Conference programme discussions on LGBTI movements and backlash

Yesterday we started our conference programme by asking what movements need to build during periods of backlash, and the conversations that followed kept bringing us back to the same reality: the pressure on LGBTI people and movements is not happening in isolation. We talked about hate and extremism in Ireland, attacks on trans people, unequal access to freedom, and what war and repression teach us about sustaining movements through difficult times.

But there was also a lot of space for the other side of that story: building alliances, changing narratives, sustaining people and leadership, standing with movements beyond our own borders, and making room for imagination, connection and joy.

From Turkey to Ukraine, from anti-trans legislation to questions of race and migration, Thursday gave us plenty to sit with. More than anything, it helped us sharpen our understanding of the political moment we’re organising in.

From there, the conversation turns to a bigger question: what are we actually trying to build?
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