Augustas Didžgalvis photo

Time: 09:00 – 16:30

The one-day International Human Rights Conference constitutes a vital and prestigious part of the Baltic Pride festival 2019. The Conference is focused on a central topic culturally and currently relevant to LGBTI rights. The aim of the event is to invite local and international speakers to discuss the event’s topics and for participants to explore different viewpoints, become aware of historical and current LGBTI contexts locally and abroad, and to develop a vision for the future of the LGBTI community. 

The theme of the 2019 Conference is Towards a Future European Roadmap for LGBTI Equality which will be discussed in four panels exploring the theme through governmental, civil society and business lenses.

The main topics to be discussed in the Conference are:

1. New European policy guidelines for the protection of LGBTI rights on the European Commission’s agenda, following the recent European Parliament elections;
2. Challenges in the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for a broader inclusion of LGBTI interests in policy-making processes;
3. Good practices that advance LGBTI integration;
4. The implementation of the recommendations by the European Commission to advance LGBTI rights.

The working language of the conference is English. The event will be livestreamed on the 15min news portal – www.15min.lt – with a simultaneous translation into Lithuanian.

Event on Facebook

You can find more information about the event on Baltic Pride app.

Venue: Tolerance Center, Naugarduko str. 10/2, Vilnius

Augustas Didžgalvis photo

Time: 12:00 – 15:00; line up at 12.00, the march starts at 13.00.

Are you planning to join us at the Baltic Pride 2019 March for Equality with a group of more than 10 people, and bring your own posters? Then please register here.

This is what we’re all here for: the March for Equality!

Oftentimes called a Pride Parade, the March for Equality is both a celebration of who we are as well as a protest demanding equality for members of the LGBT* community. This year the March for Equality will take place in Vilnius. Last year, more than 8,000 individuals participated in this event in Riga and we hope to keep growing!

Do not miss the opportunity to celebrate and support local LGBT community by marching down Gediminas Avenue with us! Support the movement working towards a more inclusive society by joining this historic event!

Remember, Baltic Pride only comes to Vilnius once every three years. This will be our fourth time here! It is a great opportunity for busy locals to get involved as well as for those from farther away to explore our beautiful city! This event is free of charge. No registration required for individuals; feel free to show up at the time of the event! However, if you plan to come in a group of 10 or more, please do register beforehand (registration will open soon).If you would like to support us so we can make this the best Pride possible, see here: http://www.lgl.lt/en/?page_id=101. We hope to see you on 8th June 2019!

The march starts at 13:00 at the main entrance of the Bernardine Garden, proceeds down B. Radvilaites str. And Šventaragio str., and finally heads down Gediminas Avenue to Lukiskės Square. Be sure to arrive at 12:00 to line up before heading out.

Event on Facebook

You can find more information about the event on Baltic Pride app.

Venue: the main entrance of the Bernardine Garden – Lukiskes Square, Vilnius

Augustas Didžgalvis photo

Pride House

In the cozy surroundings of the park, under the trees and sunbeams, a jazz bar is hiding. “Paviljonas” is the place where culture, art and entertainment come together, with a wide variety of events just waiting for you to join. “Pride House” is a community space that welcomes everybody. Seeking to celebrate the diversity of the entire LGBTI community, throughout the Baltic Pride week, from June 4th to 9th, the “Pride House” will explore the different shades of Queer. It’s an experience you definitely don’t want to miss!

In “Paviljonas” you will also find the Baltic Pride Info Center, where you can grab a free glossy Baltic Pride Guide magazine, get information about all the Baltic Pride festival events, and purchase marvelous festival merchandise to support LGBTI rights in Lithuania.

With different events every day, the schedule is full of different options for every taste.

Programme

• Coming Out – Again, and again, and again (EN)

June 4th, 16.00

Venue: Paviljonas

Meeting with Meghan Luckett, American diplomat, member of the LGBT community.

