For obvious security reasons, we cannot disclose the identity of the 2 team members supporting campaigning and narrative work in Russian speaking contexts nor the specific content of our programme, which reaches out to 200+ activists, inside and outside Russia.
Yuri (he) is a Ukraine-born and Estonia-based LGBTI activist. Yuri holds a master’s degree in international relations and Europe-Asian studies, and he is obtaining a Ph.D. in Public Administration with a research topic of “Sustainable Organizational Development of Small Non-Profit NGOs”. Currently, Yuri works at ILGA World and previously served the LGBTI communities in Eastern Europe and Central Asia as a Programs Lead of ECOM – Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity. Previously, Yuri was part of the IGLYO (2018-2020) and ILGA-Europe (2020-2022) Boards and currently acts as a Board term at GNP+ (Global Network of People living with HIV). Yuri is a certified trainer on meaningful engagement with the UN Human Rights system and is an expert on the topics of non-profit organizational development, MEAL, and fundraising.
Ying Xin (a.k.a. Iron – She) xas the executive director of the Beijing LGBT Center in China, where she started the LGBT affirmed psychologists’ training and initiated the first national survey on social attitudes towards sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. She also initiated China’s first transgender hotline and LGBT affirming psychologists network. Ying is the co-curator of China women’s film festival and co-founder of guerrilla salon – a feminist salon in Beijing. Ying is a Fellow of the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum
Yen (she) identifies herself as a queer women and has been engaging in lesbian grassroots activism since 2004. She worked in ICS Center, the organization of LGBTQ community in Viet Nam from 2008 to December 2017 as its Program director. She initiated and organized leadership programs and capacity/advocacy building workshops to young and student activists, and maintained relations with stakeholders including local LGBTIQ communities, youth allies, researchers, education sector, partners and donors, regional and global LGBTIQ organizations. She is very enthusiastic with building bridges among grassroots communities that work on diverse topics including mental health, gender equality, education, environment, etc., From 2018, she entirely works on feminist movement building with the focus on LBTQ community empowerment. She tries to learn new things, being more critical and strategic, and thriving to use feminist approach in every decision making.
Xiaopei (she) is anb indie film director and the Executive Director of Pink Space, a Non-Governmental
Organization. When Xiaopei was a teenager, she was a shepherd in the hills. After graduating from
university, she joined the Chinese Mountaineering Team and hit the Himalayas. From the 1990s, she devoted herself to the feminist and lesbian movement in China, and took part in the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. Later she went to the UK to study sexuality and cultural studies. After graduating with a Ph.D. she returned to China to set up Pink Space, a project using films to represent invisibilised desires and lives.
Xiaogang (he) is the founder of the LGBT webcast Queer Comrades, and the Executive Director of the Beijing Gender Health Education Institute (BGHEI) which houses the webcast Queer Comrades. Founded in 2002, it constitutes one of the first Chinese NGOs to focus on issues of gender, sexuality and sexual health, thus fulfilling a pioneering role in Chinese society. He is also the curator of the Beijing Queer Film Festival for 2015 and 2016 and a board member of the Beijing LGBT Centre. And a member of Technical Advisory Group of the UNDP “Being LGBTI in Asia” program.
Wiktor (they) are a PhD student at Warsaw University Institute of Applied Social Sciences, a trans*activist (within Poland and internationally, especially in Central Eastern Europe), author, researcher, blogger.
Freelance trainer and lecturer on trans issues, trans human rights, trans Polish history and internal NGO management.
Wiktor’s longest work experience was the time they spent at Trans-Fuzja Foundation, Poland’s first trans NGO. They became its volunteer in 2008, joined the board in 2009 and served as its Vice-President, became the International Affairs Officer in 2012 and settled as the President and Executive Director in June 2014. Wiktor left the presidential position as well as the organization in January 2017.
Between 2010 and 2014 Wiktor served as a Steering Committee member and later Co-chair of Transgender Europe – the European Network of trans organizations working for human rights of trans and gender variant people. Between 2013 and 2015 they served as a member (later also chair) of the Control Committee of TransFúzia, Slovakia’s first trans* association and between 2014 and 2016 as a member of Control Committee at Miłość Nie Wyklucza (Love Does Not Exclude), an organization working for marriage equality in Poland.
Wiktor Dynarski is now in New York as a program officer with the Open Society Public Health Program, where they focus on trans and intersex health and rights
Vince (he) is a human rights advocate fighting for gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, democracy, and youth empowerment.
In 2018, he was recognized as Youth Champion for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
He is currently the National Convener of the Philippine Anti-Discrimination Alliance of Youth Leaders (PANTAY), a youth-led lobbying community for the passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill in Congress and other gender-responsive legislation. Vince is also National Convener of Pride PH, the largest network of Pride organizers in the Philippines.
Toni (he) is the former President of the Brazilian LGBT federation ABGLT, a national umbrella organisation uniting 203 organisation and conducting information, lobbying, advocacy and campaigning activities. ABGLT has amongst many other achievements successfully lobby President Lula to officially recognize the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia in Brazil.
Tamara (she) is a lawyer and law professor, and has been a Trans activist in Venezuela, across Latin America and globally for many years. She has been working extensvely on legal reforms in Venezuela and the region. She has published extensively in several languages on the legal aspects of sexual orientation and gender identity. She is female co-president for International Lesbian Gay Transgender Law Association ILGALaw.