1st Gotland Pride on this Baltic Sea Island off the Swedish East Coast

First Nordic Rainbow Island
Festival in Visby

Visby/Stockholm -- The first Nordic Rainbow Island festival took place as part of the discussions, song, music and film-filled 1st Gotland Pride in Visby and elsewhere on this Baltic island  October 4-7, 2012. Festival seminars tackled the questions of how to boost LGBT contacts and co-operation between the Nordic islands as well as how to stop the rainbow "brain-drain" from the islands by combating homophobia and discrimination and creating such events as Prides and other LGBT happenings to enrichen rainbow life and culture on the islands often loosing residents to the bigger cities on the mainlands.

"We and others have long been thinking of the idea of creating a Nordic island network, were very pleased to attend this event and offer Mariahamn as the site of the next Nordic Rainbow Island Festival in 2013, " says Lina Atman of the Regnbågsfyr (Rainbow Light House) on Finland's Swedish-speaking Åland islands in the middle of the Baltic Sea.

           

ILGCN "Arco Nordic 2012" award presented to organizers of

1st Gotland Pride (photo by Peter Fröberg)

Polish film maker Malga Kubiak at 1st Nordic Rainbow

Island Festival on Visby

Inna Bukshtynovich of Belarus and of  the Civil Rights

Defenders office in Stockholm, visiting the 1st Nordic Rainbow

Island festival in Visby. (photo by Malga Kubiak)

ART EXHIBITS, LGBT MONUMENT CEREMONY 

Festival events also included the display of works from the Tupilak/ILGCN Travelling International Rainbow Art & Photo Exhibition at the main Pride venue -- Visby's glass-walled library near the sea --  and the library of the inland town of Roma,  as well as film screenings by Polish film maker, Malga Kubiak.  She also filmed the festival's torch-lite, after-dusk ceremony at the stone-mound, LGBT monument on the Visby shore line -- the first such monument in the Nordic zone.

"We will continue to look for Nordic Council and other international and national supporters as well as private doners so that we can bring in LGBT colleagues and cultural workers from the Faroes, Greenland, Iceland, Bornholm, Svalbard and the Estonian islands to future island festivals in this vast region stretching from off the coast of North America in the west to the Russian and Belarus borders on the east, "says Bill Schiller of the festival organizers Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers) and the ILGCN (international rainbow cultural network) .   "We were also pleased this year to have foreign guests from Poland, Belarus and Russia -- adding their voices to the seminar on "Nordic Islands in the World" underlining the importance of  island contacts also with LGBT colleagues beyond the Nordic region."

      

During the festival, Tupilak handed over its annual "Sowelu" award for outstanding LGBT work by women to  Ulrika Westerlund, the president of the RFSL, (Sweden's national LGBT rights organization) and the ILGCN handed its "Arco Nordica" for pioneering LGBT work to RFSL-Gotland and all the other organizers of the 1st Gotland Pride -- an award which included art work donated by Swedish Tupilak member, photographer Elinore Lindén Strand.    

The festival received economic support from ROHS (the Swedish LGBT solidarity organization) as well as assistance with reduced priced tickets from the Destination Gotland ferry service between the island and the mainland.

PRE-ISLAND FESTIVAL SEND-OFF IN STOCKHOLM

As a  pre-festival ceremony at the prize-winning Stockholm gay bar Side Track, delegates on their way to Visy described the ambitions to create an LGBT island network.  In addition, Tupilak's "Polar Bear" award diploma for the promotion of LGBT film work was handed over to Swedish Radio film journalist Roger Wilson and the ILGCN's "Sapho in Paradise" award  for outstanding contrbutions to LGBT publishing, libraries and archives was handed over to the non-commercial collective producing the Swedish arts and debate magazine, "Mums."

Note: More information, full award motivations and photos are available from the ILGCN Information Secretariat.

