In 2019, the Salzburg Global LGBT* Forum focused on the steps required to achieve full legal and social equality for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or intersex status. With an emphasis on how progress in South Asia could be accelerated and have a positive influence on developments in the rest of the world, the program enhanced Asia’s underrepresented role in global LGBT dialogues, and engaged individuals and institutions with the potential to create significant shifts in social attitudes and policy landscapes across the region.
The program contributed to national and regional discussions on LGBT inclusion across the South Asian region by providing a platform for open policy dialogue and debate; creating an opportunity to highlight South Asia's unique legal, religious, and cultural history of LGBT family and community inclusion with policy makers and international organizations active in the region; and by producing multimedia products that can help illustrate the critical importance of inclusive policies.
In South Asia, several LGBT human rights issues are at a “tipping point” at which legal and/or social change could soon be possible. Gender recognition and decriminalization are two such legal tipping point issues for several countries. However even in places where legal progress on these fronts has been made (for example in Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), social discrimination and violence often persist and serve to exclude LGBT individuals and their families from access to employment, health care, education and other services. Because of this, additional action is needed across South Asia to ensure full legal and social inclusion and recognition for gender and sexual minorities, with special attention to transgender and intersex communities.
As has been the case in other regions, progress in individual countries on these issues could also have a positive influence on other countries in the region. Testimonies from the LGBT Forum’s work with Bhutanese parliamentarians, Nepal’s Blue Diamond Society, our extensive network of Asian Fellows, and our network of European, North America, Asian, and Latin American Fellows (including many working with or within governments) has shown that bringing together a globally diverse group of human rights defenders of LGBT equality can multiply impact and spur positive change at critical moments in the development of more inclusive policies.
* LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. We use this term as it is widely used in human rights conversations on sexual orientation and gender identity in many parts of the world. We wish it to be read as inclusive of other cultural concepts that express sexuality and gender, intersex and gender-nonconforming identities.
The 2019 LGBT Forum will include approximately 50 Fellows from diverse professional and civic backgrounds including:
Given the program’s concentration on South Asia, it is expected that approximately 75% of participants will come from the eight countries of this region (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and the remaining 25% of participants coming from a global range of countries outside the South Asian region. As suggested above, it is intended that this group will consist of both young and established social innovators as well as policy makers, including representatives of national, provincial and local governments, as well as community and religious leaders who work with local government authorities, from each of the countries in the region.
Participants will be selected on the basis of an open application process. Please indicate your interest to attend via the “Register” link above.
In line with the objectives listed above, the program will seek to achieve the following outcomes: