WorldPride is bringing a whole lot of fun and parties and glitz and glamour and Kylie and drag brunches and queer roller discos and progress sharks to Sydneytown. But as we all know, at its rainbow-coloured core, WorldPride is about promoting queer issues and human rights. So, there may be less diamanté-encrusted dresses and Champagne flowing at the WorldPride Human Rights Conference (or not?). But what will be flowing at the largest LGBTQIA+ conference in the Asia Pacific are big ideas, inspirational stories and words that can change the world.
The three-day program is jam-packed with talks, panel discussions and workshops led by more than 200 community leaders, experts, activists and politicians from around the world, broaching the most important issues facing the LGBTQIA+ community and push for life-changing actions.
Presenters include feminist icon and musician Peaches (she/her), who will deliver a keynote speech; Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN’s Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity; senator Sarah McBride (she/her), the first openly transgender member of the US Senate; and the Honourable Michael Kirby (he/him), international jurist, educator and former justice of the High Court of Australia.
“A conference of this scale and scope, focused entirely on LGBTIQ+ issues, has never before been held in Asia Pacific and the stories that these speakers have to tell are extraordinary,” says Anna Brown, CEO of national LGBTQIA+ group Equality Australia (lead community partner for the conference).
“This is our chance to draw global attention to the issues facing our communities, and a time for governments and other decision-makers to create a world where all people can live free from discrimination and harm.”
Topics covered over the three days will be as diverse as the list of presenters, and will include trans and gender-diverse representation in sport, the ending of unnecessary medical procedures on intersex people without consent, and ending conversion practices. There will also be plenty of networking opportunities.
There will be a panel on Claiming our space: resisting racism, erasure and ableism in our movement, with speakers including Akii Ngo (they/them). Ngo is a proud, young, disabled, neurodivergent (autistic and ADHD), trans non-binary and Queer Person of Colour. They are a first-generation Aussie from a refugee background, and they sit on advisory committees across Australia within the gender, mental health, LGBTIQA+ and human rights sectors. They are particularly passionate about disability rights, intersectionality, inclusion and co-design.
You'll hear from Alex Greenwich (he/him) MP, the independent member for Sydney in the NSW Parliament. He is the only openly gay member sitting in the Legislative Assembly and has played a major role in delivering important social reforms in Australia, including as co-chair of the 'Yes' campaign that helped to deliver marriage equality. He'll be facilitating a panel discussion on Representation and rights: achieving change from within.
Panellist Jessica Stern (she/he/they) was appointed by US president Biden as the US special envoy to advance the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons, and will oversee the rollout of the new Presidential Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Around the World. Special envoy Stern has also lived in Mexico, Uruguay and the UK, and has worked at Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and is an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs. If you're wondering what a special envoy is and why we need them, that's just one of the things you'll learn from Stern at the conference.
Presenters are coming from countries all over the world – others include Charlene Liu (she/her), co-founder of ShanghaiPRIDE China; Dipa Yasmin Mahbuba (she/her), co-founder of the Bangladeshi Asexual Association; Maria von Känel (she/her), co-founder and general manager of the Swiss Rainbow Families Association; and Lenny Emson (he/him), executive director of KyivPride Ukraine.
Find out about all speakers, here.
Three-day conference passes have sold out, but you can grab a $25 day pass to view the keynote sessions, here.
Can’t attend IRL? You can participate virtually. From now, anybody can register to use the Human Rights Conference's online platform, a free live-streaming service that will allow anyone to access all presentations and panel sessions, engage in Q&As and chat with other delegates.