PRESS RELEASE January 9, 2006
Preparation for giant Rainbow Rights Conference in Montreal in July:
Stockholm – A comparison of policy and treatment of LGBT refugees seeking asylum in the different Nordic nations, the use of rainbow culture to highlight their situation – above and underground – and preparation of material for future conferences both within and beyond the Nordic region: these are the aims of the “Nordic Rainbow Refugees” conference and cultural happening in the Swedish capital on February 18, 2006.
“We know that there are both bright spots and dark tragedies for homosexuals seeking refugee in the Nordic region -- and there is a vital need to exchange information and learn from each other across Nordic borders,” says Bill Schiller of Tupilak (Nordic homo cultural workers), the Nordic Homo Council and the ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) Information Secretariat in Stockholm.
“We also want to prepare more information for coming human rights conferences – such as the giant “Right to be Different” gathering opening the 1st Out Games in Montreal in July this year, and the 2nd Out Games and rainbow rights conference in Copenhagen in 2009,” Schiller adds.
Making the Refugee Visible Even Beyond the Rainbows
The Stockholm discussions will end with a cultural event making use of photography, dance, music, drama and poetry concentrating on the plight of the homosexual seeking asylum in the Nordic zone.
The pioneering Stockholm gathering will take place at the Nordic Council’s information office, Norden i Fokus – and is a follow-up of the 2-day Nordic conference on honor violence, “Honored to Silence, Honored to Death” among the native and immigrant/refugee communities in the Nordic nations arranged by Norden i Fokus, Tupilak, the Nordic Homo Council and the ILGCN.
