The project “Sharing Expertise and Fostering LGBT Human Rights in Belarus” involves civil society stakeholders from three countries: Belarus, Norway and Lithuania.

The entire project will be coordinated by the National LGBT* rights organization LGL as the lead partner in partnership with Belarussian LGBT organizations, Norwegian Helsinki Committee and Lithuanian Human Rights Center.

Project is designed with a focus on specific NCMs priority and themes and aims to:

• Promote progress towards democracy and support civic society’s development. Particularly emphasizing capacity building in the area of communication, advocacy, engaging young people;
• Mobilize community members and volunteers of LGBT organizations in Belarus;
• Strengthen their advocacy work and visibility of the human rights context in Belarus in general and LGBT rights in particular;
• Mainstream LGBT rights issues, engage in networking activities with other relevant stakeholders in Belarus and abroad;
• Foster openness and understanding between society members.

Project objectives will be achieved by bringing in partners (NGOs) with human rights expertise, mainly but not exclusively LGBT rights, from Lithuania and Norway. The capacity building element will be implemented in two stages – developing longterm communication and advocacy strategies for Belorussian organizations.

Training participants, providing them with competences and knowledge for successful grass-root action in a hostile country, offering them effective tools to increase the awareness of LGBT persons and their human rights and to foster acceptance and tolerance of LGBT persons in Belarus. The project also facilitates building closer networks between the civil society representatives and public institutions in partner countries. Read more about it here.

The following activities will be implemented throughout the project:

• Situation analysis and needs assessment;
• Capacity building: methodology design and training;
• Best practice sharing and networking;
• Communication and advocacy strategy;
• Communication and visibility of the project;
• Advocacy and visibility campaigns in Belarus and Lithuania;
• Project Outcomes and Evaluation.

A series of articles published within the framework of this project pertains to variety of topics concerning LGBTQ issues in Belarus and Lithuania:

Art and activism join forces in “glittery” Minsk

LGBT+ youth in Belarus: No country is perfect

Historic perspective on LGBT/Queer in Belarus: interview with Uladzimir Valodzin

Faces of LGL’s Social Campaign Poster: “Discrimination Hurts, we Need to Talk about it Loudly and Openly”

Does the Lithuanian Military Need Gay Service Members?

LGBT* High School Students Speak out about their Experiences in Lithuanian Schools

Belarusian journalists: LGBT* topics no longer taboo in independent news

Epidemic of Hate in Lithuania: To Report, or Not to Report?

ILGA-Europe Annual Conference in Warsaw: what is Relevant for LGBTI Rights Activists in Europe?

Research suggests a link between internalized homophobia and HIV testing

Safety at School for Every Student: Possibility, or Utopia?

Interviews with parents of transgender children “What it’s like to be a mother of a child who underwent gender reassignment”

Minsk replaced its pride parade with a festival – and it worked

Belarusian activist: Russian repression is good for Lukashenko

“Utopia, a place doesn’t exist” Festival opens in Minsk