Tupilak | Lesbian and gay cultural workers in the Nordic area

ILGCN INFORMATION SECRETARIAT CALLING - URGENT

2010-05-03T20:10:00.003+02:00

ILGCN INFORMATION SECRETARIAT CALLING - URGENT
Update on the ILGCN world cultural conference stages for 2010:
The first planned stage for ISTANBUL/ANKARA, Turkey in May has been postponed until May, 2011!

The programs for now being finalized for stages 2 & 3.
Get back to us if you are planning to join us and if you wish us to add seminars, performances, film screenings and art exhibitions:

WARSAW, Poland (sidelines of EuroPride) July 16-18
Contact: Slawek Starosta starosta@gay.pl
Lukasz Palucki l.palucki@sdpl.pl
ILGCN Information Secretariat

CRIMEA, Ukraine September 1-5
Contact: Irina Sizova irinasizova@yandex.ru
ILGCN Information Secretariat

Stockholm Follow-up Discussion and Cultural evening

2010-02-12T12:00:00.026+01:00

NORDIC-POLISH-BALTIC-RUSSIAN-BELARUS NETWORK:

Stockholm Follow-up Discussion and Cultural evening

February, 15, 2010 19.00 - 21.00

NOTE: changed venue: at HALLONGROTTAN cultural center Bergsundsgatan 25 (T-ban Hornstull -- a few minutes walk towards the water, around the corner of Moldau restaurant ( Bergsunds Strand 33 ) and to the right)

Special guests:

Siarhei Padsossny -- Belarus journalist and ILGCN cultural ambassador, with the latest on the LGBT scene in Belarus.

Lukasz Palucki -- ILGCN cultural ambassador for Poland and secretary general of the Warsaw-based ILGCN Secretariat for Eastern Europe, on the *royal flowers* ceremony in Krakow, ILGCN conference on the side lines of EuroPride 2010-Warsaw and on Europride itself.

Performances:

Prijo Yksoska - with her own songs and music from Finland

Jenny Gabrielsson - singer and Swedish ILGCN cultural ambassador

Magne Eliassen -- Norwegian singer/performer

Peter Fröberg -- Swedish singer/musician

Tomas Åberg -- poetry

Art work:

Polish artist, Michal Palczewski

The latest additions to the ILGCN/Tupilak Travelling Exhibition

More information: Bill Schiller, chairman of Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers) and secretary general of the ILGCN Information Secretariat - Stockholm

www.Tupilak.org www.ilgcn.tupilak.org bill@tupilak.org

NETWORK MEETING/CULTURAL EVENT

2009-12-13T12:28:00.009+01:00

LGBT activists, cultural workers, national and branch organizations, Pride and festival organizers, media, etc. in the Nordic/Baltic region:   Welcome to the first meeting of the N0RDIC-P0LISH-BALTIC (Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania)-RUSSIAN (St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad)-BELARUS NETWORK -- to increase contact, mutual exchange and participation in each other*s events during the year.

No membership fee! No bureaucracy!    Most contact via internet!

NETWORK MEETING/CULTURAL EVENT
- Stockholm     Monday, January 18,
2010      18.00 - 22.00

.....at PositHIVa Gruppen Tjurbergsgatan 29 (T-ban Skanskull)

----------------------------------------------------

PRESENTATIONS:
"Lithuania: Homophobic Laws/ 2nd Baltic Pride-Vilnius" - ILGCN-Lithuania
"LGBT Barricades in Belarus" - ILGCN-Belarus
"Nordic LGBT in Eastern Europe" - Nordic Rainbow Council
"Work in Petersburg/ Belarus, etc." - Civil Rights Defenders - Sweden
"HIV Work over Borders" - PositHIVagruppen -Stockholm
"Culture on the Baltic Rainbow Barricades" -- Tupilak
"Warsaw EuroPride/ Flowers for a 15th Century Polish King* -- ILGCN Eastern Europe Secretariat - Warsaw