Meghan Luckett, the US Cultural Attache, member of the LGBT community, will share her personal story and experience, at the same time revealing the historic transformation that has taken place in the American society and legal system since her high school days until 2015, the day of her wedding.

Meghan Luckett is an American diplomat and has worked for the State Department for four years, first in Lagos, Nigeria and now in Vilnius, Lithuania. She has a PhD in Agriculture Development and before joining the State Department, she worked with rural farmers in India and Mali to increase their yields. She lives in Vilnius with her wife Claire, who is also a diplomat, and their young son, Jake. As a member of the LGBT community, Meghan is excited to share her story and experience, and to celebrate Baltic Pride 2019.

Event partner: U.S. Embassy in Lithuania.

• Pride House Official Opening

June 4th, 18.00

Venue: Paviljonas

On June 4th at 18:00 we invite everyone to the official opening of Pride House and the Baltic Pride Art Exhibition “When the Invisible Becomes Visible”.

We invite everyone to the official opening of Pride House and the Baltic Pride Art Exhibition “When the Invisible Becomes Visible”. Have a glass of wine, meet the artists of the exhibition, and enjoy a musical performance by Vitalijus Špokaitis, the alter ego of Dominykas Vaitiekūnas.You will also have the chance to win Baltic Pride souvenirs and invitations to the biggest Baltic Pride events!

18:00 – Pride House and art exhibition official opening

19:30 – musical performance by Vitalijus Špokaitis.

• Community Centers in Russia (EN)

June 5th, 14.00

Venue: Paviljonas

St. Petersburg LGBT community center “Action” will share their experience in community building in a workshop “How community centers work in Russia: our experience”.

In this workshop, managers of the St. Petersburg community center will share their experience of working in a large community center in St. Petersburg. They will talk about the specificity of their work in the so-called LGBT capital of Russia, and how they cope with the challenges of a homophobic state and society.
Managers of the community center will also talk about how they interact with the LGBT community, and present the findings from the survey on the LGBT-space, which was conducted in February 2019 among the community of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.

• ABC LGBT: basic community terminology and questions (LT/EN)

June 5th, 17.00

Venue: Paviljonas

An activity for getting to know LGBT+ terminology and main issues.

We will start from the very basics and go deeper depending on Your involvement, interest and time. Who knows, we may end up very philosophical. If You want to know more, if You feel lost in the sea of terms or want to anonymously submit an inconvenient question – we are here for You!

• „#TRANS_LT: How to Survive Legal Gender Recognition?“ (LT)

June 5th, 18.00

Venue: Paviljonas

Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson presents a community meeting on experiences of transgender persons after obtaining legal gender recognition in Lithuania.

In 2019 the Office conducted an independent review, which revealed that more than 54 % of Lithuanians do not know what “transgender person” means. As a result, many trans people in Lithuania face practical difficulties even after obtaining new identity documents through legal gender recognition. During the event, representatives of the Office will answer questions by the community members, and trans folks, who have already obtained legal gender recognition, will share their stories.

• Mission Relationships: how to keep them healthy and sustainable? (LT/EN)

June 5th, 19.30

Venue: Paviljonas

This workshop focuses on topics that are relatable to most of us – how to obtain and maintain healthy relationships?

How to notice signs of a toxic relationship? How to solve conflicts and challenges? How to define relationships you are in? Together we will embrace different kinds and ways to do relationships and will have a cozy time together.

• Discussion: Being LGBTI in the labor market and the workplace (EN)

June 6th, 18.00

Venue: Paviljonas

An open discussion on LGBTI workers’ rights with the federation of trade unions of the Netherlands (FNV) and the May 1st Labor Union (G1PS).

How can workers’ rights organizations better help LGBTI workers and include LGBTI questions in their agenda? What additional obstacles do LGBTI persons encounter in the workplace and the labor market? Join an open discussion with the federation of trade unions of the Netherlands (FNV) and the May 1st Labor Union (G1PS).

