LGBTIQ+ activists gather at one of the world's largest sexual diversity gatherings
The ILGA World Conference 2022, one of the most important LGBTIQ+ gatherings in the world, brings together more than 600 activists, human rights defenders, state representatives, communicators, and politicians in Long Beach, California.
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LONG BEACH, United States. ILGA World Conference 2022, one of the world's most important gatherings on sexual diversity, will bring together more than 600 activists, human rights defenders, state representatives, journalists, politicians, lawyers, and researchers from May 2-6. The conference will be held in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, California, one of the U.S. cities recognized for its high standards of equality and inclusion.
Focus on LGBTIQ+ youth
The World Conference is organized in conjunction with the It Gets Better . Based in Los Angeles with a global presence, this organization focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth. This year, ILGA's World Conference placed them at the heart of its theme: "LGBTIQ Youth: Change, Future, Present."
Why is this meeting so important? Because it is a space for exchanging experiences in very different scenarios and cultures, for building knowledge about social change, and for designing strategies to improve the human rights standards of LGBTIQ+ populations around the world, and it has a strong global impact.
The organizing body, ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), brings together more than 1,700 LGBTQ+ organizations in over 160 countries. Its work includes advocating for global bodies such as the United Nations, governments, and local institutions to guarantee the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex people.
“This will be one of the first times since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that the global LGBTIQ community can come together again in the same space , and we need it now more than ever,” say ILGA World Co-Secretaries General Luz Elena Aranda and Tuisina Ymania Brown. The conference was originally planned for 2021 but was postponed due to the pandemic.
“ The ILGA World Conferences are the most important gatherings of the organized global LGBTI movement ,” adds Darío Arias, co-founder and coordinator of Conurbanos Por La Diversidad (Argentina) and regional co-secretary, to Presentes. “They are spaces for political debate and the development of agendas for the rights of our community. They are mobilizing and enriching events where activists and allies from different latitudes, cultures, and backgrounds come together to exchange experiences and discuss strategies, contributing from the grassroots to the construction of a global political and social movement.”
LGBTIQ+ activism and journalism
Among the activities planned for the first day (Monday, May 2), the Presentes agency will participate in a Media session with a talk and workshop on LGBTIQ+ activism and journalism. The panel, moderated by Daniele Paletta, communications director of ILGA Mundo, will include Hugo Greenhalgh , LGBTQ+ editor at Reuters ; Maria Eugenia Ludueña , co-director of Presentes; Kevin Mwachiro , Kenyan journalist and podcaster, and member of the board of Amnesty International Kenya; and Nazeeha Saeed , from the Arabic media project of OutRight Action International. The focus of this activity will be to analyze the state of news coverage of sexual diversity in the media and to explore alliances between journalism and activism for communication that combats discrimination and the rise of hate speech, and that raises awareness of these issues from a rights-based perspective for all.
LGBTIQ+ movement organized for rights
“Often, laws and legislation do not protect our communities, but rather exclude them and deprive them of their human rights. In 2022, more than 240 anti-LGBTQ laws were proposed in the United States alone. The reality for most of the world is that every piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation enacted in one country sets a precedent for other governments and hate groups to push for—and adopt—similar legislation. The Conference offers an opportunity for activists to assess the situation of our communities, share experiences and best practices, and establish alliances and partnerships among organizations from all six continents,” the co-directors stated.
ILGA member organizations will arrive from its six regions: North America and the Caribbean, Latin America and the Caribbean, Oceania, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central Asia. “The participation of activists from Latin America and the Caribbean is always very important because we emphasize the need to consider the struggle for gender equality in conjunction with the struggle for social equality from a Global South, anti-racist, and decolonial perspective,” Arias highlighted.
Some of the activities
There will be more than 100 sessions on a wide range of topics: youth, post-Covid scenarios, violence against trans people, conversion therapies, intersectional perspectives of LGBTIQ+ movements, feminisms as strategic allies, disability, work, education, Indigenous worldviews, and sex work. More than 50 roundtables, interactive workshops, and self-organized spaces have been planned. There will be an option for virtual participation, which requires prior registration (the deadline to register is Sunday, May 1).
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia announced that he will be participating in the conference. Born in Peru and having come to the United States with his mother when he was five years old, he is a politician who has publicly acknowledged his gay sexual orientation.
Long Beach has been recognized on numerous occasions as one of the U.S. cities that best meets human rights standards for LGBTQ+ people. It achieves this through anti-discrimination laws, municipal jobs for these populations, specialized services for those living with HIV/AIDS, promoting equity in leadership, and protective policies for LGBTQ+ youth, among other measures that have distinguished it for years.
The conference takes place against a complex global backdrop, marked by the war in Ukraine, the lingering effects of COVID-19 and structural inequalities, and the rise of anti-rights movements gaining legislative representation and planning further expansion. The organizers stated: “In this global context, an ILGA World Conference is a unique opportunity to learn about the lived realities of LGBTIQ people around the world, and how the United States and all countries can play a role in driving change and shaping the future of advocacy.”
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