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Cities take the lead in promoting LGBT policies in Europe
Cities with progressive municipal leadership can make a difference in a country where conservative governments or religious influence is holding back innovation. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe drafted the report ‘Report on How Cities and Regions Can Guarantee LGBT People’s Rights in Europe’. In the report many good practices are highlighted, as well as examples of challenging situations for LGBT people at the local and regional level. Movisie expert Juul van Hoof is co-author of this report. She is also the coordinator of the Rainbow Cities Network, a network of European cities with their own LGBT policies where they exchange information. The full article can be read here.


Photo: C. Kroes
 
Contents
 
Cities take the lead in promoting LGBT policies in Europe
 
Good practice: LGBT-inclusive Housing Strategy
 
New European project on e-teacher training to combat homophobia
 
New comparative study on experiences of trans people in all EU Member States
 
Manchester to host first UK LGBT History Festival
 
10 Worst U.S. Cities for LGBT Rights
 
2nd Tirana Pride to take place on June 11th 2015
 
Poland elects its first openly gay mayor
 
Book 'Queer Cities, Queer Cultures. Europe since 1945'
Good practice: LGBT-inclusive Housing Strategy
The City of Brighton and Hove in the United Kingdom developed a new citywide Housing Strategy through extensive consultation with commissioners, service providers, community groups and residents. The Strategy explicitly includes LGBT people by ensuring that the city has:

• Accessible, welcoming and safe housing and support services that are responsive to the needs of LGBT people and promote their health and well-being;
• Housing and support services that contribute to LGBT community safety and challenge harassment, discrimination and hate crime;
• Housing and support services that are planned and reviewed in consultation with the LGBT community.

The complete Housing Strategy 2015 can be downloaded here.
 
New European project on e-teacher training to combat homophobia
Last November, a new European cooperation project started which includes the development of an e-course for teachers to combat homophobia. The course will be tested on schools in Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Bari (Italy) and San Sebastian (Basque country, Spain).

The partnership intends to experiment with e-learning to better integrate special needs students in regular school environments and to have special attention on combating homophobia. The focus for special needs will be on deaf students. It is expected that the e-course will become publicly available in the second half of 2016. More information on the project can be found here.
 
New comparative study on experiences of trans people in all EU Member States
In December 2014, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) presented the largest comparative study on the experiences of trans people in all 28 EU Member States. The FRA calls the results "alarming", but highlights that legal frameworks and good policies have a positive impact on trans people's lives. The study takes a closer look at results of the nearly 7000 trans respondents of the EU LGBT Survey.
 
Manchester to host first UK LGBT History Festival
The City of Manchester is hosting the first ever national festival focused on exploring, exposing, and discussing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) history. The Festival is over five days, and will be at Central Library's Archives+, the People's History Museum, and many venues throughout Manchester. The City of Manchester, the birth place of the original Homosexual/Human Rights campaign, is to play host to several events over the St. Valentine's Day Weekend 2015. More information about the festival and the involvement of the local government can be found on the dedicated website
 
10 Worst U.S. Cities for LGBT Rights
Just like in Europe, across the United States cities are also increasingly embracing equal treatment and access for LGBT citizens. According to the U.S. Human Rights Campaign (HRC), “cities continue to demonstrate that all corners of America are ready for equality.”
Still, there are many parts of the U.S. where LGBT citizens not only lack the right to marry but other fundamental protections. This year, 4% of all cities measured on the HRC’s Municipal Equality Index received scores of less than 10 on a scale of 0 to 100. Four cities received scores of 0, indicating that they lacked any of the policies or initiatives identified by HRC as being supportive of LGBT equality. In this special online report the city scores of the Municipal Equality Index are published.
 
2nd Tirana Pride to take place on June 11th 2015
One of the first Pride announcements of 2015 was made by a coalition of LGBT organisations from Tirana, Albania. PINK Embassy / LGBT Pro, Human Rights House Albania and Open Mind
Spectrum Albania agreed that the 2nd Tirana Pride will be held in June 11th.
The organisers stated that "An increased visibility of the LGBT cause in the City of Tirana brings about visibility for the whole country, a strengthened democracy, respect for dignity and human rights and a social emancipation. We believe that freedom of expression and assembly is a legitimate right of every citizen.” More information on the event can be read on the organisers’ website.
 
Poland elects its first openly gay mayor
Robert Biedron won the mayoral election in the Polish city of Slupsk in further sign of growing social acceptance for gay and lesbian people in Poland. Robert Biedron already made history once in Poland by becoming the first openly gay parliamentarian in 2011. He now celebrates another first, becoming the country’s first openly gay mayor. “I see how fast Polish society has learned its lesson of tolerance,” Biedron said two days before he was elected on Sunday to be mayor of Slupsk, a city near the Baltic sea. “So I am very optimistic and happy with Polish society and proud.” In what the Polish media are calling 'the Biedron effect', a record number of candidates also came out publicly before the local elections, which took place in two rounds over the last two weeks.
 
Book 'Queer Cities, Queer Cultures. Europe since 1945'
This interesting book examines the formation and make-up of urban subcultures and situates them against the stories typically told about Europe and its watershed moments in the post 1945 period. An international team of authors explores the queer histories of cities, from Istanbul to Helsinki and Moscow to Madrid. The book is available via Bloomsbury Publishing.

Photo: E. van Eis
 
 
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