The Fragile Situation of LGBTQIA+ in Belarus and Georgia
Bosch Alumni Network
29.03.2021
Monday on the Couch: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
Global allyship in response to the fragile situation of LGBTQIA+ in Belarus and Georgia.
Though the situation of queer people in “post-Soviet nations” is often used as a general indicator for the state of human rights and democracy, the actual lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people are rarely discussed in detail. Political conflicts and various crises usually hit marginalized groups the hardest, yet individual circumstances may differ vastly among different areas and socio-cultural groups. This raises the question of which kind of international support and allyship is most needed.
In the first queer edition of our Monday on the Couch format we would like to discuss the current situation of LGBTQIA+ people in Belarus and Georgia. How does a Soviet legacy and mass media influence the self-determination of LGBTQIA+ identities? What are the specific human rights conditions of queer communities during a global pandemic and ongoing political crises?
The event is taking place in our Online Community Space via Zoom. Once you have registered, the link to join the discussion will be sent to you automatically.
Time: 19:00 (+4 GMT)
About the speakers:
Nino Ugrekhelidze is a feminist activist from Georgia with over 10 years of experience working with global and grassroots organizations to advance gender justice and human rights, and to mobilize and redistribute resources for social justice movements. Currently she leads young feminist mobilization work at AWID (Association for Women’s Rights in Development), strengthening interconnections between queer, feminist, disability and climate justice movements.
Vika Biran is a journalist, project manager and LGBTQIA+ activist from Belarus and Germany. She co-founded MAKEOUT, a project about gender and sexuality in Belarus and is a project manager at Unit, a network of journalists focusing on LGBTQIA+ issues in post-Soviet states. In September 2020 she was arrested and sentenced to 15 days in prison after participating in a peaceful protest in Minsk.
Moderation: Juliane Löffler works at BuzzFeed News Germany as a Senior Reporter for LGBTQIA+ issues and women's rights. Previously, she worked as an online editor at the weekly newspaper der Freitag. Her investigations, reportage, and stories have been published by Suhrkamp, The Guardian and Netflix. She is a member of the Bosch Alumni Network, received various fellowships and took part in the "Reporters in the Field" program.
This event is co-designed with n-ost, a transnational network of journalists and media professionals. Their project Unit is realized in cooperation with MAKEOUT and aims to facilitate a productive public discussion on the rights of LGBTQIA+ people in post-Soviet states.