The Queer Youth Dialogues (QYD) are a series of programmatic events, trainings, and networking opportunities for LGBTIQ young people from around the world to engage, build capacity, and share experiences.
The LGBTIQ youth movement includes diverse identities and population groups, each which face specific and intersecting challenges. These groups include non-binary, trans and gender diverse persons, intersex, women, indigenous persons, ethnic and linguistic venerable minorities, youth involved in sex work, migrants, asylum seekers, displaced persons, refugees, LGBTIQ persons of African descent, and many more.
The emergence of a vibrant global LGBTIQ movement is notable, however young LGBTIQ people often remain excluded (as is also the case within the broader civil society) from decision making processes that define their socio-cultural and political environments, at local, regional and international levels.
To respond to this, the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth is proud to convene the Queer Youth Dialogues in partnership with ILGA World, the UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the Global Queer Youth Network.
The Queer Youth Dialogues constitute a year-long campaign which aim to build the capacity of global LGBTIQ youth led, focused, and organised movements, organisations, and groups. Aligned with this broad goal is the amplification of LGBTIQ youth voices through a variety of interdisciplinary, multimedia, and accessible methods.
Click here to view the report: A Call to Action for the Rights of LGBTIQ Youth
Click here to access the Queer Youth Stories
The dialogues aim to build stronger global youth movement for LGBTIQ human rights, with more resources, support and empowerment, the Dialogues engage on two main streams of activities:
One, focus on strenghtening and inspiring youth-led organizations to influence change, throughcapacity building, networking opportunities and celebratory events organized by the Global Queer Youth Network.
The second, seeks to enhance and promote the human rights of LGBTIQ youth and strengthen structures for their meaningful participation within the UN system, through a series of intergenerational dialogues spanning various topics relevant themes. You can learn more about past events and watch their recordings by clicking on the images below.
The aim and overarching purpose for the Queer Youth Dialogue is to demonstrate that;
- The human rights of every young person should be respected and realised, and for the LGBTIQ+ youth community, this means having dignity, equality, and freedom.
- The structures within the United Nations’ system need to be strengthened to allow for LGBTIQ+ youth’s meaningful participation in decision making that affect their lives.
- Designated LGBTIQ+ youth forums and platforms are needed to provide a space for activists to highlight their experiences, the issues they face and influence decision-making.
- An innovative and coordinated resource mobilization strategy is needed to guarantee support and funding access to youth-led LGBTIQ+ initiatives.
- Better support is needed for the global youth movement for LGBTIQ+ human rights to better realise legislative, cultural and behavioural change that advances their rights and freedoms.
If you are interested to learn more about the Queer Youth Dialogues join us by following this link! We also encourage you to sign up for the Global Queer Youth Network mailing list to receive more information about upcoming events and learn more about how to get involved.
My body, my rights, our freedom: connecting sexual and reproductive health rights and LGBTIQ movements
This session of the Queer Youth Dialogues will consider how the sexual and reproductive health and rights and LGBTIQ movements can join efforts around shared purpose and collaborate more effectively in the decade ahead.
The discussion includes a panel followed by a guided discussion between youth activists.
Panel Discussion: A Decade of Action: building a new youth movement for LGBTIQ human rights
Held on the 23rd of July 2021, this inter-generational online panel discussion across two sessions. The panel was co-moderated by the United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake and the UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity (IE SOGI), Victor Madrigal-Borloz.
Town Hall – Queerly politics: a dialogue with elected LGBTIQ representatives from around the world
On September 13th 2021 we will hosted an online Town Hall Queerly Politics, this event invited elected young LGBTIQ+ representatives from around the world, to hear their motivations for seeking political office, the challenges they have faced, and the opportunities they’ve had to change legislation and policies as a result of their position.
Advocating for a better future: exploring intersections between the Climate, Peacebuilding and LGBTIQ youth movements
This session of the Queer Youth Dialogues will explore and highlight the intersections between different agendas, the challenges to acknowledge them and the mutual benefits of doing so.
My body, my rights, our freedom: connecting sexual and reproductive health rights and LGBTIQ movements
This session of the Queer Youth Dialogues will consider how the sexual and reproductive health and rights and LGBTIQ movements can join efforts around shared purpose and collaborate more effectively in the decade ahead.
The discussion includes a panel followed by a guided discussion between youth activists.
Panel Discussion: A Decade of Action: building a new youth movement for LGBTIQ human rights
Held on the 23rd of July 2021, this inter-generational online panel discussion across two sessions. The panel was co-moderated by the United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake and the UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity (IE SOGI), Victor Madrigal-Borloz.
Town Hall – Queerly politics: a dialogue with elected LGBTIQ representatives from around the world
On September 13th 2021 we will hosted an online Town Hall Queerly Politics, this event invited elected young LGBTIQ+ representatives from around the world, to hear their motivations for seeking political office, the challenges they have faced, and the opportunities they’ve had to change legislation and policies as a result of their position.
Advocating for a better future: exploring intersections between the Climate, Peacebuilding and LGBTIQ youth movements
This session of the Queer Youth Dialogues will explore and highlight the intersections between different agendas, the challenges to acknowledge them and the mutual benefits of doing so.
The Queer Youth Stories
The Queer Youth Dialogue are thrilled to announce that friends at Openly will publish a series of op-eds authored by participants of The Queer Youth Dialogues this spring. These articles will give LGBTIQ+ youth a global platform to share their stories, bring attention to issues in their region, and make calls for solidarity.
With a sustained commitment to platforming global LGBTIQ+ news, Openly is hosting this op-eds series on its website with the aim of bringing our stories to a global audience. The initiative is powered by original coverage from the Thomson Reuters foundation, Openly also aggregates select LQBTIQ+ news and authoritative reports from other sources, with the ambition of becoming the ultimate destination for trusted LGBTIQ+ news and information from around the world.
This series of publications will amplify issues and opinions from a queer youth perspective, speak directly to the experiences of youth voices on the ground in activist activity, and explore the future of our collective ongoing fight for equality. See more about how you can get involved with the Queer Youth Stories here!