Latvian, Lithuanian delegates
at ILGCN meeting in Gothenburg

DISCUSSIONS of NETWORK Participation in 2010 Events:
1 March: rainbow cultural event - Vilnius (with EU Parliament LGBT group)
2. May: Nordic/Baltic cultural happening -- Tartu/Tallinn
3. May: 2nd Baltic Pride - Vilnius
4. July: Baltic Solidarity Square - Visby
5. July: Europride - Warsaw
6. September: Tribade Festival - Helsinki
7. September: 2nd Queer Cultural Week -- St. Petersburgat
8. September: International Solidarity Square - Gothenburg
9. December: Nordic-Polish-Baltic-Russian-Belarus Network anniversary - Stockholm

PERFORMANCES:
     Songs, music from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland
     Rainbow Poems from Vilnius - ILGCN Lithuania
     Humanist's Rainbow Bible - Nordic Rainbow Humanists
ART EXHIBITS:
"Vlad's World" - Belarus
"Tupilak/ILGCN Travelling Art Exhibit"
FILM: "Pink Curtain" (U.K)

      Bill Schiller for Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers), Nordic Rainbow Council, ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) Information Secretariat - Stockholm, Nordic Rainbow
Humanists
       www.tupilak.org   www.ilgcn.tupilak.org

KRISTALLNACHT

2009-10-30T11:10:00.009+01:00

Stockholm participation in the international tribute on:

KRISTALLNACHT
– the launching of the Nazi persecution and execution of Jews, Roma, Homosexuals, Dissidents, Intellectuals, War Prisoners, etc.

Burning synagogue, 1938

18.00 – 19.00 Monday, November 9, 2009
at PositHIVa Gruppen Tjurbergsgatan 29 (T-ban Skanskull)

“PositHIVa co-operation with St. Petersburg, etc.”
“Civil Rights Defenders: at the LGBT conference in Belarus (Eastern Europe’s last dictatorship).”
“On the Rainbow Barricades in Eastern Europe.”
Exhibition: “Nazi & neo Nazi Persecution of LGBT.”

Minsk 2009

……………………………………………………………

Stockholm deltar i den internationella markeringen av:
KRISTALLNATTEN
– början av Nazi förföljelse av Judar, Roma, LGBT, Dissidenter, Krigsfångar, etc.

18.00 – 19:00 Måndagen, 9 november, 2009
Hos PositHIVagruppen Tjurbergsgatan 29 (T-ban Skanstull)

”PositHIVa verksamhet, samarbete med St. Petersburg.”
”Civil Rights Defenders: HBT Konferens i Belarus”
”På Regnbågs Barrikaderna i Öst Europa”
Utställning: “Nazi & neo Persecution of LGBT’s.”

Historic Tupilak music at the ‘Wall of Death’ in Auschwitz

……………………………………………………………
Organized by: Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers), Nordic Rainbow Council, Nordic Rainbow Humanists, ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) Information Secretariat – Stockholm ( in co-operation with UNITED – Amsterdam.)

NORDIC RAINBOW HUMANISTS

2009-10-18T15:29:00.002+02:00

October, 2009

Stockholm * The Nordic Rainbow Humanists have once again joined forces with their traditional allies (Tupilak * Nordic rainbow cultural workers, Nordic Rainbow Council and the International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network * Information Secretariat, Stockholm) in a number of LGBT events over the last year in Sweden, elsewhere in the Nordic region and Eastern Europe.

This includes presentations, spreading NRC leaflets, displaying photography and art work and answering questions from the audiences -- some very astounded to learn that there are others criticizing religious
oppression and not just the communists, especially in the East where the different religions are regarded as heroic survivors of Soviet times.

At this year*s Stockholm Pride, the NRH had special presentations both at the Pride House and at a city theater cultural day, hosted by NRH member Rolf Solheim from Norway and attended by Nordic Rainbow
Humanist award winner, Carl-Johan Kleberg, formerly head of the Swedish Humanists.

We were also present with rainbow participation at the international solidarity events in Visby on the Swedish Baltic island of Gotland and at the giant International Book Fair in Gothenburg.

Other Nordic events and discussions took place on Finland*s Åland Islands (between Sweden and Finland,) the 1st Baltic Pride in Riga (we include Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in the Nordic *family) and the
Tribade Festival in Helsinki.

