6th International Meeting #Against #Homophobia, 2011 [via ilga-europe.org]

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6th International Meeting Against Homophobia, 2011

Preparations Have Begun For The 6th International Meeting The central activities of the International Meeting Against Homophobia, which is organized annually in the week of the 17th of May, will take place in Ankara between 1-22 May of 2011. Kaos GL, struggling against the discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity, is being organized to combat homophobia and transphobia. International Meeting Against Homophobia took place in May 2006 for the first time. By 2009, thanks to networks built against discrimination it has crossed the borders of Ankara and spreaded additionally to five other cities. And together with Ankara, the Meeting of 2010 took place in 14 cities! Kaos GL Association, fighting for the improvement of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transsexual (LGBT) individuals’ human rights and against any discrimination based on these identities, is going to organize the 6th Meeting next year. Regional Network Against Homophobia 6th International Meeting Against Homophobia will host the initiative of Regional Network as well. When KAOS GL had declared itself and defined its perspective of struggle in 1994, it proclaimed “Conference of Homosexuals of Middle East and Balkan Countries” as a dream. One of the main forums of the Meeting ongoing since 2006 has become “International Experiences in the Struggle Against Homophobia”. Kaos GL, planning an LGBT Network for the countries of Middle East, Caucasus and the Balkans for solidarity in the struggle against Homophobia, has begun to make preparations for the organization of the Regional Network. KAOS GL, calling on internationally for the initiative “Regional Network Against Homophobia,” is inviting participants from countries such as Armenia, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Georgia, Cyprus (North/South), Azerbaijan to the 6th International Meeting Against Homophobia. One whole day will be entirely allocated to the assembly of “Regional Network”. Campus Meetings Against Homophobia Together with the student groups and academicians embracing it, “Campus Meetings Against Homophobia” expands each year to many more university campuses. Meeting Against Homophobia first began in 2006 as a salon event for four days. In 2007, central activities were added to the “Campus Meetings Against Homophobia,” which took place in three big universities of the capital city. By 2011, meetings are planned at least on 20 campuses. Through the coordination of KAOS GL Association, the local events of the 6th Meeting will be established in Ankara, Antalya, Adana, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Eskişehir, Edirne, İstanbul, İzmir, Mersin, Kayseri, Samsun, Trabzon, Van, Aydın and Çanakkale. The program of Ankara will be done between 1st and 22th of May. "Poet Arkadaş Z. Özger Meeting On 5th of May, Arkadaş Z. Özger Activities were organized in the 5th Meeting for the first time. Activities which will be organized together with Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences Human Rights Center (AÜ SBF İHM) within the scope of Meeting Against Homophobia will take place on Cebeci Campus once more. Within the scope of Meeting Against Homophobia Faculty of Political Sciences Student Solidarity Association (SBF-d-Der) hosts the activities organized for the poet Z. Özger, who used to be a student on the very same campus. Rainbow Against Homophobia The 5th International Meeting Against Homophobia was concluded with Judith Butler’s “Queer Alliance and Anti-War Politics” conference. Once more a very colorful program is being prepared, including conferences, workshops, interviews, presentations, exhibitions and forums. Within the scope of the program of the 6th Meeting, 15th May Day of Conscientious Objection will be included. In the 15th of May, besides Anti-Militarist Forum, activities will be organized concerning homosexuality and militarism. Together with the Anti-Militarist Forum, themes such as “Poverty Cases of LGBT”, “Anarcho-Queer Forum”, “Spatial Forum” and “Religious Forum” will come to the fore in the program of the Sixth Meeting. Some of the forums which are organized within the framework of Homophobia and Discrimination before the meetings: “Psychiatric Forum – Homophobia From Illness to Ideology”, “Queer Forum”, “International Experiences in the Struggle Against Homophobia”, “Forum of Lesbians and Bisexual Women”, “Media-Communication Forum”, “Trans Forum”, “Feminist Forum”, “Video Art Against Homophobia”, “Body Confined by Homophobia: Masculinity & Femininity”, “Constitution Forum”, “Human Rights in the Process of Integration to EU”, “Nationalism, Epidemia of Hatred and Homophobia”, “Violence and Discrimination Against LGBT Individuals”, “Human Rights of LGBT Individuals and Hate Crimes”, “Forum Against Sexual Discrimination in Education”, “Problems of LGBT Refugees”, “Forum