Carmel (she) is South African – she has been an activist for many years and in the last 20 years an evaluator. Carmel works across Africa as well as Globally to support local, national and regional organisations, working towards gender equality and in particular on SOGI rights, in order to understand the contribution that these organisations are making to change and to support learning, adaptability and resilience.
Carla (she) is currently an independent consultant, a visiting scholar at CUNY Graduate Center, and a senior advisor at the Vaid Group. Prior to this she was Director of Programmes at the Other Foundation in South Africa. Previously, she was a visiting scholar at the Gender and Sexuality Law Center, at Columbia University; the Director of International Programs at the Arcus Foundation; and she led the Ford Foundation’s education and sexuality program in Eastern Africa where she fostered a partnership among global and regional funders to establish a new human rights fund focused on support for sexual minorities, that led to the establishment of The East Africa Sexual Health and Rights Initiative (UHAI).
Caleb (he) is an LGBT activist in Belize. He became politically active when he was 31, after attending a workshop in Belize City for gay men and for people living with HIV, and co-founded the United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM). He was the chief litigant in a case successfully challenging the anti-sodomy laws of Belize.
Bin Xu (she) is a dedicated LGBT rights activist in China.
In 2004 Bin founded Common Language, a support and rights group for lesbians, bisexual women and transgender people in China. In 2008 Bin Xu con-founded Beijing LGBT Center, and served as its executive director from 2009-2010.
Berfin Atlı (she), a Kurdish and queer feminist activist, is the Culture, Art and Academic Studies Coordinator at the Social Policy, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD), which works on LGBTI+ rights in Turkey. She also coordinates the Alliance for Narrative Power, an alliance to combat anti-gender narratives. This alliance aims to develop cooperation between different movements against anti-gender actors and harmful narratives and to look for creative and innovative ways.
Anthony (he) is the Executive Director of Gay Kenya Trust, an organization that works towards equality and non-discrimination for all including gay and lesbian individuals in Kenya. As a lawyer, he has previously worked as the Legal and Human Rights Officer at the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya where he was instrumental in designing and initiating the implementation of what was then a strategy towards decriminalization of adult consensual same-sex conduct. He currently sits in the advisory panel of the Queen’s Young Leaders Award.
Angela (she) is a dedicated LGBT+ activist. Having a degree in social psychology and psycho-pedagogy, her work primarily addresses issues like human rights and preventing discrimination. As CEO of GENDERDOC-M Information Centre and a program coordinator for advocacy, Angela has contributed significantly to promoting LGBT rights in Moldova. The recognition of her efforts through the UN Human Rights Award reflects her impact and dedication towards creating a more just and equal society.
Mx. Toni (they) are an advocate of many causes. They are member of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, and Y-PEER Pilipinas, founder of the Y-Cap for SRHR, founder of United Colours of CapSU, and Alumnus of Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. Back in 2018, they were awarded as the SDG 5 Youth Champion due to the amiable service they have rendered for gender equality. They are currently managing the organisation Youth Voices Count, the Asia-wide network of LGBTQI+ Youth.