LGL representatives participated in ILGA-Europe annual conference in Riga

Latvian capital Riga hosted an annual international conference of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual and intersex) rights organization ILGA-Europe on October 8-11. Activists overviewed the latest developments in the field of LGBTI human rights, shared the best practices and agreed upon the following steps to ensure equal rights for all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Four representatives of the national LGBT* rights organization LGL engaged actively in the program of the conference. Collaborating with their colleagues LGL team has organized workshops on legal gender identity recognition and presented a documentary “We Can Be Gay Today. Baltic Pride 2013” that captures moments of last year Pride events in Vilnius.

LGL representatives also participated in several workshops of ILGA-Europe annual conference. In the meeting “Achieving legal gender recognition in different contexts” LGL board member Ing Stankė defined the consequences of the absence of legal gender identity recognition in Lithuania. Meanwhile, during the workshop „LGBTI equality in newest EU countries: post-accession fatigue, common challenges and way forward” LGL board chair Vladimir Simonko spoke about the impact of negative legislative initiatives on LGBT* human rights situation in Lithuania.

LGL advocacy coordinator Šarūnas Sodonis summed up the activities of three days: “ILGA-Europe annual conference in Riga provided an excellent opportunity for activists to familiarize with the contexts in different countries and regions, shares the best practices, discuss steps to be taken to further progress in ensuring respect for LGBTI people and their rights. Furthermore, the conference became a medium to strengthen ties with our partners, make new connections and build relationships, which might develop into common projects.”