Sunday, May 1, 2016



Greetings from the ILGCN (rainbow culture international) and Bears International on May 1, 2016!

It was great meeting some of you at the smashing Nordic Bear session arranged by Bearty-Tallinn in the Estonian capital April 15-16, 2016!

Thanks for the fine support and interest in the Bears International! We are still looking for more contact persons and "international secretaries" to answer eventual questions from those in your region. Interested..?

Below, the preliminary 2016 Bear International calendar:

If you can't join us in person, send us a few lines and we will be happy to read them out at our events!

Hugs, Bill Schiller, IB international secretary


Stockholm - May 18th
Post-IDAHO (May 17th, international day against homophobia) Day event arranged together with the ILGCN Information Secretariat.

Palanga - June 10-12
IB presentation at the ILGCN World Rainbow Culture Conference 2016 in this Lithuanian port town.

Vilnius - June 13-18
IB participation in Baltic Pride

Kiev - July 9-10
1st Year Anniversary Celebrations for Ukrainian Bears

Warsaw - July 21-23
Tolerance School with LGBT Belarus journalists

Stockholm - July 25-30
IB presentation at Stockholm Pride

St. Petersburg/Moscow - August 19-21
International Queer Theater Festival

Stockholm - September
Polish Bear Night, Estonian Bear Night (2017: Ukrainian Bear Night, Russian Bear Night)

Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg - October 1st
Nordic Rainbow Art & History Month

Visby - November 10-12
IB at memorial ceremony at the only LGBT Monument in the Nordic zone.

Maspalomas - March, 2017
BI culture program at the International Bear Carnival - Spain




Bears International, supporting Bear culture and international solidarity. Open to Ursula and other women Bears, trans Bears and Bi-sexual Bears, assisting LGBT refugees. No membership fee. Based at the ILGCN Information Secretariat, Stockholm.
bill@tupilak.org  www.ilgcn.tupilak.org
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PRESS RELEASE / APRIL 20, 2016

SWEDISH BEAR AWARD HONORS ESTONIANS

Tallinn -- The second Nordic Rainbow Bear award of 2016 from Stockholm's Viking Bears has been handed over to Bearty-Tallinn at the Nordic Bear session in the Estonian capital April 15-17, 2016.

At the award ceremony held at the Estonian LGBT Center, the chairman of Viking Bears- Stockholm, Cha Wallentheim,read out the diploma's motivation which honored Bearty-Tallinn "..... for organizing this year's Nordic Bear session - the first such meeting on former Soviet territory, .....for underlining the fact that Bears everywhere are valuable and necessary warriors on the LGBT human rights barricades -- helping shatter stereotypes both within and outside of the rainbow community... for outstanding efforts to promote international contacts ... and for giving Bear culture an outstanding place to confirm that rainbow culture is a strong weapon against homophobia, intolerance and invisibility."

This year's Nordic Rainbow Award 2016 diploma is shared by the International Bear Carnival -- Maspalomas and this award diploma was handed over at that event in March.

"We are pleased to receive the award and to share it with our Spanish colleagues," says Alvar Ameljushenko of Bearty-Tallinn.

Bears International Impressed with the Estonian Bears

"We deeply impressed that it was the next-smallest Nordic nation to think so BIG in Nordic Bear terms -- for the first time putting this on in he digital world on the FaceBook map, making this a 3-day event so filled with Bear culture via discussions, beautiful art exhibits and music -- not just a closed-door meeting for a very few but open to all interested Bears -- not only from the Nordic nations of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Latvia but also from beyond the Nordic zone from Russia, Ukraine, Britain and Australia!,"says Bill Schiller of the newly-established Bears International. "This also confirms that Estonia and the other Baltic states are indeed part of the Nordic family!"

"We are also overjoyed that Bearty-Tallinn has also reached out beyond Bear borders by contributing crucially to the rent of the Estonian LGBT Center & Archives, the way that Bears-on-Ice contribute to Iceland's HIV/AIDS foundation and the Bears of Poland support the Warsaw LGBT Film Festival that reaches 8 other Polish cities as well!"

"We in Bears International are inspired by all of this and hope to contribute to relief assistance to LGBT refugees fleeing from persecution, imprisonment, murder and state execution," Schiller concludes.


More information: bill@tupilak.org


Tallinn award ceremony: Cha Wallentheim - Viking Bears (far left),
Alvar Ameljushenko - Bearty-Tallinn Bears, Bill Schiller - Bears
International, and John Earhart - Norway's Bamse Bears (far right). 

Nordic Rainbow Bear award to Maspalomas: Bill Schiller (left)
Sweden, Lobo - Carnival Chief (center) and Peter Fröberg - Sweden,
(photo by Angelo of Italy)




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​Calling Bear colleagues:


ILGCN's (international rainbow cultural network) newly-established Bears International aims at promoting Bear culture and international solidarity.

BI has no membership fee , does not compete with the important social events of local and national Bear organizations, and welcomes all interested -- especially Ursula and other women Bears, Trans Bears, Bear immigrants and refugees, the differently abled and HIV positives. (misogamists, transphobes, racists and intolerants are NOT welcome!)

BI aims at following the Bears-on-Ice, Reykjavik initiative to become involved beyond the Bear borders (with their major financial contribution to HIV work on Iceland) BI plans on promoting fund-raising to help LGBT refugees fleeing from persecution, violence, imprisonment and murder threats.

Bears International is located at the ILGCN Information Secretariat in Stockholm via our webmaster in Canada: www.ilgcn.tupilak.org


Bears International Calendar:


Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers)-hosted round-table "Bear Culture & Aging" on Friday, April 15, 2016 at the Nordic Bear session in Tallinn April 15-17 event arranged by Bearty-Tallinn of Estonia.

Warsaw LGBT Film Festival featuring Bear films and working with Polish Bears for Bear events April 17-22.

May 17 in Stockholm for IDAHO (International Day against Homophobia) together with Tupilak other LGBT organizations in Sweden and/or on May 18th -- a special post-IDAHO Day hosted by BI and the ILGCN Information Secretariat-Stockholm.

1st Rainbow Art Fair (hosted by Tupilak) -- Stockholm May 28.

ILGCN (international rainbow cultural network) World Rainbow Culture Conference in Palanga, Lithuania June 10-12.

Baltic Pride 2016 -- Vilnius June 13-17.

1st Nordic Art & History Month -- Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg, October 2016.

Bears International culture program --at the International Bear Carnival - Maspalomas, Spain March, 2017.


If you have any questions or comments, please contact the BI international secretary for the appropriate geographic region:

East, West, South, Belarus-Russia-Ukraine, and North America.

Bill Schiller, BI international secretary-East bill@tupilak.org

NOTE: Do NOT ask for any travel grants to the above: There are none!
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