OutSummit – Pushing the Boundaries for Global LGBTIQ Activism one day conference is assembling a line up of speakers to represent all the letters of our community. Keep checking back regularly additions to the list.
OutSummit Speakers 2016
Keynote Speakers
Randy Berry, First ever U.S. Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI People
Visiting advocates in 42 countries during his first year, Special Envoy Randy Berry has set an ideal model for engaging activists and effectively championing human rights for LGBTI people around the world. Taking on this role as the first of its kind anywhere, we celebrate and honor Randy for his dedication and perseverance in our shared mission.
Amir Ashour, founder & executive director of IraQueer
I wake up every morning my blood racing, so ready to start my day. So ready to lead and speak up for myself and what I stand for. So ready to pursue the dreams I have for myself rather than following what others think I should be and should do.
Volunteering and working in human rights makes me feel like I’m home. And now; working for a cause that is personal to me with a group of young people who inspire me on a daily basis makes me feel like life has never been more meaningful. A group of young people who have so much passion and energy for life and what they believe in are my colleagues! What can top that?
First Plenary
Looking Back: The Past 25 Years of LGBTIQ Rights
As OutRight’s 25th anniversary comes to a close, we are inviting distinguished minds to come together to reflect on the successes, challenges and lessons learned of the global movement. What have been key legal milestones for LGBTI human rights? Have we built a truly global movement? What can we learn from our mistakes and successes of the last two and a half decades?
Moderator: Áine Duggan
Áine Duggan is the Executive Director of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (Ireland) and Board Member at OutRight Action International
Louis A. Bradbury
Louis Bradbury has fought for social justice for over five decades. The causes have spanned from equality for people of color, against the Vietnam War, women’s right to choose and the fight against HIV/AIDS to marriage equality and GENDA, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act. He has been involved in numerous organizations, including as a Member of the HIV Advisory Council for Save the Children (USA), President of the Board of Directors at GMHC (formerly Gay Men’s Health Crisis) and a Member of the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood of New York. Louis is currently President of the Calamus Foundation, a funder of many LGBT organizations and quite possibly the single largest funder of trans issues in New York state.
Steve Letsike
Steve Letsike is an activist, feminist, leader, mentor and vibrant human rights advocate. She is co-chair of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) (with H.E Cyril Ramaphosa Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa) as well as chairperson of the SANAC National Civil Society Forum. Steve is also co-chair of the National Task Team established by the South African Department of Justice to address hate crimes and gender-based violence affecting LGBTI people. Steve is a Founding Director of Access Chapter 2 (AC2), a human rights organization that focuses on LGBTI people, women in their diversity and civil society’s participation in public policy development processes. The name Access Chapter 2 is derived from South Africa’s Constitution referring to the Bill of Rights: Chapter 2.
Mauro Cabral Grinspan
Mauro Cabral is a bodily rights activist from Argentina. He serves as the Director of Advocacy and Programs at Global Action for Trans* Equality (GATE), where he coordinates its initiative on the reform of the International Classification of Diseases. He is also the Senior Advisor for Intersex Fund at Astraea and member of the Interim Steering Committee for the Trans Fund. He participated in the struggle for passing the Argentinian Gender Identity Law and it’s currently involved with the Argentinian group Justicia Intersex. In 2006 he participated in the elaboration of the Yogyakarta Principles and in 2009 edited the book Interdicciones. Escrituras de la Intersexualidad en Castellano. He writes and teaches on issues of embodiment, bio- technology and the law. In 2015 Mauro received the Bob Hepple Equality Award. He lives in Buenos Aires.
Bin Xu
Bin is the director and founder of Common Language, which was the first advocacy civil society organization in China focusing on LGBT issues. She is also the advisor founder for Chinese Lala alliance.
Georges Azzi
Georges Azzi is a sexual rights and HIV/AIDS activist. He is a co-founder of HELEM, the first LGBT organization in the MENA region; board member and founder of MARSA, a comprehensive sexual health clinic in Beirut, Lebanon; founder and currently executive director of the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE), based in Lebanon. AFEs mission is to encourage and support activists working for sexual rights and gender equality in the MENA region. The organization works closely with activists across the MENA region.
Second Plenary
Looking Forward: A Manifesto for the Trump Years
Moderator: Aalap Shah
Aalap Shah is a proud member of the Board of Directors for OutRight Action International. His career spans a commitment to social justice, financial inclusion, and public-private partnership. A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business – he has been involved with startups, social entrepreneurships, and technology incubators. For over ten years, Aalap career has a focus on international development, poverty alleviation, and support for marginalized communities’ access to income, markets, and technology. Currently, he is a Senior Mobile Product Manager for Capital One’s Digital and Innovation Lab.