Events in Eastern Europe included the ILGCN conference stages in Bucharest (where we also presented the 2009 Nordic Rainbow Humanist award to the newly-formed Romanian Humanists for their support of the
Romanian LGBT movement), Budapest and St. Petersburg.

(We really missed participation * especially in our Eastern European events * with British and other GALHA members and hope we can arrange joint forces in the year to come!)

Nigerian Award Still Waiting

We have also continued our discussions with the Swedish and Norwegian humanist organizations about bringing a member of the Nigerian Humanist Association (honored with the NRH award) to Scandinavia to
receive the award (alas only a diploma * no cash) in person and to hold a seminar about their support for the hard-pressed LGBT movement in that African country. (Perhaps we could make this a
Swedish-Norwegian-British tour to help share the large travel costs?)

Our next event will be on November 9th *Kristall Nachten* as part of the international memorials marking this date when the Nazi regime launched its violent, window-smashing attack on Jews in Berlin
and signalling the beginning of the extermination of Jews, Roma, homosexuals, dissidents and others in the concentration camps. The event will include discussions of our joint solidarity events during the
year, the recent and historic LGBT conference in Belarus and our special art exhibit, *Nazi & neo Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals.*

Bill Schiller, international secretary

Note: The NRC regards itself as an informal network and as a *northern outreach* of GALHA, and is open to LGBT humanists in the Nordic region. There is no membership fee and members are
encouraged to be paying members both to GALHA and their national humanist association.

ILGCN CONFERENCE IN ST. PETERSBURG -- PART OF HISTORIC INTERNATIONAL QUEER FESTIVAL

2009-10-18T15:28:00.000+02:00

PRESS RELEASE October 3, 2009

3rd stage of this year's world cultural conferences after Budapest and Bucharest:

St. Petersburg/Stockholm -- The third and final stage of this year's ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) world rainbow cultural conference took place in St. Petersburg on September 23rd with discussions, art work, films and musical performances -- part of the biggest queer cultural festival ever in Russia and free from any harassment or bans by the authorities.

"This was the first International Festival of Queer Culture in St. Petersburg and the biggest event of its kind in Russia," says ILGCN co-ordinator Polina Savchenko. "For 10 days the city saw theatrical performances, concerts, photo exhibitions, poetry slams, seminars, workshops and discussions at different venues of the city (both LGBT and non-LGBT) -- and information about the Festival was widespread both in the LGBT community and in the general society."

"I was very happy to get this opportunity to tell the audience about Helsinki´s 10th Tribade Day & Night Festival and to sing some of my songs," says Finnish ILGCN co-ordinator Anne Jaaskelainen, also
co-ordinator of the annual Tribade festival.

ILGCN Grizzly Bear Honors St. Petersburg Organizers

"We were also happy to show some Nordic films and samples of the travelling ILGCN & Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers) art and photos at the conference," says Bill Schiller of the ILGCN Information
Secretariat in Stockholm. "And we were proud to hand over the ILGCN 2009 'Grizzly Bear' honoring those struggling in especially ferocious homophobic environments to the organizers of the historic Queer Cultural
Festival in St. Petersburg."

Nordic participants were especially grateful for support and accomodation from veteran ILGCN Russian co-ordinator Alexander Kukarsky, also participating in the ILGCN conference and founder of Russia's
oldest gay organization, Krilja (Wings).

"The organizers of this year's Queer Cultural Festival believe our goal has been successfully achieved -- unification of different queer people around values of openness, tolerance and mutual respect," adds
Polina. "The audiences included gays, lesbians, transgender and heterosexual people, all enjoying the events in a friendly and open atmosphere and celebrating diversity. The feedback from both LGBT and
non-LGBT audiences is the same: 'We appreciate the atmosphere which is inclusive of all, it is a powerful message, when one social groups recognizes and stands up for the rights of another."

"As a result of the festival, different human rights groups and organizations have made plans for future collaboration and the festival organizers of St. Petersburg have been empowered to continue full
participation in the social and cultural life of their city. ," Polina concludes.

The initiator of the festival was the St. Petersburg LGBT organization, "Coming Out," but many organizations -- both LGBT and non-LGBT-- joined forces to co-organize the event. Especially
appreciated support also came from the consulates of Netherlands and of Sweden, represented in person at the festival's inauguration.

