LGL office holds the largest LGBT*-themed library in Lithuania

Since its establishment in 1993, the national LGBT* rights organization LGL has accumulated a number of publications which form what may be rightfully described as the biggest LGBT*-themed library in Lithuania. A few decades ago, in an era prior to the internet, the basic means to communicate knowledge was the book. Foreign publications had inspired

On October 1-5, LGL hosted in Vilnius the fourth meeting of the QuPiD project, which revolved around the topic of legal and policy implications on LGBT*IQ adult education. QuPiD, Queer Paths into Diversity is an international project aiming at the cooperation of organizations fighting the discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The project

Irish Ambassador Shows Support for LGBT* Community

Last Friday, national LGBT* rights organization LGL received an exclusive invitation from the Ambassador of Ireland to his residence for an official reception for human rights activists. David Noonan, the new ambassador, was received by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė only a few weeks ago. One of his first objectives was to show support for LGBT*

An effective response to bullying at the international conference in Vilnius

National LGBT* rights organization LGL organized an international conference “Tackling Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying: Challenges and Effective Responses”, which took place in Vilnius on October 2, 2014. The presentations on homophobic and transphobic bullying were given by a team of international experts:  Marinus Schouten (GALE – the Global Alliance for LGBT* Education, the Netherlands), Michael Barron

Lithuanian representatives at the EuroPride 2014 in Oslo

On June 28, 2014, the EuroPride March took place in Oslo, the capital of Norway. The event gathered international LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons) as well as many of their supporters. The official number of participants still has to be confirmed, but it is likely to have exceeded last year’s participation to the

On July 8th, 2014 the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas considered the bill amendment to the Law on Public Registry No. XIP-2017(3).  Despite the fact that the bill consists of multiple amendments to the law in question, i.e. seeking to simplify the functioning of the public registry by enabling residents to submit inquires and to fill in

Two hateful crimes exposed in half a month

In the past two weeks Lithuania witnessed two hate crimes said to have been driven by homophobia. On June 24th an explosive device was thrown at singer Ruslanas Kirilkinas during his performance in Linksmakalnis village and on July 7th Agness Landau posted a status on her Facebook wall about the violence her friend had experienced

On 19 June 2014 the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas refused to drop the controversial amendment to the Criminal Code, which would remove criminal liability for homophobic hate speech. 18 MPs voted in favor of considering this amendment further while 11 MPs abstained (29 MPs in total), thus outnumbering 25 MPs who voted against the proposal. According

PACE member passes on his award to Lithuanian and Russian LGBT organizations

Every year the biggest Internet community for LGBT people in Norway, Gaysir.no, honors the most valuable personality for the LGBT people in Norway or abroad. This year Håkon Haugli – Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE), deputy representative at the Parliament of Norway and a jurist – got this award. The

Prominent activists from Eastern Europe gather in Oslo for EuroPride

LLH – The Norwegian LGBT Organisation, Amnesty International and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee have launched an initiative to bring prominent LGBT activists from Eastern Europe together at EuroPride 2014 in Oslo, Norway. Uniting against the homophobic backlash in Eastern Europe, prominent LGBT activist from six countries will meet and develop common strategies at Pride House

LBTQI summer festival SAPFO FEST in Lithuania

‘Sapfo Fest’ is an independent community-initiated festival in the Baltics dedicated to LBTQI community. A community-led festival, the ‘Sapfo Fest’ seeks to empower LBTQI people and combat prejudice and discrimination, as well as to increase the visibility of LBTQI individuals in Lithuania. Whereas the visibility of gay men in Lithuania has been growing steadily and

ILGA publishes State-Sponsored Homophobia Report

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) published the 9th edition of State Sponsored Homophobia. A World survey of Laws: Criminalisation, Protection and Recognition of Same-Sex Love. The research, conducted by Jingshu Zhu and Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, provides a detailed account of the legal situation of LGBT people all around the world. In the paragraph