• Hate crimes workshop (EN)

June 7th, 14.00

Venue: Paviljonas

A discussion with police officers from Sweden working at the Democracy and Hate Crime Unit at the Stockholm Police.

How do we combat hate crimes? Why is it necessary to report hate crimes directed against LGBT community? How are sensitivity trainings on LGBT issues useful to police officers? Why is it important for officers to speak openly about their sexual orientation and identity within the police forces? Why is it important to share the good practices of combating hate crimes?

We are going to answer these and many more questions with the police officers working in The Democracy and Hate Crime group in Stockholm and representatives of Lithuanian Police School.

Representatives of Stockholm Police will share their good practices in combating hate crimes, providing support for the victims who suffered from such crimes because of their sexual orientation and/or sexual identity, providing training to Lithuanian police officers and protecting the participants of Pride Parade in Stockholm.

“Pride parade in Stockholm is more like a party than a protest. In 2018, during “EuroPride” in Stockholm, there were 55 000-60 000 participants and around 500 000 spectators. Families dressed their children in rainbow colors and everybody was celebrating equality. 95 % of the spectators are heterosexual. It’s like the carnival in Rio de Janeiro. It’s an unforgettable event.” – says participant of our discussion, inspector of Hate Crimes division within Stockholm police and founder of the Swedish LGBT Police Association, Göran Stanton.

We are kindly inviting you to the event!

The discussion is organized according to “What is a Hate Crime” project, which is financed by Swedish Institute and supported by Embassy of Sweden in Vilnius, as well as the project of “Call It Hate”, financed by Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of European Union.

Event partner: Embassy of Sweden in Vilnius.

• Health Issues in the Baltic States (EN)

June 7, 16.00

Venue: Paviljonas

Panel discussion “Impact of LGBT community migration on HIV-related health issues in the Baltic states”, organized by the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health (ECOM).

This panel discussion will focus on the impact of migration of LGBT community members from Eastern Europe on the HIV epidemic in the Baltic States. The discussion will cover the recent dynamics in HIV and STI epidemics among LGBT community in the Baltic States and in EECA as well as the impact of homophobic legislation on the migration trends amongst gay, other MSM and trans people in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the neighboring countries (Belarus, Russia, Ukraine).

• Queer Reading and Writing Workshop (LT/EN)

June 7th, 18.00

Venue: Freunde, Pylimo 22D

A creative workshop for the members of community who are eager to express themselves in text, document queer experiences, talk about our lives, feelings, fantasies and realities. Graphomaniac or amateur – everyone is welcome by the microphone or/and paper. Let’s come out of the margins!

• Drag Night

June 7th, 21.00

Venue: Paviljonas

The night before the March for Equality, four exceptional drag queens from Lithuania and Denmark – Regany Sparks, Vanda, Hime Umiko Saiko, and Brynhildr – will entertain and surprise the audience in „Paviljonas“ with their comedy, lipsyncing and vogue performances and, of course, extraordinary looks.

Hosts of the event: Regany Sparks (Tadas) and Vanda (Karlas).

Check out the drag queens here!

• Stand up – Bisexual dating: Rafaele

June 7th, 20.30

Venue: Paviljonas

Spend the evening before the march diving into realities of community – Rafa is debuting as a comedy artist! Don’t miss out because she unravels if it’s true that bisexuals have “the best of both worlds”.

• Queers move! (LT/EN)

June 9th, 12.00

Venue: the park around Paviljonas, Pylimo 21B

After amazing Pride week events, after a huge and exciting march, after a raving wild party – we invite You to start Sunday’s brunch by giving some much needed attention to your body: relax tense muscles, stretch stiff tendons, activate blood circulation and get ready for a new day. Creative, upbeat, light, funny and most importantly – queer!

