Join us in celebrating 25 years of LGBTQ youth activism

Undertaken on the occasion of its 25th anniversary in 2009, the IGLYO memories project is an initiative to celebrate the organization’s unique and vibrant history of LGBTQ youth activism. To honour this landmark milestone, the project serves as an investment in the archiving of the past achievements of the organization for present and future generations.

IGLYO traces its beginnings to 1984. In that year, the International Gay Youth Congress held a conference called Friendship and Desires in Amsterdam. The event was so successful that it was followed up with subsequent conferences in Dublin and Oslo in each of the following years. It was at the Oslo conference in 1986 where IGLYO was established as a permanent organization for lesbian and gay youth, later to also explicitly include bisexual, transgender, and queer youth. From then on, IGLYO dedicated itself to the support of LGBTQ youth by hosting annual conferences and providing international outreach. The organization’s activities have changed the realities of young people throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

The majority of IGLYO’s historical records are kept at the International Homo/Lesbian Informationcenter and Archives (IHLIA) in Amsterdam. Materials stored there have provided highlights of the organization’s history for this project. In addition, many archival contributions have been received from former members, whom also shared many of their personal accounts.

The website serves as a first step towards developing a more comprehensive record of IGLYO’s past. While we have done our very best to provide an accurate account of the organization’s memories, gaps in the timeline are due to an incomplete archive. A unique feature of the project, and in fact the strength of its future success, is that we welcome and encourage submissions and stories from former IGLYO members – the development of this narrative is a continuing project.

Credits

Numerous individuals have contributed to the development of this website. Thanks to the collaborative support of the IHLIA and the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam we have been able to access many of the organization’s archives. In addition, former IGLYO members have made contributions by sharing materials and personal accounts. We are in particular grateful to: Suzy Byrne, James Chapman, Neal Cavalier Smith, Marco Cornelisse, Remco van Dam, Bo Milvang-Jensen, Willemijn Raaijmakers, Henri van Schijndel, Gerard Spruyt, Rob Stoop, Kris Vanhemelryck, Arjos Vendrig, Dennis van der Veur, and Tonie Walsh.

Without the web team this project would not have found such a suitable home: Nanna Moe for coordinating the website development; Alex Thirlwall for constructing the technical framework and database; Doron Tal for identifying the requirements for the website and translating them into technical needs; Tal Eitan for the website design (www.taleitan.com); and Alon Chen and Fabio Saccá for providing technical advice at an early stage of the project. We are grateful for all of your important contributions.

This project has been undertaken with the belief that knowledge of the history of the LGBTQ movement is crucial to its current and future success. The incredible challenge to LGBTQ groups and individuals is the apparent lack of a common heritage that can be shared with subsequent generations.  Projects like this serve to share the memories that have shaped our past, present, and future realities. The importance of protecting and preserving these memories cannot be understated.

Björn van Roozendaal and Keith Bennie