Australian IVLP Alum Reflects on Marriage, Equality, and Pride

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In June 2015, Anna Brown participated in an IVLP project on Preventing and Responding to Bias-Motivated Violence Against the LGBTI Community. At the time, Anna was the Director of Advocacy & Strategic Litigation for the Human Rights Law Centre. She currently serves as the CEO for Equality Australia. She offered the following reflections on her exchange experience and the impact of Pride Month. What have you been doing since your IVLP experience? I have a vivid memory of the plane ride home from the U.S. after my IVLP trip because when I landed on Australian soil I found out...

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Israeli IVLP Alum reflects on Pride and LGBTQ+ Solidarity

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Liana and her IVLP group meeting with PFLAG in Washington, DC

In March 2019, Israeli national Ms. Liana Ester Meirom Asif traveled to the U.S. for an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on “Human and Civil Rights for Marginalized Communities.” At the time, Ms. Meirom Asif was the International Funds and Resource Development Coordinator for IGY, Israel LGBTQ+ Youth. She has since taken on the role of Vice President, Resource Development and External Relations for IGY. Below, she reflects on her IVLP experience and what Pride means to her. What have you been doing since your IVLP experience? I have started new projects both at IGY, Israel’s LGBTQ+ youth organization,...

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Transgender Rights Activist Reflects on IVLP Experience and Pride Month

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Ms. Naomi Fantanos at the 11th Trans March in New York City

In June 2015, Naomi Fantanos participated in an IVLP project on Preventing and Responding to Bias-Motivated Violence Against the LGBTI Community. Naomi is the Founder and Executive Director of transgender rights group GANDA Filipinas, which works to battle transphobia in the Philippines. She offered the following reflections on her exchange experience and the impact of Pride Month.   What does Pride mean to you? Pride has come to mean so many different things to me through the years, from when I was actively organizing it and, alternatively, the times I was just one of its many marchers. One thing...

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Mike Okwoche on World Press Freedoms

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Mike Okwoche on World Press Freedoms

For World Press Freedom Day we are excited to share a contribution from Mike Okwoche, a prominent TV news anchor for TVC News in Lagos, Nigeria, and an alum of the Broadcast Media International Visitor Leadership Program in 2017. Inspired by what he observed during his IVLP trip, Mike founded Rewired Africa Network to promote civic engagement through media and media literacy. What does freedom of the press mean to you? The freedom of the press represents or symbolizes every freedom that a country can get. So when we talk about freedom of the press or press freedom, that...

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HERspectives: Ms. Rusudan Gotsiridze

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Photo provided by Ms. Rusudan Gotsiridze.

Ms. Rusudan Gotsiridze is a 2014 International Women of Courage awardee and the first female Baptist bishop in Georgia. She is an advocate for women’s rights and interfaith dialogues to support religious minorities. This blog post is a part of a series highlighting and celebrating women leaders in our network during Women’s History Month. Who is your female inspiration, mentor or hero figure? I have often been asked who my role model is, and I always have a hard time answering this question. I was brought up in a Soviet country, in a dissident Protestant family, in a heavily...

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