Afirca's first global LGBTIQ+ Network conference was held this past week at Constitution Hill in Joburg.
The aim of the conference was to create a space for networking and conversations on issues that affect the LGBTIQ+ community in the 21st century.
The platform was also offered to the community, where they could share their personal life anecdotes, debate legislations as well as diverse issues faced by LGBTIQ+ people.
According to the project manager, Jay Matlou, the conference stood for finding new links and new friends and linking up to other networks around the world.
“It’s about integration, because as the LGBTIQ+ people, we do not just exist on one area of our lives or ‘do’ LGBTIQ+ for a living. We are multifaceted beings and therefore need to plug in and talk about inter-sectionality while also building awareness in existing networks in terms of how they can integrate and educate people on different levels so that we can decrease stigma and discrimination on people who are in the minority,” he said.
Matlou said the responsibility for a global change did not lie on one country’s shoulders but took the entire community to converge, share ideas and celebrate victories.
“There were various conversations that came out from the conference, like how SA has one of the strongest and progressive laws in the world. But there is a disconnect between the law up there and the people on the ground because the general consensus is that we still feel unsafe. A week does not go by without witnessing hate speech or hate crimes in our country,” Matlou pointed out.
Other conversations were centred around the vulnerability among the LGBTIQ+ community with depressions and mental health because of how they get treated, substance abuse, conversations around how to get opportunities, fulfilling one’s destiny in the face of bullying, the idea around what activism is, and the relationship between religion, spirituality and culture.
“These three factors are somewhat important in a person’s well-being. But a lot of LGBTIQ+ people feel quite neglected by religion, culture and laws - so that came out really strongly,” he added.
The conference was also attended by former YoTV presenter Sade Giliberti, who was the MC; Phindi Malaza, co-founder of Soweto Pride and Ricki Kgositau, an international trans activist, among many others.
“It was about taking stock on how far we have come as the community, while also celebrating various giants who have come before us, such as Simon Nkoli. We looked into the continental heroes too, who have really challenged the status quo and have not allowed the limitations of policy to dictate on how they should live their lives or to what extent they can take pride in who they are and how they were born,” said Kgositau.
Kgositau also said such conferences were important in celebrating the strides made by the country, coming from a constitution that did not recognise any kind of need for protection for an LGBTI person.
“We are the only country that offers gender healthcare specifically for transition-related purposes. If you look into the greater continent, just last year I won a landmark case that seeks for gender recognition in the High Court of Botswana. A case that had been going on for seven years since 2011. That in itself provided yet another example out of our continent that there are remedies that have been groomed here at home by us. Remedies that can be taken to the world,” she added.
The next conference is planned to take place in 2020, and Matlou hopes that it will carry much more depth, while also building new relationships and links.
@AmandaMaliba