#VirtualIDAHOBIT2020 event roundup

Brighton & Hove marked the International day against Homophobic, Biphobia and Transphobia yesterday with a series of events, all on-line due to the lockdown requirements highlighting the continuing need to raise awareness around LGBTQ lives and communities, challenge hate crime and extremist narratives and celebrate communities across the city and UK.

Due to the lockdown the cities LGBTQ+ groups came up with a series of innovative ways of marking the day, virtually ‘gathering’ and highlighting issues of concern to the diverse LGBTQ+ world. The theme for this years events was ‘Breaking the Silence’  you can learn more here.

The Rainbow Hub joined forces with the Councils LGBTQ Workers Forum to produce a poster, from local author and illustrator Shanni Collins for people to download and couloir in, creating a virtual IDAHOBIT community event throughout the day.  The Rainbow Hub also hosting a live-streaming events from singer songwriter Nicky Mitchel who sang songs of Pride & Protest at the Rainbow Hub fundraising for them.

Rainbow Hub manager Carolyn Ansell said: “Everybody matters in our LGBTQ community; we all have the right to live free from persecution and inequality, from fear and violence. For this reason, The Rainbow Hub Brighton is proud to support IDAHOBIT 2020 and to celebrate global diversity in partnership with the LGBTQ Workers’ Forum. We’d like to send a huge thank you to Nicky for sharing her talents and voice with us to raise awareness about vulnerable communities and the work we do to support LGBTQ people across the city.

A series of short videos filmed across the city with LGBTQ+ flags flown at prominent locations were tweeted throughout the day by the BHCC Workers Forum, showing that from seafront to the top of the Downs LGBTQ people are everywhere, celebrating themselves in all their diversity. You can see them all here: 

Local politicians & faith leaders  joined in with online statements of support, along with charities and support groups across the city.

The Rainbow Chorus produced another superb video celebrating IDAHOBOT, singing ‘Something inside so strong’ along with sign supported english, reaching out to the LGBTQ+ & Deaf Community in the city and across the UK,  and sharing hand made messages of support to the LGBTQ communities across the UK. We are proud to feature it here:

Bev Morgan, Chair of the Rainbow Chorus said ‘This is always a hugely important day – we’ve come a long way in the fight against discrimination and hatred though sadly there is still a long way to go.. with the increased isolation and uncertainty so many people are likely to be facing due to Covid19, its even more important we come together to highlight, remember and show our solidarity and support for LGBTQ people and communities everywhere who continue to experience discrimination, hatred and violence… we stand together and of course together we are strong’.

Around the world coordinated by campaigning  website May17th tens of thousands of people created a social media storm and have been #BreakingTheSilence on the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

Because of physical distancing, the Day was greeted with a storm on social media. On Twitter alone, a 24hour- count in the GMT time-zone revealed a stunning 14,000+ tweets and 28,000+ retweets, not to mention Facebook or Instagram!

With countless individual and collective expressions of support, online conferences, concerts, cooking classes, drag shows or bingos, there was no limit to what creative activists imagined. Several very important reports were released on the Day to underline the legal, political and social state of the world for sexual and gender minorities, and especially the impact of COVID19.

Around the world, from Poland to Mexico, many buildings lit up as beacons of vigilance for our rights. Rainbow flags flew over hundreds of police stations, embassies, schools, and other public buildings, from Belgium’s City Halls, to Chile’s Ministerial buildings.

Political declarations were, of course, also prominent. From the UN Secretary General to Prime Minister Trudeau, and with countless UN agencies and experts chiming in, powerful voices around the world rose up to remind that people from sexual and gender minorities are severely affected by the consequences of the COVID19 pandemic, and that the world must care for the most vulnerable.

Beyond this, many messages also reminded the world of the incredible dedication of many LGBQI+ people who are combatting the pandemic daily, either as health care workers or as activists supporting their communities.

The intensity of the mobilisation can be witnessed by scrolling down the  May17 Twitter timeline, which had to be paused several times due to overheating. It bears witness that communities took this year’s theme very seriously and have indeed been #BreakingTheSilence !