Against Borders”, “Forum Concerning Left and Homophobia”, “Rainbow Forum”. “Woman to Woman Story Competition” is of the same age with the Meeting Against Homophobia, and the winners of the 6th competition will get their awards in the program of the Meeting once more. Art Against Homophobia From rainbow movies to theater and exhibitions, art unites against homophobia as well. The 6th Meeting Against Homophobia is waiting for your short films and features, plays, performances, music and compositions under the theme LGBT. Demonstration Against Homophobia and Transphobia Meeting Against Homophobia begins with the Demonstration of the 1st of May and ends with the Rainbow March in the week of May 17. The demonstration organized for the 17th of May for IDAHO is made by LGBT individuals and organizations coming from all sides of Turkey. “Rainbow March Against Homophobia,” which will be made within the scope the 6th Meeting in Ankara on 22th of May on Sunday, will be under the rainbow flag against homophobia, transphobia and hatred. Why Does KAOS GL Organize The International Meetings? Kaos GL, host of the Meetings, organizes activities in the social, cultural and academic spheres right from the beginnings of 90’s against discrimination so that human rights of LGBT individuals may be improved. In 2005 it was established as “Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association” thus became a legal association. Since then it continues to work to struggle for LGBT rights. It has the objective to open discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans (LGBT) individuals in Turkey to discussion, and to enable their visibility with the help of the Meeting Against Homophobia and Transphobia. It demands that opinions may be shared and discussed about a world where LGBT individuals and heterosexuals together will become free. Thanks to the International Meeting Against Homophobia, the improvement of the freedom of organization and expression of the LGBT community is disseminating so that LGBT individuals may no longer be exposed to discrimination. Kaos GL is showing solidarity so that LGBT individuals living in other cities may establish their own organizations. It labors so that the visibility of human rights of LGBT individuals may be enabled; therefor it works together with many establishments and organizations, from feminist organizations to human rights organizations, against homophobia in order to achieve this objective. Thanks to the networks built by the struggle against discrimination and to shared efforts, the International Meeting Against Homophobia is constantly spreading to many other cities. Homophobia: Whose Issuse? KAOS GL, adapting May 17 IDAHO to Turkey through the program of “Meeting Against Homophobia,” is asking: “Whose Matter is Homophobia?” It strives for finding connections between different kind of discriminations. It aims to build horizontal networks between the struggle practices and the struggles of freedom against the aforementioned discriminations. Whence Kaos GL has brought attention the connections between the problem of homophobia and sexism, nationalism, racism and militarism; the question “Whose matter is homophobia?” starts to be embraced by academia and the different parts of civil society. Thus, by adapting the Meeting to their own spheres of struggle, student groups and civil society organizations who want to get united in their own cities and campuses have emerged. Thanks to this achievement, the problem of homophobia is discussed in cities and campuses where LGBT individuals are not visible yet. Why From May 1 to the week of May 17... KAOS GL, having internalized the claim that if the demand upon freedom is common, so should be the struggle for it, is building bridges between the struggles of freedom from the 1st of May to the week of May 17. 1st of May is a very important milestone concerning the LGBT struggle of Turkey. KAOS GL had emerged in public space for the first time, by participating in the May celebrations of 2001 in Ankara, and it pointed to the fact that the struggle of labor and the struggle of LGBT should be common. Therefore, the Meeting Against Homophobia is developing as a part of the struggle for freedom. Thanks to this bridge, Kaos GL has the objective of unifying the struggles against discriminations together with the struggle against the assault LGBT individuals are exposed to, and of extending the spheres. Institutionalization of the LGBT movement and its struggle for rights is bringing about new insights. However, despite the fact that many rights have been acquired especially in the West, it is a problem on a global basis yet. As for, IDAHO and the International Meeting Against Homophobia overlap because of the decision of remobilizing and of going out in streets. Who To Get In Touch With? Kaos GL Nevin Öztop & Ali Erol nevin@kaosgl.org &kaosgl@kaosgl.org (0 312) 230 03 58 / ext.12 www.kaosgl.org www.antihomofobi.org Read more at ilga-europe.org

 

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