULCRUM UA (Ukraine) conducted a desk research on the topics of aggressive information in Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian media, the legal framework of each country, and the relation between human Rights activists and media. The research also focuses on the role of the media in eradicating and reinforcing discriminatory perceptions and the forms of aggressive speech that we face today.
Read the report in English.

The European Disability Forum has a guide that will help your organisation to make events and meetings more accessible for persons with disabilities. It includes guidance on the venue, programme, presentations, speakers, and how to interact better with the audience. It also includes links to practical details such as how to find a Sign Language interpreter, where to book accessible taxis, a list with accessible hotel rooms and meeting venues in Brussels, and how to make presentations more accessible. It will not only improve the experience for persons with disabilities but for all participants, making the procedures easier and ensuring better participation in the meetings.
Read the guide here.

 

The European Women’s Lobby are looking for a Communications and Media Officer, who will cover for their colleague who will be taking maternity leave for 6 months, from March 2019 onwards. The person will assist EWL policy and outreach work through effective and relevant communication strategies. The ideal candidate must be have the right to work in Belgium and should be able to start preferably early February to do a hand over with the current Communications and Media Officer.
How to apply is here.