Tupilak Steering Committee 2019

TUPILAK CALLING
September, 2012

Swedes, Belarus, Ukrainians in the Crimea in June

JUST COMPLETED:

Tupilak and the ILGCN (international rainbow cultural network) together with colleagues from Sweden, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and Norway at the Swedish-Belarus-Ukrainian follow-up conference in Semeiz, Crima in June, 2012  (following meetings in Kiev and Minsk 2011 also supported by the Swedish Institute) and at the ILGCN culture conference in this harbor town. Including a "spray can paint attack" on a homophobic wall graffiti turning this into a pro-peace and prof LGBT illustration.

Tupilak at 1st Luleå Pride – June 15-17

Presentation of ILGCN "Arco Nordica" award to organizers.

Tupilak at LGBT Belarus journalists meeting in Vilnius – June 15-17
Competition for anti-discrimination Belarus journalism (see press release below). 

Tupilak at the International Square – July 2-6
In Visby on the Swedish Baltic island of Gotland during politician’s and human rights week at Almedalen Week. This included the one-year anniversary ceremony at 1st Nordic LGBT Monument at the shoreline.

Tupilak & ILGCN Travelling Art & Photo Exhibition at
Teater Tribunal  in Stockholm – July 31
Homosexuella Socialists Event. Guest artist: Vladik of Minsk.    

Tribunal Exhibit (photo by Vladik)

                                                                                           

Tupilak at ILGCN seminar at Stockholm Pride House – August 1
on Solidarity with Eastern Europe.

Tupilak at ILGCN seminar at Stockholm Pride House – August 2
On Nordic LGBT Solidarity.

Tupilak at 1st Nordic LGBT Work Place Forum – August 3
At Stockholm Exhibition Fair with presentation on Nordic-Baltic-Eastern Europe co-operation and Tupilak/ILGCN Belarus & Nordic art and photography exhibition.

Exhibit at Stockholm International Fair (photo by Vladik)

STILL COMING UP in 2012:

Tupilak & ILGCN at Belgrade Pride September/October

                                         Visby LGBT Monument
                                         (photo by Willi Reichhold)

1st Nordic Rainbow Islands Festival – October 4-7  

Part of the 1st Gotland Pride, Visby Gotland. Seminars, panel discussions, films, art & photography, music, song, performances.

Discussions:

• A review of rainbow life in the 13 Nordic islands: Gotland, Öland, Stockholm and Gothenberg archipelagoes (Sweden); Bornholm, Faroe Islands, Greenland (Denmark); Åland, Åbo archipelago (Finland); Svalbard (Norway); Hiiumaa and Saaremaa (Estonia); Iceland. 

• Stopping the rainbow brain-drain from the Nordic islands.

• Boosting rainbow co-operation between the Nordic islands.

• Increasing mainland support of rainbow organizations, business, tourism, culture on the islands.

• Humanism on the LGBT rainbow barricades, from Torshamn to Istanbul

Sunset/torch-lit ceremony at the LGBT stone monument
on the shoreline of Visby harbor
This is the first such monument in the Nordic region.

Tupilak & ILGCN Rainbow Art & Photo International Travelling Exhibition 
Works from 40 countries

Tupilak with  ILGCN  in Brazil:   

ILGCN World Rainbow Culture Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Jan 31-Feb 3 2013

With discussions "Rainbow Culture in Brazil", "Rainbow Culture in Sweden," "Rainbow Culture in Russia" etc., poetry, music, film, drama. Samples of the ILGCN & Tupilak International Travelling Rainbow Art & Photo Exhibition with works from 40 nations. It's at pre-Rio Carnaval time (February 25/1-7/2) and includes participation in the giant, pink-ballon and gay-filled, pre-carnaval  parade  "Simpatia é Quase Amor" (Sympathy is nearly Love!) on Saturday, February 2.

Tupilak/ILGCN Rainbow Festival, Palestine Jenin Refugee Zone,

West Bank – May 2013

TUPILAK CALLING -- July, 2012

Visby LGBT monument (photo by Willi Reichhold)    

JUST COMPLETED:

Tupilak at the International Square (July 2-6) in Visby on the Swedish Baltic island of Gotland during politician’s and human rights week at Almedalen Week. This included the one-year anniversary ceremony at 1st Nordic LGBT Monument at the shoreline.

