Dear John,

OutRight welcomes Joe Biden and Kamala Harris becoming the new President and Vice-President Elect of the US. We expect them to usher in an administration actively supportive of the human rights of LGBTIQ people, and tipping the scale of countries supportive of LGBTIQ equality at a global level.

As we mark this important development, I want to invite you to join us at OutSummit, OutRight's annual global convening for the human rights of LGBTIQ people. Sessions will cover topics ranging from navigating religiously-based discrimination, rights of intersex people, and tackling sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (so-called “conversion therapy”).

OutSummit will be taking place virtually on December 9-11. We are pleased to announce that our second keynote speaker this year will be trans rights activist, TED speaker, and Filipino American supermodel Geena Rocero. One of the first openly transgender models known across the world, Geena has been a groundbreaking force in raising awareness, visibility and prominence of trans rights. She is also the founder of Gender Proud, a media production company that tells stories of the transgender community worldwide to elevate justice and equality. OutRight is thrilled to host her at this year's OutSummit!

Despite the political shift in the US we are still facing a strong opposition to the rights of LGBTIQ people across the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic, surrounding containment measures and consequent economic fallout has had a disproportionate impact on LGBTIQ people. Right-wing governments in Russia, Hungary, Poland, Brazil and elsewhere continue to gain strength and to attack gender and LGBTIQ equality. There are still 67 countries which criminalize same-sex relations, and the number of countries with empowering legal gender recognition policies is painfully small.

In this environment the need to come together across civil society, State and private sector boundaries to connect, to celebrate LGBTIQ lives, share best practices, and strategize for further progress is palpable.

You can see the program for OutSummit here, and register to participate here. The conference is open to all! For a short insight, have a look at this video.

We hope you will join us!

With warm regards,

Jessica Stern
Executive Director

PS. Yesterday I hosted an OutTalks webinar about the impact of the US election for LGBTIQ equality and activism around the world with leading US-based advocates including Aaron Morris from Immigration Equality, Mark Bromley from the Council for Global Equality, and Sharita Gruberg from the Center for American Progress, among others. If you missed it, watch it here.