Victory Institute’s Global Team recently returned from La Paz, Bolivia – check out some of their latest happenings!
What’s in Bolivia and Why Were We There?
Principally – clouds, mountains, a few llamas and a *very* general lack of oxygen (at 3,650 feet above sea level, La Paz is the highest capital city in the world…). More importantly though, La Paz was the host city for the 9th ILGALAC Conference that the Global team attended, and which arguably left us with countless more breathtaking moments far beyond the huffing fits induced by the altitude.
Here’s a breakdown:
- Who is ILGALAC and what was the conference about?
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ILGALAC) is an non-governmental association centered on the fight against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. With the objective of “Decolonizing our struggles and depatriarchalizing our bodies,” this 9th conference organized a variety of plenaries and smaller workshops across 5 days centering around addressing this thematic focus. Key moments for our team included:
- Connecting with activists and participating in plenaries across the 5 days of the conference.
During this 5-day conference, our Global team connected with activists and civil society leaders from across the region, joining in on plenaries and workshops that highlighted the most pressing issues for the LGBTQI+ movement in the region. Below, photos of a couple of our regional partners as panelists in the plenaries!
(Wilson Castañeda of Caribe Afirmativo [below photos] and Rosanna Marzán of Diversidad Dominicana [sitting far left in top])
- Strategic Meetings with Regional Partners
Taking full advantage of the our time in La Paz, not only did we connect and share information with a variety of activists and peer orgs, but spent many an impromptu meeting discussing shared initiatives with our regional partners! Save for Yaaj México and #VOTELGBT (Brazil), all our partners from Latin America traveled to ILGALAC and allowed us to strategize around regional conference planning, get up to speed on our upcoming LGBTI leadership and political participation trainings, and set goals for the Consortium in the coming months.
- Workshop to promote the 6th LGBTI Political Leaders Conference of the Americas and the Caribbean:
Global Director Alhelí Partida, in coordination with Wilson Castañeda, Executive Director at Caribe Afirmativo, gave a riveting workshop focusing on our upcoming Americas Conference in Mexico City. Delving deep into the strategies for LGBTQI+ political participation and our conference focus, our workshop had maxed out attendance and an audience asking about how to register post-workshop.
Learn more about the Conference of the Americas and the Caribbean here!
Last, but not least, meeting each other for the first time altogether in person!!
More from the road soon!