Tupilak at 1st Luleå Pride. (June 15-17). Presentation of ILGCN "Arco Nordica" award to organizers.

Tupilak at LGBT Belarus journalists meeting in Vilnius (June 15-17).  Competition for anti-discrimination Belarus journalism (see press release below). 

Tupilak at Swedish-Belarus-Ukrainian LGBT solidarity meeting in Semeiz, Crimea --supported by Swedish Institute and a follow up of 2011 meetings in Kiev and Minsk (press release coming). Part of ILGCN world rainbow cultural conference.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

STILL COMING UP in  2012:     

                                                                                                                           

Tupilak & ILGCN Travelling Art & Photo Exhibition at Teater Tribunal  in Stockholm (July 31)  (Homosexuella Socialists Event). Guest artist: Vladik of Minsk.

Tupilak supporting ILGCN seminar at Stockholm Pride House (Wednesday, August  1 at 13.15)  on "Solidarity with Eastern Europe."

Tupilak supporting ILGCN seminar at Stockholm Pride House (Thursday, August 2 at 16.00) on
 "Nordic LGBT Solidarity."

Tupilak at 1st Nordic LGBT Work Place Forum (Friday, August 3) at Stockholm Mässan with Tupilak/ILGCN Nordic art and presentation.

A Tupilak-supported meeting in Vilnius and a Competition for Belarus journalism combating homophobia.

Round Table Discussion: “Social Consequences of Irrelevant Coverage of LGBT Issues in Mass Media” (Vilnius, June 16, 2012)

A round table discussion with participation of journalists, human rights activists, and LGBT-community representatives from Belarus,Ukraine, Sweden, and Lithuania took place in Vilnius, Lithuania on June 16, 2012.

There were presented the results of the Belarusian media monitoring activities, focused on the coverage of LGBT-community problematic in the Belarusian media in 2011 as well as a survey results, showing the Belarusian editors’ opinions on the problem of homophobia in the modern press.

“The problem of LGBT community discrimination is not unique, since discrimination is also faced by a number of other social groups, including people with disabilities, representatives of other races and nationalities, opposition activists etc. The main objective of the monitoring was to inspire other social groups to fight against stereotypes in the society and struggle against discrimination”, noted Max Kavaliou, the Belarusian  LGBT Journalists’ Group activist.

The conducted survey showed that the Belarusian editors are aware of the problem of discrimination of homosexuals. However, they are not always ready to cover the issue. Most often, journalists are eager to write about the LGBT-community in the context of ‘hot stuff’, thinking little about the eventual consequences.

The Belarus’ Gay Alliance representative Aliaksandr Paluyan drew the Round Table discussion participants’ attention to the fact that the journalists, who write about gays of lesbians often mix up terms and notions in their articles. Also, they sometimes use irrelevant illustrations to support their texts. Thus, e.g., in the articles about the recent Gay Pride in Minsk they used photos from Gay Parades in Europe, despite knowing that the snaps do not reflect the real events in Minsk with the police attacks and arrests of activists.

During the Round Table discussion, the journalists analyzed several highly offensive articles on the LGBT problematic, including a Web-publication by Vasil Siamashka (BelaPAN News Agency) and an Open letter by a writer Vasil Yakavienka in the “Narodnaya Vola” independent newspaper. The ournalists decided to submit a collective appeal to the “Narodnaya Vola” editorial with a request to publish an article with counter-arguments to Mr Yakavienka and

address the Ethics Committee at the Belarusian Association of Journalists with a request to consider the “Narodnaya Vola” editorial’s standpoint on the issue.

The BAJ Ethics Committee member Marina Zagorskaya presented the role and functions of the Committee and gave a piece of advice on preparation of appeals to the Committee members.

