This is the order of the logos/photos in the text:
1. Erato logo
2. Golden viking emblems.
3. Victor Adeniran USA photo
4. "Ceva" Romanian cartoon picture
5. John Earhart
6. Lorena Delgado, Sweden
7. Christian Juhl, Denmark
8. LGBT Monument in Visby
9. Mia Haglund, Finland
10. Lynx Dean, Canada
4.
ILGCN Information
Secretariat- Stockholm
Same sex golden Viking-age emblems– symbol of the Nordic History Months
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OSLO STAGE OF 3rd NORDIC RAINBOW MONTH COMPLETED
Oslo -- This stage of the 3rd Nordic Rainbow History & Culture Month - October "plus" - 2018 in the Norwegian capital has been completed with discussions, art and photography and the film screening of the ILGCN (international rainbow culture network) /Tupilak (Nordic rainbow culture workers) film, "LGBT Monuments."
This was the 2nd Norwegian event of the Month -- including the October 15 "queer training of museum personnel" at LGBT (Skeivtarkiv) Archives (continued to page 3)
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STOCKHOLM PRIDE HIGHLIGHTS: Middle East, Argentina, Canada
Stockholm -- Stockholm Pride 2017 – also sharing the Europride with the Swedish West Coast city of Gothenburg’s West Pride – has a good input of LGBT culture and history – especially at the “Pride House” section and “Pride in the City.”
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STOCKHOLM STAGE OF 3rd NORDIC RAINBOW MONTH
Stockholm -- Presentations, performances, music, song, art, photography and film screenings were part of the 5 days -- October 15-18 and 23 -- of the Stockholm stage of 3rd Nordic Rainbow History & Culture Month - October, 2018 going through Nordic cities and towns on both sides of the Baltic Sea. Australian Ambassador (continued on page 4) Victor from USA
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UPPSALA SHORT FILM FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS LGBT FILMS
“Ceva” from the Romanian film maker, Paul Muresan,
and the traditional “queer film festival” (cont. page 4)
“Ceva”
STOCKHOLM STAGE OF 3rd NORDIC RAINBOW MONTH… page 2
(continued from page 1) Jonathon Kenna described the advances of LGBT rights in his country, including the recent referendum and law reform legalizing same-sex marriages. He also commented on Australia's decisions to grant asylum to LGBT people persecuted in their home countries because of their sexual orientation.
The Canadian Embassy's political counselor, Eric Petersson, spoke about the LGBT struggle in his country and presented a detailed written report of the history of LGBT culture workers -- both native Canadians and immigrants -- in the fields of art, sculpture, music, literature and film making -- adding that "queer artists have played an integral role in the movement for LGBT rights in Canada and continue to challenge not only homophobia but also colonialism, rascism and sexism."
Veteran Austrian activist Kurt Krickler related Austria's slow, years-long process for each stage of progress in LGBT history. He also described Austria's historic, pioneering co-operation with Eastern Europe helping bring these newly-established LGBT groups into the international forum.
Sidnimax, a gay refugee from Belarus, commented on the increasingly tough homophobic regime in this the last dictatorship of Eastern Europe while Sweden's Anna-Maria Sörberg, author/journalist commenting on the role of LGBT journalism and the fears that nationalism and populism could use the LGBT movement for undemocratic gains.
Swedish gay policeman Göran Stanton described the history of the Swedish Gay Police -- which he founded -- and international contacts with police in other countries, plus his continuing work on hate crimes. He added that his next gay conference will be in Vilnius this November with Lithuanian police.
Fecundo Ortiz of the Argentine Embassy spoke about the progress made in the LGBT struggle in his country, including the success of achieving Argentina's same-sex marriage law -- which he described as the "most liberal and inclusive in the world."
Victor Adeniran, artist/dancer and new ILGCN cultural ambassador from Colorado, USA, commented on his colorful art work often including black Americans and native Americans as well as his support for the ILGCN. He also participated in the Stockholm session's LGBT art exhibit at the Gallery Mellanrum in a near-by Stockholm suburb.
John Earhart, head of the Bamses Norweign Bears, commented on the growing importance and visibility of Bear culture and co-operation and exchange with Russia and Ukraine -- part of the 2nd Bears International 4-day Festival included in the 3rd Nordic Month -- and concentrating on Bear culture and co-operation with Eastern Europe. Written Bear messages of Bear solidarity from Moscow, Minsk,Tallinn and Kiev were read aloud.
Stockholm's Revolutionary Pride called for future co-operation with Tupilak, the ILGCN and Nordic Rainbow History & Culture Months. She added: "We want very much to collaborate on non-commercial Prides and other LGBT cultural events, and have a fine, multi-storied building, Cyklopen, in a near-by suburb for performances, film screenings and discussions!"
Invitation from Budapest
grant visas to Ugandan LGBT activists and culture workers to come to such events at the 3rd Nordic Month.
Rolf Solheim, Norwegian LGBT activist and veteran of the Norwegian Humanists described his nation's history and progress in the LGBT struggle and the pioneering support of the international Humanist movement for LGBT rights.
Ulf Andersson, editor in chief of Amnesty Press - Sweden, described the LGBT situation in many countries such as the worsening situation in some parts of Africa and the former Soviet Union and the recent success of India's supreme court finally ripping up the colonial, British-instituted ban on homosexuality. He also reiterated his determination to continue to give ample coverage of LGBT issues in his publication.
