The executive director of the National LGBT rights organisation LGL Vladimir Simonko can rightfully be called a chronicler of the LGBT rights movement in Lithuania. In 1995 being the first one in Lithuania to openly speak about his sexual orientation together with his partner Eduardas, today he opened the carefully guarded archive of Lithuanian publications
- Decade of the Baltic Pride: How did the Idea for this LGBT Event in the Three Baltic States Started?
- Moments from the Baltic Pride March Captured in LGL Video
- Record number of participants in the „Baltic Pride“ 2019 March „For Equality!“ in Vilnius
- Spectacular Pride Voices Gala event at the Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre
- ‘’Europride’’ Ambassador Conchita Wurst Sends a Greeting to Participants of the Baltic Pride in Vilnius
Decade of the Baltic Pride: How did the Idea for this LGBT Event in the Three Baltic States Started?
The fourth Baltic Pride in Vilnius this year coincided with the 10th anniversary of the Baltic Pride in the Baltic States. Since 2010, when the LGBT community march was first organized in Vilnius, the event has changed beyond recognition. Why and how activists came up with the idea of organizing an LGBT community march every
Moments from the Baltic Pride March Captured in LGL Video
National LGBT Rights Organization LGL has released a video clip of the Baltic Pride 2019 March for Equality. On June 8th, 10,000 people took part in the Baltic Pride March “For Equality!”. The event was accompanied by a positive atmosphere, a feeling of freedom, unity and pride. The crowd walking in the center of Vilnius
Record number of participants in the „Baltic Pride“ 2019 March „For Equality!“ in Vilnius
The Baltic Pride March for Equality, which took place on June 8th in Vilnius this year, is both a celebration of who we are as well as a protest demanding equality for members of the LGBT community. This year’s slogan was “We Are Family”. Baltic Pride only comes to Vilnius once every three years, and
Spectacular Pride Voices Gala event at the Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre
On the evening of June 7th, the National LGBT rights organization LGL invited friends and sponsors of the “Baltic Pride 2019” to gather and celebrate diversity and equality in an exclusive “Pride Voices Gala” event held at the Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre. This event provided a unique opportunity to hear the stories of LGBT community
‘’Europride’’ Ambassador Conchita Wurst Sends a Greeting to Participants of the Baltic Pride in Vilnius
Austrian singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest and the Ambassador of EuroPride in Vienna Conchita Wurst has sent a video message in which she invites to participate in the March for Equality on 8 June in Vilnius. In this video message, Conchita Wurst apologizes for her absence during the March for Equality since she
Office of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, led by PM Saulius Skvernelis, has prepared a draft resolution proposing Lithuanian President to honour leader of the Polish ruling party “Law and Justice” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, infamous for is anti-LGBT rhetoric, with one of the highest state decorations of the Lithuanian Republic. Last word regarding the
On 3rd October, 2019, the Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy, H.E. Mr. Karsten Klepsvik was awarded with a special symbol of gratitude for supporting the monumental Baltic Pride 2019 festival at the National LGBT Rights Organization LGL. During the warm meeting, representatives of the Embassy and LGL recalled the most impressive moments of the
This September Lithuanian Parliament began to review a new legislative proposal on Lithuanian Law of Equal Treatment amendments, initiated by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson. While the draft law introduces quite a few well-needed changes, such as including the definition of associative discrimination, it does, however, ignore the burning questions of transgender individuals,
According to Eurobarometer on Discrimination 2019, 30% Lithuanians are in favor of same-sex marriages to be allowed throughout the Europe, while in neighboring Latvia even less, 24% respondents support the same notion. Numbers concerning this question are significantly higher in Estonia and even Catholic-majority Poland, 41% and 45% respondents respectively agree that same sex marriages should be
Nazis considered homosexuality a disease, therefore homosexuals were subjected systemic persecution, arrest and imprisonment at concentrations camps. Many of the 5000 to 10000 imprisoned homosexuals fell victims of various dehumanizing pseudo-medical experiments and, as they were considered the “lowest caste”, experienced the harshest forms of torture. However, many representatives of the Lithuanian state institutions in
Europe is at a dangerous crossroads and that’s why this is a critical time for the Commission to adopt a comprehensive LGBTI strategy over the next five years, says ILGA-Europe, in advance of the Finnish Presidency conference on advancing LGBTI equality in the EU. On 23 September The Finnish Presidency of the Council of
Absence of legal gender recognition and health care in Lithuania places transgender young people at serious risk when it comes to education and employment. Unable to change their gender in their legal documents, access health care and confronted with prevailing transphobic attitudes in the Lithuanian society, transgender individuals face a high degree of social marginalization
On 9 September, 2019 representatives of the National LGBT rights organization LGL, organized a kick-off meeting for the project “R.I.S.E: Raising awareness for Inclusive Societies to Embrace rainbow families in Europe” that took place in Bratislava, Slovakia. LGBT rights advocacy organizations from Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, led by LGL, have joined their efforts in order to
On 9th September, 2019 in an interview the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda underlined the “need to take the opinion of the Catholic Church into account regarding LGBT issues”. “Position of the Church on LGBT matters was, is and will be important to me. Will it be the only one? No. However the is no doubt
European countries that do not legally recognize same-sex relationships, including Lithuania, have seen a rise in homophobia over the last 14 years, a new study by Hungarian researchers suggests. The study, co-authored by Judit Takacs of the Hungarian Academy of Science, shows that, by contrast, acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships increased in countries that
On 5th September, 2019 the National LGBT organization LGL held an LGBT sensitivity training for the employees of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television. By organizing this training, LGL aimed to raise the awareness of professional journalists in fighting the phenomenon of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in the mass media. During the training, journalists were
