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OutRight TV: #LoveWins in Montenegro
July 3, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

In this episode of OutRight TV Senior Communications Manager Daina Ruduša talks to Danijel Kalezić, Executive Director of Queer Montenegro, the first LGBTIQ organization in Montenegro. The conversation happens two days after a historic moment - the Montenegrin parliament has just passed partnership legislation for same-sex couples! Danijel talks about his emotions at the end of this very long journey, what it took to get here, the fact that #LoveisLove and #LoveWins.
Parliament of Montenegro Passes Partnership Legislation
July 1, 2020| Contributed by Daina Ruduša - OutRight Sr Communications Manager

On Wednesday, 1 July, 2020, the parliament of Montenegro passed the Law on Registered Partnership of Same Sex Persons, making Montenegro the first of the EU accession countries to recognize partners of the same sex. The law was passed with 46 votes in favor, and only 5 against, after being rejected by parliament in July of 2019.
OutRight TV: A pandemic, an economic recession, and a political crisis
July 1, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

In this episode of OutRight TV, OutRight's Arabic Media Coordinator Nazeeha Saeed speaks with Tarek Zaidan, the Executive Director of Helem, the first queer Lebanese organization recognized in the MENA region. Tarek walks viewers through the lessons Helem has learned from COVID-19 and the Lebanon revolution in terms of how they organize, what their model of change is, and where their priorities lie.
Queer enough
June 29, 2020| Contributed by Katherine Martin - OutRight Communications Assistant

While I identify as a lesbian, in college, my queerness never felt queer enough to identify with the LGBTIQ community. My outward expression in the way that I dressed typically led to incorrect assumptions about my sexuality which I knew inadvertently freed me from the stigma and discrimination I thought I was supposed to face. Coming to understand my own identity was largely done in the context of my immediate surroundings - my other gay friends, my own experiences, and my gender studies classes. The media, I thought, represented a version of being queer that I couldn’t find myself in. I felt similarly about pride events. The first NYC pride parade I attended was in 2018 - the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. My makeup, straightened hair, and cut-off shorts were no match for the enormous amount of glitter and colorful wigs that decorated large floats. I knew I looked like an ally.
OutRIght TV: God Made Adam and Eve and I did Both
June 26, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

In this episode of OutRight TV, UN Program Officer Sahar Moazami speaks to queer feminist activist Ritu Borah in Delhi. They discuss the intersections of the queer and feminist movements and how gender-based violence plagues them both. They talk about what advocacy looks like during a pandemic (think: queer zoom backgrounds) and the importance of oral history in relation to our lived experiences as LGBTIQ people.
THE 2020 UNITED NATIONS HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS PRIMER
June 25, 2020| Contributed by OutRight UN Program

The High Level Political Forum (HLPF) is a United Nations (UN) conference that meets annually under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and every four years at the UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York. It reviews and follows up on the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. The HLPF is tasked with tracking the international implementation and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although SDGs are rooted in and interlinked with human rights, it is a development space with its own language and advocacy entry points as such.
OutRight TV: The loss and legacy of LGBTQ activist Sarah Hegazi
June 18, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

In this episode of OutRight TV, human rights lawyer Mostafa Fouad speaks with Nazeeha Saeed about the life and legacy of LGBTIQ activist Sarah Hegazi, just days after she took her own life in Canada, where she was seeking asylum. Mostafa discusses the violence and hate that Sara received in the three years since her arrest, the ways in which her identities and beliefs were used against her, and how Sarah's story has changed the climate around queer identity in Egypt.
Can’t Cancel Pride
June 18, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

June is Pride month - four weeks usually filled with parades, protest marches and a variety of other expressions for the dignity, equality and human rights of LGBTIQ people. It is a time for LGBTIQ movements to reflect on the progress so far, and build momentum for the much needed change still to come.
OutRight Mourns in Solidarity with the LGBTIQ Movement in Egypt After the Passing of Sarah Hegazi
June 16, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

OutRight Action International was saddened to hear the news of Sarah Hegazi, a fearless, pioneering queer and feminist Egyptian activist, taking her life on Saturday, 13 June 2020. Sarah became the target of severe government persecution after exercising her basic right of freedom of expression - she raised the rainbow flag in Cairo during the Mashrou’ Leila concert in 2017. This expression of existence and solidarity resulted in Sarah being imprisoned for three months, including in solitary confinement. Due to the severity of the psychological and physical abuse which Sarah experienced in detention, and the ongoing hate speech against her from the government, in the media, and from the general public, Sarah fled Egypt to seek asylum in Canada.
OutRight TV: Racial Inequality, Police Brutality and Race Relations in the USA
June 11, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

In this intensely personal episode Senior Development Manager Chandler Bazemore opens up to Executive Director Jessica Stern about growing up as a Black man in Virginia - the capital of the confederacy, about the four key conversations parents have with Black kids as they grow up maneuvering racial inequality in the US, and his hopes and fears about the possibility of change in the aftermath of the worldwide protests sparked by the brutal killing by police of George Floyd.
#PrideWithAPurpose
June 10, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

For 50 years, Pride has been a time for celebration, visibility, protesting, and pushing for social change. In a time of crisis, Pride is also an opportunity to show up for each other and for the most marginalized in our community - everywhere. With this in mind, and recognizing the history of Pride, OutRight believes unequivocally that Pride must include an unwavering commitment to the struggle against racism and violence against Black people here in the US and around the world.
CAN’T PARTY WHEN WE BELONG IN THE STREETS
June 1, 2020| Contributed by Jessica Stern - Executive Director

Today was supposed to be OutRight's 30th anniversary gala. Oh, the dreams we had! Our board and staff worked incredibly hard on the gala, which was designed to celebrate decades of advocacy for LGBTIQ communities around the world and finance our global programs. We postponed it several weeks ago due to COVID, and for the first time, I'm relieved. I cannot imagine celebrating tonight. Since the brutal killing of George Floyd set the US on fire, since we learned of the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, Americans have taken to the streets to protest institutionalized racism and a fundamentally flawed criminal justice system. Of course, these terrible acts are not new; they join a long list of atrocities that have taken far too many Black lives. After a night’s sleep interrupted by police helicopters whirring loudly overhead as they tracked, photographed, and intimidated protestors across Brooklyn, I'm tired, furious, and heartbroken. I'm also reflecting on what I and we can learn from these simultaneous milestones.
Jessica Stern honored as one of Crain’s New York Business 2020 LGBTIQ leaders and executives
June 1, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

Crain’s New York Business honored 70 LGBTIQ leaders and executives from various industries and occupations, among them our own fearless leader Jessica Stern. Crain’s honorees were selected for their involvement in community and industry organizations, mentorship of others, and career accomplishments.
OutRight Action International Condemns Racially-Motivated Killings and Stands Against Racial Injustice
May 29, 2020| Contributed by Jessica Stern - Executive Director

This week began with the horrifying news that yet another African American, George Floyd, died senselessly as the result of police brutality. The video of Mr. Floyd’s killing demonstrates yet again the ongoing violence against Black Americans, including the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and racist threats against Chris Cooper.
Health and Rights
May 29, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International

Executive Director Jessica Stern talks to George Ayala from MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights. They discuss how COVID-19 is impacting the global HIV response, including organizational setbacks, and increased scapegoating.