Rikki Nathanson
Rikki is a board member for the Sexual Rights Centre in Zimbabwe, as well as a member of the Southern African Regional Trans* forum, the Trans* Women’s Feminist Institute and All Africa Trans* & Intersex Committee.
Miriam van der Have
Miriam is the co-chair of Organization Intersex International Europe (OII Europe) and chair of the Dutch intersex NGO NNID Foundation. She has 14 years experience in intersex activism. Miriam is also a photographer and documentary film maker and recently made a documentary on four intersex women. She has worked as a journalist and a publisher, and has extensive experience working with the media as a human rights defender. Miriam lives with her partner Saskia and their two daughters of 19 and 22 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Kenita Placide
Kenita Placide is the Caribbean Advisor for OutRight Action International and Director of the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE). These LGBTI Human Rights organisations are based in New York and Saint Lucia respectively. She served as a director of United and Strong Inc from 2006 – 2016, Co-Secretary General (2010-2012) and Coordinator ( 2012 – 2015) of the Eastern Caribbean hub of the Caribbean Forum for Liberation and Acceptance of Genders and Sexualities (CariFLAGS).
Clifton Cortez
Clifton Cortez is the Senior Advisor on SOGI at the World Bank. Clif has over 20 years of experience in programming in middle- and low-income countries related to inclusive growth, governance, HIV/health, displaced people/refugees, people living with disabilities, disaster risk reduction/climate change and gender. His expertise includes the integration of LGBTI as a crosscutting concern in capacity development and development knowledge management.
Jael Castillo Salazar
Jael Castillo Salazar is the president & co-founder of OurCircle, a community-led organization committed to awareness and empowerment of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) community through active outreach and participation, in order to initiate affirmative change in the Belizean society.
Workshops
Who Counts? The Queer Data Revolution and UN Sustainable Development Goals
Moderator:
Amie Bishop, Global Health Consultant & Board Member at OutRight Action International
Speakers:
- Suki Beavers, Inclusive Political Processes Advisor at UNDP
- Felicity Daly, Executive Director of the Kaleidoscope Trust
- Micah Grzywnowicz, International Advocacy Advisor at the Swedish Federation for LGBTIQ Rights
- Stéphane Carcillo, Senior Economist at OECD
Human Rights in the Age of Terror: The Impact of National Security, Militias and Counter-terrorism on LGBTIQ Communities
Moderator:
Grace Poore, Regional Program Coordinator for Asia & the Pacific Islands at OutRight Action International
Speakers:
- Amir Ashour, Founder and Executive Director at IraQueer (Iraq)
- Emirhan Deniz Celebi, Secretary General of the Board at SPoD (Turkey)
- Yasmin Purba, Program Director at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (Indonesia)
- Rosanna Flamer Caldera, Executive Director of Equal Ground (Sri Lanka)
Progress in Unusual Places: The Use of Foreign Policy as a tool for Global LGBTIQ Human Rights
Moderator:
Jean Chong, Founder of Singaporean LGBTIQ organization, Sayoni, and Committee Leader for the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, will moderate this panel.
Speakers:
- Koen van Dijk, Executive Director of COC Netherlands (The Netherlands)
- Alesdair Ittelson, Staff Attorney at interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth (US)
- Kenita Placide, Caribbean Advisor for OutRight Action International and Director of the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE)
- Daniela Santana, Fellow for the Rapporteurship on rights of LGBTI Persons
Case Studies and Strategies from the Media Frontlines
Moderator:
Tod Hill, Principal at Tod Hill Consulting and Board Member at OutRight Action International, will moderate this workshop.
Speakers:
- Christian Kurz, Senior Vice President Global Consumer Insights VIACOM
- Siri Rodnes, Writer and Director of the BAFTA Scotland nominated short film, “Take Your Partners” (United Kingdom)
- Ging Cristobal, Project Coordinator for Asia & the Pacific Islands at OutRight Action International (Philippines)
- Kevin Schumacher, Regional Program Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa
UN-Locked: Diplomats and Officials Address the Independent Expert on SOGI, the Equal Rights Coalition, and Where We Go From Here
Moderator:
Siri May, UN Program Coordinator at OutRight Action International
Speakers:
- Alfonso Nam, President of UN-GLOBE
- Rene Ruidiaz, Counsellor at the Chilean Mission the the United Nations
- Jeff O’Malley, Director of the Division of Data, Research and Policy for UNICEF
- Vivek Rai, UN Women
- Rikke Elisabeth Hennum, OHCHR