Songs and music were provided by Sweden's Elise Johansson, Peter "Xeller8" Fröberg, Jan Hammarlund. Poetry of Tommy Åberg, Sweden and, international LGBT poetry from Iran, Greece, Finland, France, China, Spain, USA and the U.K.. Art and photography was displayed from the ILGCN/Tupilak international exhibition with works from over 50 countries.
Films screened included "LGBT Monuments" by Swedish/Austrian Willi Reichhold who has been adding new photos of the growing number of such monuments around the world," "Narcissus" -- a ballet film by award-winning, gay Canadian director, Normal Mclaren and "Frans & Hans" with music and song by Jan Hammarlund and actor Robert Fux and drawings by Bitte Andersson about two Swedish gay lovers of the turn of last century, imprisoned for their homosexuality.
Retired Swedish journalist Hans Nordh emphasized the importance of weekly social get-togethers for elderly Swedish gays. Swedish travel agent Henrik Husgafvel described the strong relationships between LGBT sports and culture -- especially at international LGBT events such as the Gay Games.
Bill Schiller of the ILGCN Information Secretariat - Stockholm asked why the Nordic region has no approved LGBT monuments except for the ILGCN/Tupilak "peoples´ monument" made out of stones on the Swedish Baltic island of Gotland. He also spoke of the power of LGBT history and culture vs. homophobia and silence.
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OSLO STAGE OF 3rd NORDIC RAINBOW MONTH COMPLETED….
(continued from page 1) in Bergen. The Olso stage was scheduled to co-ordinate with the dates of the rotating Nordic Council session and included participation with Nordic parliamentarians and officials
From the Nordic Council session came Nordic parliamentarians Lorena Delgado Varas (Swedish's Left Party) and Christian Juhl (Danish Greens), Finland's Mia Haglund secretary general of the Nordic Green Left and a Finnish member of the Nordic Council's Youth Council. "We skipped lunch with the Norwegian king to meet with LGBT organizations for interesting discussions on how the rights of LGBT people are consistently violated, " says Lorena Delgado. "We learned also how the Franco regime in Spain set up a concentration camp for gays on the island of Fuerteventura -- starving and beating inmates, destroying lives."
Lorena Delgado ![]()
Chrisitian Juhr said Christian Juhl. "In our town in Denmark,
, ![]()
![]()
we used to be only a monument of the factory boss at a paper mill. But we have
made sure that there is now also a monument of the workers!
Ingvld Endestad We must do the same for LGBT people!” Mia Haglund
John Earhart, head of the Bamse Norwegian Bears, said: "It's even more important now with such a LGBT monument in the Nordic region with the increasing presence of neo-Nazi homophobes in Norway, Sweden and elsewhere!" Earhart says.
"We are once again at this Nordic Council session taking up questions of discrimination of LGBT people in the Nordic area and want very much to continue this dialogue with LGBT organizations to work together to strengthen LGBT rights and identity," says Mia Haglund, who helped very much to make this meeting possible despite the heavy schedule of the Nordic Council.
"This meeting here at the FRI offices was especially welcome because the theme of the next Olso Pride will be "LGBT History." said Ingvild Endestad, head of the Norwegian national LGBT organization, FRI. "We are also very much trying to promote Nordic co-operation between the LGBT organizations in this region."
"We are very pleased to have Norway join the Nordic Month this year -- an event inspired by other rainbow history months in U.K. Hungary and elsewhere -- and to have members of the Nordic Council parliament join us to discuss the steps these parliamentarians are taking to eliminate remaining legislative discrimination of LGBT people in the Nordic zone and to work for increasing support for Nordic LGBT exchange in the Nordic region and beyond,” says Bill Schiller - ILGCN Information Secretariat.
Humanist Award Diploma to Budapest, London
The Olso event ended with a visit to the Kunstplass Gallery -- close to the City Hall and proudly flying a street-side rainbow flag -- to see the photo exhibit of Ahmed Umar of Sudan, now a resident of Norway, with large photos and quotation texts of LGBT activists in Sudan, "criminals" in their home country -- faces protected from the camera lens by Ahmed himself.
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STOCKHOLM PRIDE HIGHLIGHTS: Middle East, Argentina, Canada…
. Lynx Dean
(continued from page 1) city Arts Center (Kulturhuset) thanks to seminars arranged by the veteran, Swedish Radio and highly-appreciated Cairo-based radio correspondent Cecilia Udén with guests from the Middle East and Swedes living there
The Argentine element came with the Argentinian Embassy-arranged presentation of Argentine historian and activist, Lucas Ramón Mendes, who presented the history of the LGBT struggle in Argentina leading up to the historic LGBT marriage legislation – considered to be the most
inclusive in the world
Two performances took place at café and restaurants in Stockholm by Canada’s Lynx Dean,
who came to Stockholm from Hamburg Pride, who has promised to return to Stockholm early in 2019.
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UPPSALA SHORT FILM FESTIVAL AGAIN HIGHLIGHTS LGBT FILMS….
(Continued from page 1) “queer film festival” with films from nations where being LGBT is downright dangerous – such as Iraq, Russia and Lebanon as well as from Germany and Sweden. Festival discussions also brought up the possibility of the Uppsala film festival and the 4th Nordic Rainbow History & Culture Month arranging a joint seminar on LGBT films in 2019.
