My colleague Mario Enríquez and I are back from Copenhagen, where we represented LGBTQ Victory Institute at World Pride and served as executive partners of World Pride and the Inter-Parliamentary Plenary Assembly! Delaware state Senator Sarah McBride and Colorado state Representative Leslie Herod were able to join us and presented at two panels: Activists working with LGBTQ elected officials: opportunities & challenges and LBTQ Women in Politics!
Mario moderated the first panel during World Pride’s Human Rights Forum, coordinating the conversation between U.S. Congressman Mark Takano, Delaware state Senator Sarah McBride, Mexican local legislator Temistocles Villanueva, and European Parliamentarian from Iceland Hanna Katrin. I had the honor of moderating the second panel, with Colorado state Rep. Leslie Herod, Venezuelan Assemblymember Tamara Adrian and Mexican Congresswoman Ana Lucía Riojas, during our event in the Danish Parliament.
Mario’s panel, Activists working with LGBTQ elected officials: opportunities & challenges
My panel, LBTQ Women in Politics
During one of my favorite moments from World Pride, Tamara Adrian shared invaluable advice based on her experiences with Congresswoman-elect Salma Luevano, who made history as the first out transgender person elected to the Mexican Congress, and Mayor Marie Cau, first out transgender person elected mayor in France. Seeing these groundbreaking leaders connect, discuss tactics and swap experiences was a wonderful moment.
Attending conferences and events like these allows us to not only highlight LGBTQ voices from around the globe, but meet and connect with even more LGBTQ leaders. During the panel on LBTQ Women in Politics, Temistocles Villanueva noted the importance of having these conversations with other LGBTQ leaders, highlighting the radicalization of some anti-trans “feminist” movements, and bringing the learnings back to his own government. Portuguese Assemblymember Fabiola Cardoso and Irish Senator Fintan Warfield were also inspired by our panels and approached us to learn more about our work!
Brazilian Legislator Robeyonce Lima participated in a discussion between civil society and international organizations about the challenges that LGBTQ people face in Brazil. Meanwhile, our former trainee from El Salvador, Erick Ivan Ortiz, had a meaningful conversation with Congressman David Cicilline about the challenges he faced during his candidature. Even more events were organized during the week including conversations between our elected officials and partner organizations in South America around coordinating regional responses and future activism.
Overall, the event was a huge success! We are very proud of the connections we made and the work we’re doing to advance LGBTQ equality. We can’t wait to share more with you soon! If you’re able to keep our work going with a generous donation, we appreciate it!
