The UEEH and its international dimension
For decades, the UEEH gathering have been organised by and for LGBTI people and collectives to promote the development and sharing of tools to fight discriminations and for mutual empowerment. After two years of absence due to the COVID crisis, a new gathering could finally take place this summer.
This year, more than 160 people were able to get together in a space that aims to be welcoming and secure to share experiences and create meaningful connections that are necessary both on a personal and activist level. The international dimension of this event enriches our collective discussions around activism strategies and solidarity.
This is all really important to us …….. but it comes at a cost !
To facilitate the participation of LGBTI activists who come from far away and/or need visas, an international commission was formed, composed of activists from about fifteen countries outside of Europe. This commission works all year round on two objectives: to facilitate relationships between embassies and those applying for UEEH visas, and to ensure an increased participation for lesbian, bisexual and trans people compared to previous years.
This commission’s work has also been severely impacted by the COVID crisis. Out of 47 participants supported by the commission, only 16 were able to attend this summer’s event.
UEEH International Organising Week
In order to better share both the workload and the power within the international commission, we need to have at least one in-person organising meeting per year, in addition to the regular meetings we do online. This call for donations concerns the central UEEH organising meeting, which will take place in the begining of december in Paris and will include, alongside the general oganising weekend, a time dedicated to the international commission whose members live outside of Europe, in the begining of december too.
The meeting of the international commission will include training on how to follow up on visa applications and how to use secure virtual communication tools for our correspondence given the absolute necessity to protect the anonymity of people in countries where LGBTI activities are criminalised.
What is the money used for ?
We are calling for donations mostly to pay for the plane tickets needed for this December meeting, as all costs won’t be covered by the embassies and organisations we asked.
Just to give you an idea, allowing all local coordinators willing to come would cost around 7000€ in total !
On top of that, the expenses related to visas, PCR tests, transportation tickets within Paris and food for between 15 and 20 people need to be added. All together, it’s around 8450€. Not that many people were able to come last summer, that’s why we still have some money left that would pay a bit more than half of the total amount. It means that we only need around 4000€. If we collect more, it will be used next summer, so it won’t be lost !
Of course, as time flies, this call for funding is urgent. December is just around the corner...
We really need you, your reactivity and your support by sharing with all of your contacts in your various personal and activist networks.
Even a little bit is a lot, so thanks a lot for you participation !
Dear possible donators from various countries, if you wanna donate but can’t follow instructions in french, let us know by sending an email to international@ueeh.net and we can send you the account details to which you can directly donate.
We are calling for donations mostly to pay for the plane tickets needed for this December meeting, as all costs won’t be covered by the embassies and organisations we asked.