• Pride House Sunday Brunch

June 9th, 12.00

Venue: Paviljonas

Join us to wrap up a full week of activities with a Sunday Brunch at Paviljonas :)

• Baltic Pride Art Exhibition: When the Invisible Becomes Visible

June 4th – 9th

Venue: Paviljonas

During the Baltic Pride week, from June 4th to 9th, the works of three Lithuanian artists – Viktorija O., Elena Vėgėlytė, and Deimantė Rudžinskaitė – will be displayed at Pride House in Paviljonas. In their works, the artists will explore the different aspects of our identity – when is it visible, and when is it hidden, or invisible? Is it ever-changing, fluid, or is it stable, always the same? What is our relationship with the self, and with others? What is it like to feel alone, and what does it feel like to be in love? During Pride week, come to Pride House and explore the many contrasts and contradictions intersecting in our lives. When and how does the invisible – our inner-self, our feelings, doubts, and emotions – become visible to others, to the whole world, and to ourselves?

Viktorija O. was born and raised in Lithuania. After studies she moved to Norway where she lives and creates for almost 10 years now. The mission of her creative work is to inspire people to take actions for becoming better human beings and for making the world a better place for all. Her main focus is LGBT rights in countries where same sex relationships are criminalized, especially in Africa.

Elena Vėgėlytė is a tax lawyer, currently working as a Head of Tax at Vinted. She was also a lecturer of International Tax Law course and currently is a phd student. Though she has been painting all her life, as she studied law and not art, painting remained only as a form of self expression and not a profession. She paints primarily on social topics, such as relationships, self awareness, identity.

Deimantė Rudžinskaitė is a photographer from Šiauliai. From 2013, she started photographing people and eventually realized that only pretty photos were not enough – she wanted to create history and solve problems relevant to her. Thus was born the photo project on LGBT couples, about beautiful love of two people, which is still not accepted by the general public. With these photos, she hopes to soften the hearts of the skeptics and inspire LGBT people to feel more free.

Pride House on Facebook

You can find more information about events on the Baltic Pride app.

Venue: Pylimo 21B, Vilnius

Bi-Cafe Speed Dating: Baltic Pride 2019

Date: June 6th
Time: 20.00-02.00
Venue: SOHO club, Švitrigailos str. 7, Vilnius

“Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night” [Woody Allen].
Join us on Thursday for the series of speedy “dates”, whilst looking forward to a busy Saturday night. We invite you to make new friends and create a sense of community between bisexual people and like-minded.

Vilnius G-A-Y Spot: Baltic Pride 2019

Date: June 7th
Time: 22.00-07.00
Venue: SOHO club, Švitrigailos str. 7, Vilnius

SOHO – your chance to spend your night with local bohemian gay public, the sexiest boys, the wildest girls and the most stylish hipsters in Lithuania. All the letters of LGBTQ and all of the colours of the rainbow are welcomed here! Cozy gay club with pleasant, safe and welcoming atmosphere, great service, splendid staff, good bar facilities and friendly price level will take a great care of you and your friends. We are more than happy to welcome you in Vilnius and looking forward to party with you soon!

Baltic Pride 2019 Closing Party

Date: June 8th
Time: 20.00-09.00
Venue: SOHO club, Švitrigailos str. 7, Vilnius

For more than 12 years SOHO attracts a colourful crowd of the sexiest natives, fashionistas, guys & girls next door and some of the Lithuanian celebrities – everyone is welcome here! Every weekend SOHO entertains its guests with themed parties, Live shows, resident & guest DJs – sharing good mood, sending positive vibes, providing friendly and safe environment for all colours of the rainbow. SOHO – is all about love, party, fun & being yourself! A great place to make new friends and dance till the dawn!

You can find more information about events on Baltic Pride app.

Borderline Queen. Revenge

*This is not an official event of the Baltic Pride festival 2019*

During Baltic Pride, on June 5th and 6th, the Lithuanian National Drama Theater presents the premiere of a performance “Borderline Queen. Revenge”, created by Maciej Gośniowski-Gąsiu – one of the most famous representatives of queer culture in Poland, actor, dancer, member of the queer group Glitter Confusion, one of the winners of the LNDT Young Creator Program contest.

You can find more information about the event on Baltic Pride app.