18th ANNUAL CONFERENCE!
"PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL LGBT YOUTH MOVEMENT"
31st October - 6th November 2004
Sofia, Bulgaria
MESSAGES OF GREETINGS TO MARK 20th IGLYO ANNIVERSARY!
Message of support from Michael Cashman MEP
It is with great pleasure that I send this message in support for the IGLYO conference 2004. 20 years of tireless and committed support of LBGT youth issues on the international stage is certainly something well worth celebrating and something I personally would like to congratulate the organisation for achieving. Your hard work has ensured that LBGT youth issues have been debated and reflected upon by many citizens and parliaments for whom such issues have a direct and real influence on their daily lives. IGLYO provides an essential role as both a supportive outlet at local level as well as an organised and successful international interlocuteur promoting LGBT issues at a European and International level.
I wish you every success with your conference and am only sorry I cannot attend in person. Enjoy the celebrations and keep up the good work.
All the best
Michael Cashman MEP
Message of support from The Austrian National Union of Students
Vienna, 28th of October 2004
Dear IGLYO Board, Dear Participants of the Conference,
As an organization truly committed to the principles of equality we are glad to take this opportunity to congratulate you to the great work being done within these 20 years of your existence.
Through ESIB- The National Union of Students in Europe and the European Youth Forum ÖH has worked in co-operation with IGLYO several times. It has always been a great pleasure to collaborate with you highly professional and inspiring militants :-)
It is of utmost importance for the European and International Arena that single issue organizations keep on lobbying against inequalities and discriminations that are far too often forgotten.
Europe as a whole has seen several improvement in the treatment of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in recent years, progress has been uneven and in some countries it still is practically non-existent. It is a sad truth that people continue to be discriminated due to their sexual orientation and gender identity. This discrimination has different or because of no financial independence even bigger impact on young people.
In the struggle to defend and expand their rights, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people were more or less left alone. There has been a persistent and almost generalized lack of commitment to recognize and defend LGBT rights as an integral part of human rights.
ÖH believes it is high time that Europes gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people receive greater support from institutions mandated to protect equality and human rights at national and European level. IGLYO as a lobby organization, as organizer of hearings and projects and as a platform for connecting young LGBT people individually and their organizations has always been a driving force for progress in these issues!
This being said, one must not forget that rhetoric alone is not enough it is durable for the feel-good factor, but short-dated when it comes to practical effects. ÖH wants to express strong support for the protection of the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, and we will continue running projects, pink trainings, LGBT tutorials and raise awareness amongst society, together with the help of IGLYO.
We cannot be satisfied with our governments proclaiming support for general principles of human rights, equality, tolerance and justice, but need to ensure they translate this support into explicit, specific, comprehensive and unequivocal commitments to protect the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in Europe.
ÖH sincerely hopes to work on this together with IGLYO for at least the next 20 years!
Happy Anniversary!
Barbara Wittinger
President of Österreischs HochschulerInnenschaft
Austrian National Union of Students
Statement from
SHÍ, The Student Council of the University of Iceland
We wish you all the best at your 20th anniverary! We realy appreciate your hard work against discrimination of people due to sexual orientiation and identity.
Keep up the good work!
Best regards,
Jarþrúður Ásmundsdóttir
President of SHÍ
Statement from SHÍ, The Student Council of the University of Iceland
Happy birthday!
(SFS) together with the National Gay Student Association of Sweden would like to wish IGLYO a very happy twentieth birthday. We strongly support your work against discrimination due to sexual orientation and identity, and hope that our joint efforts will bring change to a discriminating world. We also hope that your conference will be a success and thereby result in an International Gay and Lesbian Youth and Student Organisation stronger than ever before.
Lotta Ljungquist - Vice President - Swedish National Union of Students
Daniel Hjalmarsson - Chairman - The National Gay Student Association of Sweden