The Belarusian LGBT Journalists’ Group in cooperation with the supporting media workers is preparing a special brochure on the accurate and correct coverage of LGBT problematic, including the analysis of the most frequent journalists’ mistakes as well as recommendations and practical advice to reporters and columnists on improvement of standards of writing on LGBT subjects. 

Experts and distinguished guests from Sweden, Ukraine, and Lithuania attended the Round Table discussion.

The chairman of TUPILAK (Nordic  LGBT Cultural Workers)  Bill Schiller noted that homophobia can be seen also in many countries of Western

Europe. “Teenagers and youngsters are also among homophobic group in Sweden. Also, a small but very vocal political party in the Swedish Parliament deprecates the LGBT community. A similar situation can be observed in Finland, France, and Hungary. The LGBT people from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have to fight every year, in order to arrange a Gay Pride. 

"The problems can be found even in the Netherlands -- even if Amsterdam might seem to be a real heaven on earth for LGBT  people. However, prides arranged in smaller, provincial towns are attacked by homophobies and hooligans even in front of TV cameras. Therefore, even when near- perfect legislation for LGBT rights are adopted as has been done in Sweden, Norway, Canada and elsewhere, there is still a need to improve public opinion in relation to the LGBT-people. It is necessary to make use of LGBT culture and to actively cooperate with journalists, since the latter form the public opinion and can become a highly efficient force in the process of overcoming stereotypes about the LGBT community as well as in the fight against homophobia”, Bill Schiller said.

Aliaksandr Voitenko, the representative of ‘We Understand Human Rights’ educational program (Ukraine) draw the Round Table meeting participants to the fact that pro-homophobic legislative acts are adopted in the neighboring Russia and Ukraine, and that the dangerous trend should be

terminated by efforts of international civil community representatives.

The Belarusian LGBT Journalists’ community members are convinced that the present frustrating presence of homophobia in Belarus should be eliminated due to the relevant presentation of LGBT problematic in the media. Therefore, the Group members are going to arrange and hold presentations of the informational brochure and arrange topical discussions with the Belarusian journalists and editors on the issue in Minsk and in the Belarusian regions.

“The Best Anti-Discrimination Journalists in Belarus - 2012” were announced at the end of the Round Table meeting in Vilnius.

The international journalist jury selected among more than a dozen of nominees the articles of two journalists from the Belarusian regions:

The FIRST place – Volha Hrytsenka (Brest) – “What Do the Deaf People Watch in Belarus – TV or TV-sets?” (“Что смотрят неслышащие в Беларуси – телевизор или телевидение?”), ‘Vmestie’ (‘Together’) newspaper, 13.04.2012

The SECOND place – Andrei Kuzmin (Krychau, Mahilou region) – “Шэсць санэтаў” (‘Six Sonets’), ‘Nasha Dumka’ Info-newsletter, August 2011

The choice of topics and their efficient presentation with the use of professional journalistic tools was taken into consideration by the jury members in the selection process.

The winners will receive honorary diploma and special awards from TUPILAK and the Belarusian LGBT Journalists’ Group activists as well as and a possibility to visit the TUPILAK activists in Stockholm with a journalist mission in the coming year.

-- Press Service of Belarusian LGBT Journalists’ Group

TUPILAK CALLING  -- June 2012

COMING UP in 2012:                                                                                                                                 

Visby LGBT monument (photo by Willi Reichhold)

   

Tupilak at the International Square (July 2-6) in Visby during Almedalen Week. 

One-year anniversary ceremony at 1st Nordic LGBT Monument at shoreline (Wednesday, July 4 at 18.00).

Tupilak och ILGCN seminar  at International Square at the i Silo in the harbor:

Wednesday, July 4

18.00   1st anniversary of inauguration of first Nordic LGBT Monument ceremony   (shoreline by the Silo)

Friday, July 6

15.30     "Rainbow culture vs. homophobia"  

.............................................................................................................................................

Tupilak & ILGCN Travelling Art & Photo Exhibition at Teater Tribunal  in Stockholm (July 31)  (Homosexuella Socialists Event) 

Tupilak supporting ILGCN seminar at Stockholm Pride House (Wednesday, August  1 at 13.15)  on "Solidarity with Eastern Europe."

