IGLYO GENERAL ASSEMBLY
10-12 December 2009, Edinburgh (Scotland)
edited by
Fabio Saccà
Giacomo Guccinelli
John Caponetto
(Arcigay delegates)
From 10th to 12th December the General Assembly of IGLYO (International Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Queer Youth and Student Organization).
IGLYO is an international reality that has existed for 25 years, mainly based in Europe, it collects young girls and boys from over 40 countries with the aim of networking, training, empowerment (providing tools), advocacy (representation), and political lobbying at major international institutions. At the Italian level, Arcigay has been active in IGLYO for over four years, with the participation of the Youth Network, which has allowed it to import numerous best practices, organize exchanges, and even host events such as the Turin 2008 conference last year.
The General Assembly is like a congress, held every two years, and involves the election of officers, the approval of policy guidelines, and amendments to the statute. We began with an "institutional" day at the Scottish Government building, where we were welcomed. Ms. Hilary Third, head of the Scottish Minister for Equal Opportunities and team leader of the Equality Unit, together with the director of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. A window into the practices of LGBT inclusion in institutional social policies, while not hiding the difficulty of mediation or consensus. Indeed, it's difficult to keep the movement united, not just in Italy. These are objectives and challenges we've encountered in every European country, wherever The pursuit of rights goes hand in hand with strategies for the inclusion of LGBT people within social policies. And in these years, many steps forward have been made, even by us, all things considered.
We then moved to Hunter's Square, behind the entrance to the Royal Mile. It was December 10, International Human Rights Day and IGLYO proposed us a flash mob. One word at a time, each of us composed the sentence "Human Rights Day: Respect, Freedom of Expression for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People" while twenty or so volunteers battled the freezing Edinburgh wind to light five hundred candles scattered all around us.
In the silence of our action, the entire city gathered around us. And curiosity, like the protests, was not lacking. We took home the impression that there is no perfect place where words like rights, respect, freedom are equal and shared by all. Not even in Her Majesty's realm. That's why we need to continue using and explaining these words, wherever we are.
During the assembly, we made ourselves known among the sixty delegates from other associations. There was a lot of Middle Eastern, Normandy, Central European, Eastern European, but as during the last iglyo event, this summer much of Mediterranean Europe was missing, our cousins… For our part, we have literally thrown ourselves into networking: especially with the Spanish friends of FELGTB and Arcòpoli (remember the protest in Madrid against homophobia in Italy?), the German-speaking youth network Lambda, the Slovenians of Legebitra and the Croatians of Zagreb Pride…
There was no shortage of ideas for working together, and it must be said that our project on homophobic bullying attracted a lot of interest.
The second day of the Assembly had a very institutional flavour, IGLYO after 25 years of service in Amsterdam changes location and moves its weapons and baggage to Brussels at ILGA headquarters, a stone's throw from the European Commission. It seems like a very bureaucratic moment, but for those who have known IGLYO for a while, it feels like a liturgy. Those votes, those choices represent a great success after years of hard work and experimentation. They disprove the belief that a youth association can't be solid, stable, and functional despite the rapid turnover of its volunteers. Fabio Saccà, a "longtime" member of the IGLYO board, still remember when we used to gather in hostels, sleeping in makeshift places, communicating only via email or chat… and the right nostalgia makes its way, like pride.
We then move on to the review of the membership in IGLYO and the discussion of an important policy paper on the topic of Education, one of the most important on which the LGBT youth network has committed itself together with international student networks.
The third day is the most anticipated for some. The day of the elections for the "new" and the farewell of the "old." A little debate and atmosphere, and we're ready to vote. the new IGLYO board. The following are elected Alex Muller (Germany), Esther Paterson (Scotland), Jasmina Munteanu (Sweden), Lucy Brookes (United Kingdom), Luis Moreira Navarro (Spain), Olena Shevchenko (Ukraine), Zaruhi Shushanyan (Armenia), an almost exclusively female board of directors!
We therefore elect the auditors with Felix Konig (Sweden) and Bart Picket (Poland). And the members of the advisory committee, with Bruno Selun (France) and Augustas Cicelis (Lithuania) from the previous board. This latter practice is interesting as it is aimed at ensure a complete and effective handover and integration between one IGLYO management and the next. This ensures that nothing is lost and that newcomers aren't left a bit helpless at first.
There's no doubt that IGLYO is growing in line with and in continuity with the ideas and goals we've been working on over the past five years, since Arcigay joined this network. There will certainly be challenges, as sustaining a complex and important structure like this network requires much more than the goodwill of board members. We need to strengthen the structure, more volunteers, more flexibility in distributing the work. But, we are sure IGLYO will continue to be a good source of services and inspiration.
We've seen very little of Europe, however; there's been no mention of the Council of Europe, the European Union, or the European Youth Forum. It seems that compared to a few years ago, these are fewer places where strong actions for change can be promoted. And so the associations return to engage in their own territories, consolidating their achievements, trying to enforce their rights, in some cases carrying forward a national movement that was born only a few years ago.
Someone even tries to look beyond Europe, in the South of the world, in the East, in short, in those places where it is certainly not possible to replicate a Western model, but where providing support is no less important.
For our part, we will continue to consider international policies as the space in which Arcigay can and must concretely make a contribution, with its numerous excellences in services, methodologies, and work with and for the LGBT community. Without considering itself a minor geographical entity, due to the many grievances that plague our beautiful country.
Maybe that nice girl was right chicken on the run when he said ""You know what the problem is? The fences aren't just round the farm. They're up here, in you heads…""
