Our Anti-Racism Task Force (ARTF) is an advisory body providing IGLYO with expertise regarding racism and xenophobia against LGBTQI+ youth and students in Europe. The ARTF was formally established in 2022 as the continuation of previous work started in 2021.
By filling in gaps in IGLYO’s programming, documentation, and advocacy efforts, the ARTF aims to build a safer and better future for LGBTQI+ BIPOC and ethnic minority youth and students in Europe. This includes:
Starting in Fall 2022, the ARTF has delivered a series of recommendations in order to ensure IGLYO is committed to the specific needs and lived experiences of BIPOC and racialised students and youth in Europe. Some of these include:
Purity is a trans woman and trans rights activist, social scientist, model, and actress. She is the co-founder of Refugee Trans Initiative in Kenya, and a co-founding member of Rainbow Refugees Sweden, she also leads a BIPOC trans support group in Sweden as she is passionate about advocating for BIPOC trans immigrants in Europe. “We deserve better and I believe that it’s a beautiful world if we win together.”
Maëlle is non-binary mixed autistic person who wants to use their experience to make the future safer for LGBTQI+ minorities. They want to advocate for marginalised youth of all kinds and end systemic oppression of ethnic LGBTQI+ minorities. They are also passionate about defending neurodivergent folks and spreading awareness about these issues.
Chougher Maria Doughramajian was born and raised in Aleppo, Syria. She is currently the president of Voices of Young Refugees in Europe (VYRE) and the Migrant and Ethnic Minorities Officer at the Rainbow Project Northern Ireland. She has extensive experience as a youth worker and is a member of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe, where she is leading the young refugees and LGBTQIA+ portfolios. She holds graduate and postgraduate qualifications from the American University of Armenia and the University of Toronto in Communications, Human Rights and Genocide Studies.
She recently obtained a M.Phil. degree in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation at Trinity College Dublin, as a recipient of the prestigious Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship. Chougher Maria is a peacebuilder and an advocate for refugee rights and LGBTQ+ people, working to raise common concerns and strengthen capacities, in order to contribute to more inclusive societies in Europe, the Middle East and beyond.
Doug A. Graffeo is an accomplished activist, speaker, and researcher on LGBTQI+ and human rights issues. As a human geographer, Doug is skilled at providing critical analyses of sociopolitical phenomena through an intersectional feminist and decolonial lens. They have experience working with multilateral and international organizations such as IGLYO, ILGA World, and the Equal Rights Coalition, in addition to local and community groups in Europe, North and South America.
Through their work and actions, Doug advocates for the undoing of harmful and unjust systems of power that work to marginalise, disenfranchise, and dehumanise individuals and communities across the world, reimagining futures of hope and mutual care.
