LGBT – LGBT World Beside

October 7, 2021

Meet&Eat for people with HIV from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

FOR:

The Hiv Vereniging organizes its first Meet&Eat for people with HIV from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In recent years, we have seen an increasing group of people with HIV from this region in the Netherlands and would like to offer them the right information and ensure mutual contact and support. A group of volunteers has joined forces and is organizing this meeting.

What and when?
On Saturday 9 October from 13.00 to 16.00, the Hiv Vereniging will organize its first Meet&Eat for people with HIV from Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EE&CA region). During the Meet&Eat lunch is offered and people get the chance to meet each other in a safe environment. Information is provided in Polish, Russian and Romanian. The activity is free.

For and by people with HIV from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The Meet&Eat is organized by volunteers from Eastern Europe and Central Asia and is only open to people from that region. We do this because we want to offer a safe place with targeted information in their own language.

Sign In!
What: Meet&Eat
When: Saturday 9 October from 13.00 to 16.00
Where: Hiv Vereniging, Eerste Helmerstraat 17A-3 1054 CX, Amsterdam
For whom: people from Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Are you interested? Then register via het Servicepunt (the Service Point). Can be reached by telephone on Mon, Tues and Thurs from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on 020 – 689 25 77. You can also email servicepunt@hivvereniging.nl, stating your name, dietary requirements, country of origin and the activity you wish to register for (note: In the months of July and August, het Servicepunt is closed on Tuesdays for holidays).

August 10, 2021August 10, 2021

Gay Pride in Amsterdam 2021. (Video)

Gay Pride in Amsterdam, better known as Amsterdam Gay Pride or Pink Saturday, is a bright, colorful, enchanting and large-scale celebration, in which representatives of the LGBT community from all over the Netherlands participate. During this event, anyone can safely declare their gay orientation without fear of being misunderstood or ridiculed.

The parade was first organized in 1996, after the country allowed the registration of same-sex relationships, which became an international event. Since then, it has been held every year and has already become a local tradition. The holiday lasts two days, the city is transforming, decorated with posters, lights, ribbons and garlands, cheerful music sounds everywhere and colorful balloons are flying. The event will be opened by the Mayor of Amsterdam.

The first day of the holiday is devoted to preparing for the main celebration. In addition to decorating city streets, people make improvised boats on which performances will unfold, finish work on costumes and a concert program. The main events take place the next day.

Closer to 14:00, thousands of people, including not only locals, but also visitors from other countries, come out onto the embankments of river canals. It was at this time, accompanied by loud music and applause, that platform barges, driven by gay captains, began to move. In total, 80 boats take part in the festival, moving from the Verstdok embankment along the Prinsengracht and ending on the Amstel river. On each boat there are several dozen people dressed in extravagant outfits. The groups are led by gay men in the guise of military, police and a wide variety of characters.

At the end of the symbolic “swimming”, the participants in the performances and spectators go to the continuation of the festival, which takes place in the city’s entertainment establishments – bars, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs. Costume shows, shocking improvisations, discos and parties, accompanied by fun, dances and songs, are arranged. The holiday ends only by the morning of the next day.

The festival goes without disturbances or accidents. This holiday is considered not only an important world event, but also a famous Amsterdam landmark. And thanks to the opportunity for sexual minorities to openly express themselves, the city has long gained fame as a kind of gay capital of the planet.

LGBTWorldBeside and RUSLGBTIQ

July 8, 2021July 8, 2021

The book ‘(Im)Maculate love’ – Victor Muck.

Today we present to you the book ‘(Im)Maculate love’.

‘In this book, I will tell you a story about love, which can exists not only between a woman and a man. Special love, known as a same-sex love. This is the story about a guy who falls in love with his fitness coach, as well as about racism, harassment, feminism, drug dangers, HIV, AIDS and much more. It is also the story about the life of four people who fled to Germany from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan because of homophobia, rejection by their parents, relatives and society.’ – Victor Muck.

You can buy the book ‘(Im)Maculate love’ here:

NEW BOOKS:
‘Memory and Securitization in Contemporary Europe’.
‘Popular Geopolitics: Plotting an Evolving Interdiscipline’.

July 6, 2021July 13, 2021

Pride Picnic 2021.

On June 26, 2021, the LGBT World Beside team together with RUSLGBTIQ organised a joint picnic for Russian-speaking LGBT+ people residing in the Netherlands. At first, we were worried that we wouldn’t be able to do the picnic due to COVID-19 related restrictions but luckily most of the restrictions were lifted exactly as of June 26, and our event did take place — with necessary precautions.

The picnic started at 2pm and went till late at night. We were surprised by the number of people who showed up and by the diversity of the group. LGBT+ people of all ages and backgrounds came by. We welcomed guests from Germany, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and other countries.

Most venues were closed in the past 18 months due to the lockdown, so everyone was really missing such events and get-togethers. Together with RUSLGBTIQ we provided snacks and beverages. Some guests brought their own treats, too, including homemade delicacies. We danced and sung songs from different countries in different languages. Adults also played volleyball and other ball games, while kids entertained themselves with drawing.

Our team is profoundly grateful to RUSLGBTIQ and to all those who made the picnic possible. Big thanks go to all the guests who showed up. Many of them also asked us to specially thank Harlem, leader of LGBT World Beside, and Kirill, head of RUSLGBTIQ, for what they are doing. We’d like to organise such events more often.

We also informed our guests about the upcoming Amsterdam Pride, which is scheduled for August 7, and hope to see everyone there again. Be happy and love each other.

March 23, 2021

Het Vaticaan weigerde huwelijken van hetzelfde geslacht te zegenen: “De Kerk kan de zonde niet zegenen.”

Het Vaticaan zei maandag dat de katholieke kerk geen unies van hetzelfde geslacht zal zegenen.

“In sommige kerkelijke kringen circuleren projecten en voorstellen om koppels van hetzelfde geslacht te zegenen”, zegt een document uitgegeven door de Congregatie voor de Geloofsleer. “Het antwoord op de vraag” Heeft de kerk het gezag om hen te zegenen? is “negatief”.

De Heilige Stoel legde zijn beslissing uit in een lange brief en noemde homoseksualiteit een ‘keuze’ en ‘zonde’, en stelde dat het ‘niet kan worden herkend als een objectief doel’ in overeenstemming met Gods voornemen.

“De zegen van homoseksuele vakbonden kan niet als legitiem worden beschouwd”, zei de belangrijkste leerstellige afdeling van het Vaticaan in een schriftelijke verklaring.

Tegelijkertijd voegen ze aan de congregaties toe dat de zegen van bepaalde vertegenwoordigers van de LGBT-gemeenschap niet is uitgesloten.

‘De Kerk van de Heer zal niet stoppen met het zegenen van haar kinderen, maar ze kan de zonde niet zegenen. Ze kan een zondaar zegenen en hem erkennen als een deel van haar universum’, legt het document uit.

Paus Franciscus, die vaak werd geprezen om zijn tolerante toon tegenover vertegenwoordigers van de LGBT-gemeenschap in de kerk en daarbuiten, keurde deze boodschap goed, merkt CNN op.

Afgelopen herfst veroorzaakten berichten dat de leider van de katholieke kerk naar verluidt opriep tot de goedkeuring van een “wet op burgerlijke vakbonden” een brede weerklank. Maar later stuurde het Vaticaanse Staatssecretariaat een “verklarende nota” – het zei dat de woorden van paus Franciscus, die werden gezien als een goedkeuring van het homohuwelijk, “uit hun verband werden gehaald”.