LIFE STORIES – SHARING EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE
The Salzburg Global LGBT Forum collects and disseminates life stories that portray the rich realities of our lives today and share our diverse professional expertise. It is the sharing of stories and expertise rather than mere facts and figures that helps to galvanize our supporters and challenge our opponents.
As outlined in our 2013 Statement, we emphasize the value of exchange and storytelling as major tools of expressing of who we are and want to become. Increasingly, LGBT lives are portrayed in popular culture, often through the lens of heroism or victimhood to reach larger audiences. Still, in many countries, enforced silence and government-sponsored discrimination reject LGBT people as part of the human family. As the world becomes a global village, voices are amplified, including those that export homo-and transphobia.
In the short interviews below, members of the Global LGBT Forum share their expert knowledge and insights. The Global LGBT Forum will continue to cooperate with and magnify the work of writers, filmmakers and photographers as well as of community activists, legal experts, government representatives, and academics who reflect upon, portray and shape the complexities of our lives.
VIDEO PLAYLIST
- Dr. Klaus Mueller, Germany: Global voices for global conversations
- Kasha Nabagesera, Uganda: Making the world pay attention to LGBT issues
- Michael Kirby, Australia: Globalism with a reality check
- Manisha Dhakal, Nepal: Advocating LGBT policy change in Nepal
- Marc Pachter, USA: History as a construct – What do we remember from it?
- Hyun Kyung Kim, Republic of Korea: Becoming part of the minority
- Danish Sheikh, India: Using law to advocate LGBT rights in India
- Monica Pisankaneva, Bulgaria: The LGTBI community as a scapegoat for social issues
- Mariano Ruiz, Argentina: IDAHO and an international call to action
- Victor Yang, Canada: Who gets to sit at the table – Discrimination, racism, and difference
- Rooi Teve, Russia: The basic needs of an activist
- Dr. Ralf Kleindiek, Germany: LGBT in Deutschland und das Salzburg Global LGBT Forum
- Fadi Saleh, Syria: Online security of LGBT activists in the Arab world
- Dennis van der Veur, Netherlands: EU FRA’s survey of LGBT discrimination
- Ana Chacon, Costa Rica: Realizing LGBT rights in Costa Rica
- Elizabeth Khaxas, Namibia: Reading her poem “My Love Knows No Boundaries”
- Geetanjali Misra, India: New ideas for LGBT philanthropy
- Yenhe Li, China: Chinese cultural values forcing gay people into heterosexual marriage
- Lousewies van der Laan, Netherlands: Measuring civilizations by how they treat (sexual) minorities
- Arsham Parsi, Iran: The lack of basic human rights in Iran and the situation of Iranian LGBT refugees
- Georges Azzi, Lebanon: Integrating LGBT rights in broader human rights agenda
- Milan Antonijevic, Serbia: Progressing legal protection for LGBT persons; combating hate crime
- Travis SK Kong, Hong Kong: Lives of older LGBT men in Hong Kong
- Aung Myo Min, Burma: Colonial British sodomy law in Burma
- Shereen El Feki, Egypt/UK: Sexuality in a changing Arab world
- Vuth Lyno, Cambodia: Artists shape conversations on LGBT equality
- Tamara Adrián, Venezuela: Being a trans person
- Laia Ribera Cañénguez, El Salvador: LGBT awareness through theater
- Dennis Wamala, Uganda: Working against LGBT persecution