A partnership between ReportOUT and the University of Sunderland, #SaferToBeMe will bring together a global audience to discuss the human rights, and development needs, of LGBTQI+ people.

This exciting event will be hosted across the University St. Peter’s Campus and City Campus from the 20th – 22nd of June 2023.

Before the main event, there will be a range of online satellite events held on Zoom as online talks and workshops to get everyone involved and get excited about #SaferToBeMe.

Beginning with the launch of the Amsterdam Rainbow Dress at the National Glass Centre on Tuesday, 20th June 2023, from 18:00 – 20:00. As stated by the website of the dress:

After that, on 22nd June, a global Symposium full of talks, workshops and campaigns will be hosted for the full day at Hope Street Xchange. The timeline of the day is as follows:

STRAND ONE

These are talks or workshops about the human rights situation of a particular nation-state for sexual and gender minorities or the human rights situation of a particular region for sexual and gender minorities.

• 10:00 – 11:00 am, Enterprise Suite: Historical Bodies and National Identities: A Very ‘British’ Problem by Sarah Ellis (University of Sunderland)
• 11:15 – 12:25 pm, Enterprise Suite: Human Rights and the Lived Experience of SOGIESC Communities: A Moroccan Perspective by Gabriele Guzzi and Damian Berger (Switzerland and Morocco)
• 13:30 – 14:30 pm, Enterprise Suite: The Human Rights Situation of Transgender and Female Sex Workers in Shinyanga, Tanzania by Shinyanga Tuinuane Vijana (STV) and Mathias Charles (Tanzania)
• 14:30 – 15:30 pm, Enterprise Suite: OUT in Belize: The Lived Experiences of Sexual and Gender Minorities in Belize by Charlotte, Chloe, Kristyna and Maria from ReportOUT (U.K and Belize)
• 15:45 – 16:45 pm, Enterprise Suite: Colonialism and Queer Politics: The Different Legacies of Empires by Matthew Waites from the University of Glasgow (U.K)
• 16:45 – 5:30 pm, Enterprise Suite: Plenary Talk and Campaign by Drew Dalton from the University of Sunderland and ReportOUT (U.K)

STRAND TWO

These talks or workshops be thematic talks or workshops about a particular issue or theme linked to the human rights of sexual and gender minorities.

• 10:00 – 11:00 am, Pinnacle Room: A Critical Analysis of Violence Against LGBT People in Bangladesh: A Study Monitoring Online News Media Reports in 2022 by Shahanur Islam from JusticeMakers Bangladesh (Bangladesh)
• 11:15 – 12:25 pm, Pinnacle Room: Conversion Practices: The Mental Health Effects on LGBTQI+ Persons in Nigeria by Paul Godswil Chukwuemeka, Activist from Nigeria
• 13:30 – 14:30 pm, Pinnacle Room: Have we Left Behind the Rainbow Warriors? The Climate Emergency and its Impact on Global Sexual and Gender Minorities by Drew Dalton, University of Sunderland and ReportOUT (U.K.)
• 14:30 – 15:30 pm, Pinnacle Room: The Lived Realities of Sexual and Gender Minorities in the Rural Areas of Rwenzori Region, Uganda by Mumbya Katende from BRU (Uganda)
• 15:45 – 16:45 pm, Pinnacle Room: Queer Voices of Central Asia by Ramilia Almazbekova and Kyrgyz Indigo (Kyrgyzstan)
• 16:45 – 5:30 pm, Enterprise Suite: Plenary Talk and Campaign by Drew Dalton from the University of Sunderland and ReportOUT (U.K)

STRAND THREE

These are talks and workshops about sexual and gender minorities, and their engagement (or lack thereof) with international development mechanisms and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Or, about sexual and gender minorities and their development issues.

• 10:00 – 11:00 am, Innovation Suite: The Invisible People: The Healthy Ageing of Old LGBTQ+ Populations in the UK by Simon Fox, Academic (U.K.)
• 11:15 – 12:25 pm, Innovation Suite: Revitalising Global LGBTQ2IA+ Rights: Integrating SOGI in Canada’s Foreign Policy and International Assistance by Graham Robertson, Researcher (Canada)
• 13:30 – 14:30 pm, Innovation Suite: Inclusive Development in Practice: Creating an Economic Development Framework for LGBTQ+ People by Philip R. Crehan, Eloas Consulting (USA)
• 14:30 – 15:30 pm, Innovation Suite: Incentivising Data to Evidence LGBTQI+ Inclusion in the SDGs: Utilising the LGBT Inclusion Index by Dr Felicity Daly (Ireland), Institute for Commonwealth Studies and Philip R. Crehan (USA), Eolas Consulting
• 15:45 – 16:45 pm, Innovation Suite: Beyond the Signatures: Embrace Gender Equality on Legal Recognition in Kenya by Kelvin Wangari, PEMA (Kenya)
• 16:45 – 5:30 pm, Enterprise Suite: Plenary Talk and Campaign by Drew Dalton from the University of Sunderland and ReportOUT (U.K)

Find out more about #SaferToBeMe here.