The first ILGA-Asia Regional Conference, entitled "A to Z: The Other Asia", was held in Mumbai, India on October 2002. It brought together Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individual activists and organizations from the region in a celebration of the diversity that is Asia. The uniqueness as well as commonalities of Asian LGBT life was explored.
This second ILGA-Asia Regional Conference seeks to continue the exploration. Focusing on the distinctiveness of LGBTs in Asia, this year's conference hopes to further understand the meanings and significance of LGBT representation within the Asian cultural context. The aim of the conference is to further probe the question "who are the LGBTs in Asia?" It seeks to explore two main questions. One, how do LGBTs view themselves (self-representations)? And two, how are LGBTs viewed by Asian societies, in particular by the family, governments, religious institutions, media and social movements (social representations)? The conference also hopes to further strengthen the direction of ILGA-Asia as defined by its membership across the region. This conference is open to people of all sexual identities and orientations supportive of LGBT issues and concerns in Asia. Plenaries and Call for Papers Participants are invited to submit an abstract for a 15-minute paper presentation during the plenary sessions. There are four thematic plenary sessions each of which will look at both LGBT self-representations and LGBT social representations in Asia. Three to five (3-5) papers will be selected for each of the plenary sessions. A 300-word paper abstract needs to be submitted to [EMAIL PROTECTED] on or before August 20, 2005. [See abstract of paper/proposal format below.] The topics are as follows: *Health priorities in the Asian region unique to LGBTs This includes identifying the health concerns for LGBTs particular to the areas in Asia, the way in which the issues are addressed, etc. *Taking transgender issues seriously in Asia This includes understanding the nature of transgenderism, its distinctiveness to lesbian, gay and bisexual identities, etc. *The human rights-based approach in LGBT advocacy This includes identifying the laws that criminalize LGBT existence in Asia, the laws that affirm it, the gains of the human rights approach, the limitations, etc. *Religions that condemn LGBTs and spiritualities that celebrate it This includes knowing the extent in which religions in Asia discriminate LGBTs, learning of the spiritual practices of LGBT communities across Asia, etc. Workshops and Call for Proposals Participants are also invited to submit a proposal for a 1-hour workshop/discussion, which may include a 15-30 minute presentation. There will be a total of 6 to 12 workshops for the duration of the whole conference. The workshops are classified into 3 categories namely, skills workshops, sharing workshops and general workshop. Two to three (2-3) proposals will be selected for each of the workshop topics. For topics not included in the list below, proposals are still encouraged and will be evaluated for inclusion in the final list of workshops. *Skills workshops Advancing LGBT legislative advocacy and addressing discrimination in the workplace in the Asian region Understanding the nature of same-sex domestic violence in Asia *Sharing workshops Visibility of Asian LGBTs in local, national and global media Expressions of Asian LGBTs in the arts *General workshops LGBTs within Asian indigenous communities LGBTs and its interfacing with social movements Hosts and Sponsors There are two hosts for this conference, one based in Manila and the other in Cebu City. The host in Manila or the Manila secretariat is composed of members and associates of CLIC (Can't Live in the Closet), a women's organization working for the recognition of diverse sexualities and the empowerment of lesbian and bisexual women. The host in Cebu City or the Cebu secretariat is composed of members and associates of cebupride, the sole group of volunteers in Cebu City committed to creating safe spaces for lesbians through community enhancement and lesbian self-empowerment. The program committee consists of Mira Ofreneo (CLIC, Philippines), Tisha Ylaya (cebupride, Philippines), Anna Leah Sarabia (Women's Media Circle, Philippines), Oscar Atadero (ProGay, Philippines) Rosanna Flamer Caldera (Equal Ground, Sri Lanka), Lanny Winata (SWARA SRIKANDI, Indonesia), and Vivek Anand (Humsafar Trust, India). The registration fee of the conference covers the conference kits and materials, am/pm snacks and lunches, and opening night dinner. The rates are as follows: Developing Asian countries US$100 Developed Asian countries US$150 Non-Asian countries US$250 Locals (from the Philippines) PhP 3,500 Mail Mira Alexis P. Ofreneo Can't Live in the Closet (CLIC) Inc. P.O. Box 2356 CPO Quezon City 1102 Philippines Attention: Tesa C. de Vela Fax: 632 7346840 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Group Site: http://www.gaybombay.info ========================== This message was posted to the gay_bombay Yahoo! Group. Responses to messages (by clicking "Reply") will also be posted on the eGroup and sent to all members. If you'd like to respond privately to the author of any message then please compose and send a new email message to the author's email address. 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