LGBTQI+

Born With Pride Conference - Press Release

On 27- 28 September 2022, a two-day-long Born with Pride Conference is being organized at the Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), in collaboration with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kathmandu, Samriddhi Foundation and the German Nepal Friendship Association.

The conference engages in conversation with multiple stakeholders of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community, politicians, activists, academicians, lawyers, organizations, and civil society. 21 speakers from 7 South Asian Countries as well as from Europe and the Tibetan community and more than 100 participants attend the event. The high number of participants shows the importance of the issue and the great willingness to learn more about the issue.

The conference also has welcomed 7 keynote speakers from across the Nepali and European political spectrum addressing various LGBTQIA+ community issues. There are 5 interactive sessions to discuss various topics such as queer in power, inclusive digital spaces for queer persons, the issue of legal recognition, the role of media, and the acceptance and integration of queer persons in civil society.

Speaking at the conference, Dr. Carsten Klein, Head of the FNF Regional Office South Asia states, “platforms like this provides an opportunity to have a healthy dialogue, network, and come together to solve the inequalities and discriminations”. Former Minister of Urban Development and member of the House of Representative Ram Kumari Jhakri thanked the organizer for organizing the conference. They highlighted the need for convergence of political and civil society campaigning to achieve the shared goal of promotion and protection of queer rights noting that “our party has nominated two inclusive candidates in the upcoming federal and provincial election and that we are determined to bring them in the upcoming House of Representative”. Yannick Shetty, a Member of the Austrian Parliament, highlighted the need for a value-based foreign policy that condemns discrimination.

Apart from these, other distinguished keynote speakers include:

• Jürgen Lenders – Member of Parliament, German Bundestag
• Alka Khanal – German Nepal Friendship Association
• Sabrina Schmidt-Koschella – Consul and Head of Administration, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Kathmandu
• H.E. Dr. Thomas Prinz – Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Nepal

The event will conclude on 28th September with the prize distribution for the Winners of the Born with Pride Visual Art Competition that was organized online before the conference.