Tupilak supporting ILGCN seminar at Stockholm Pride House (Thursday, August 2 at 16.00) on
 "Nordic LGBT Solidarity."

Tupilak at 1st Nordic LGBT Work Place Forum (Friday, August 3) at Stockholm Mässan with Tupilak/ILGCN Nordic art and presentation.

nordic-lgbt-workplace.org.                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                   

JUST COMPLETED:

Tupilak at 1st Luleå Pride. (June 15-17). Presentation of ILGCN "Arco Nordica" award to organizers.

Tupilak at LGBT Belarus journalists meeting in Vilnius (June 15-17).  Competition for anti-discrimination Belarus journalism (press release coming). 

Tupilak at Swedish-Belarus-Ukrainian LGBT solidarity meeting in Semeiz, Crimea --supported by Swedish Instituteand a follow up of 2011 meetings in Kiev and Minsk (press release coming).  Part of ILGCN world rainbow cultural conference.

                                                                                                                                                                                                            

TUPILAK CALLING

MAY 2012

 CONTEST: ‘The Best Anti-Discrimination Journalist in Belarus’

TUPILAK (Queer Cultural Workers in the Nordic Region) in cooperation with Belarusian LGBT journalists announces a professional contest for the Belarusian journalists on the best anti-discrimination reporting.

The best authors of articles and/or photo-audio-video reports, fostering equality of different social groups in the Belarusian society will be announced by TUPILAK during a round table discussion on ‘The Social Consequences of Irrelevant LGBT Coverage’ in Vilnius on June 16, 2012. The winners will receive special awards from TUPILAK and a possibility to visit TUPILAK activists in Stockholm in the coming year.

It is suggested that the contest materials have to be appear in the media within the period since June 5, 2011 till June 4, 2012.

The contest materials have to be submitted to the TUPILAK e-mail address (bill@tupilak.org) for consideration no later than on June 12, 2012.

           .......................................................................................

The Vilnius conference will cover:  LGBT problematic in Belarusian state and non-state media, social consequences of stereotypical presentation of LGBT in the Belarusian media, legal regulation and ethic self-regulation in the journalistic community, the evolution of LGBT coverage in the Swedish media,  problems faced by LGBT journalists in Sweden and their solution and the elimination of hate speech in the media.

.......................................................................................................

Прафесійны конкурс для журналістаў – 

“Найлепшы журналіст-барацьбіт з дыскрымінацыяй

у Беларусі – 2012”

Культурніцкая ЛГБТ арганізацыя паўночных краінаў ТУПІЛАК у супрацоўніцтве з беларускімі

журналістамі з ЛГБТ супольнасці абвяшчае прафесійны конкурс на найлепшы журналісцкі

матэрыял на антыдыскрымінацыйную праблематыку.

Аўтары найлепшых друкаваных і Інтэрнэт-артыкулаў і/ці фота-аўдыё-відэа рэпартажаў, якія

прасоўваюць ідэю роўнасці розных сацыяльных групаў у беларускім грамадстве, будуць

абвешчаныя падчас круглага стала на тэму “Сацыяльныя наступствы некарэктнага асвятлення

ЛГБТ-праблематыкі ў СМІ”, які адбудзецца ў Вільні 16 чэрвеня 2012 года. Пераможцы

конкурсу атрымаюць адмысловыя ўзнагароды ад ТУПІЛАКУ, а таксама магчымасць наведаць

актывістаў ТУПІЛАКУ ў Стакгольме на працягу наступнага года.

Чакаецца, што конкурсныя матэрыялы павінны з’явіцца ў прэсе ў перыяд з 5 чэрвеня 2011

года па 4 чэрвеня 2012 года.

Матэрыялы конкурсу маюць быць скіраваныя на разгляд журы на электронны адрас

ТУПІЛАКУ (bill@tupilak.org)) не пазней за12 чэрвеня 2012 года