LESSON FROM SYDNEY WORLD PRIDE 2023

Recently, with the support of the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, Mr. Anh Doan Thanh Tung, Director of DNXH Hai Dang, attended the Sydney World Pride Conference from February 28 to March 3, 2023 and presented at the session “Understanding Converging Resources in Asia” at the event. Mr. Tung shared the difficulties and challenges in accessing, mobilizing, and utilizing existing resources of grassroots organizations, the advantages of the equal support model between community organizations, discussed solutions to address policy-related obstacles, adaptation, capacity, and sustainability in resource diversity for organizations, emphasizing the roles of all parties, including the self-adaptation and action of community organizations, the flexibility and understanding of sponsoring units, the potential for developing sustainable business models for the community, and promoting a favorable environment for community organizations to develop.

In addition, the Sydney World Pride Conference is also an opportunity to update information on the LGBTI+ community in many countries, core issues, and initiatives to improve the quality of life for LGBTI+ people across Asia. Although the past years have witnessed a strong increase in LGBTI+ community movements, these achievements are threatened and pushed back by the “LGBTI+ exclusion” movement. LGBTI+ people still face many issues of inequality and disparities in various aspects of accessing basic rights, education, health, economy and society, as well as daily threats of physical and mental discrimination, even criminalization or punishment.

However, community leaders, supporters, and stakeholders remain optimistic and resilient in discussing solutions to improve the situation based on the foundation of unity, creativity, and tireless struggle. A series of effective actions and lessons learned were shared, such as the use of arts, sports for processes, ensuring safety in cyberspace, promoting education through dialogues with teachers and schools, meeting the needs of transgender people and asserting gender-affirming care services, promoting positive changes in gender stereotypes through beauty contests, responding to domestic violence through equal support groups, changing from within each factor of the community to achieve change, and more. The conference also preserves firm commitments from the governments of countries such as Australia, the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands…to continue to accompany, stand by, and invest in the LGBTI+ movement across Asia.

Mr. Tung said the most inspiring thing he learned from a speaker is: “We, as a movement, must stop focusing on personal gain, we must think about others and unite with other movements to defeat gender discrimination movements and achieve greater impacts, reaching as many people as possible”. This is also the strategy that DNXH Hai Dang aims for in the future, combining converging movements, amplifying minority voices, and acting together.”