Earlier and Future ILGCN Conference Sites

Earlier 2009 ILGCN conference stages took place in the Romanian capital of Bucharest in May and in the Hungarian capital of Budapest in July (see ILGCN press releases).

Discussions are under way about the sites of the stages of the 2010 ILGCN world conference -- with proposals from Belgrad - Serbia, Gothenburg - Sweden and Warsaw - Poland (July 16-18 dur More information: ILGCN Information secretariat info@tupilak.org
www.ilgcn.tupilak.org

BUCHAREST -- Succesful 1st stage of this year's ILGCN world rainbow cultural conference in the Romanian capital, May 22 (part of annual Gayfest).

2009-06-15T12:00:00.023+02:00

BUDAPEST -- The 2nd stage of the ILGCN world conference has been postponed since the dates for Budapest Pride have been moved back to August 30 - September 6.

ST. PETERSBURG -- September 21 for the 3rd stage of the ILGCN conference 2009.(part of Russian Rainbow Cultural Festival).

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SWEDEN:

Visby -- Tupilak /ILGCN work will be presented at the Baltic Square solidarity event on this Swedish island between June 29 - August 4 during a major political/cultural week.

Stockholm --

Monday July 27 "Nordic Rainbow Culture over Nordic Borders." 16.00 Pride House

Tuesday, July 28
Nordic Rainbow Co- with Eastern Europe 15.00 Teater Tribunal
Nordisk Rainbows in Chains: Belarus 15.30 Teater Tribunal
Rainbow Cultural Co-oepration over Nordic Borders 16.00 Teater Tribunal
Humanists on the Rainbow Barricades 16.30 Teater Tribunal
Nazi & neo Nazi Persecution of the LGBT" 17.30 Teater Tribunal

Tupilak/ILGCN Travelling Art & Photo Exhibition, Photo Exhibit: "27 Prides in the EU"

Performances in the afternoon at Teater Tribunal.

Wednesday, July 29 "The Dark Side of the Nordic Rainbow: Faroes" 12.00 Pride House
Thursday, July 30
Humanists on the Rainbow Barricades 13.00 Pride House
Nordic Co-operation with Eastern Europe. 15:00 Pride House
Nazi & neo Nazi Persecution of LGBT 17.00 Pride House

Gothenburg -- Work of Tupilak/ILGCN will be presented at the International Square solidarity event at the giant book fair

(the biggest annual cultural event of the Nordic region) September 24-27.

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VILNIUS -- A European Parliament/ ILGCN rainbow cultural exhibition and seminars are planned for October in the Lithuanian capital -- this year the European Cultural Capital which so far has ignored rainbow contributions.

KULTUR PROGRAM -- CULTURE PROGRAM

2009-06-15T12:00:00.022+02:00

"Tupilak performance at Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland."

BUCHAREST -- Succesful 1st stage of this year's ILGCN world rainbow cultural conference in the Romanian capital, May 22 (part of annual Gayfest).

.......................................................................................................

SWEDEN:

Visby -- Tupilak /ILGCN work will be presented at the Baltic Square solidarity event on this Swedish island between June 29 - August 4 during a major political/cultural week.

Stockholm --

Monday July 27 "Nordic Rainbow Culture over Nordic Borders." 16.00 Pride House

Tuesday, July 28
Nordic Rainbow Co- with Eastern Europe 15.00 Teater Tribunalen
Nordisk Rainbows in Chains: Belarus 15.30 Teater Tribunalen
Rainbow Cultural Co-oepration over Nordic Borders 16.00 Teater Tribunalen
Humanists on the Rainbow Barricades 16.30 Teater Tribunalen
Nazi & neo Nazi Persecution of the LGBT" 17.30 Teater Tribunalen

Tupilak/ILGCN Travelling Art & Photo Exhibition, Photo Exhibit: "27 Prides in the EU"

Performances in the afternoon at Teater Tribunalen.

Wednesday, July 29 "The Dark Side of the Nordic Rainbow: Faroes" 12.00 Pride House
Thursday, July 30
Humanists on the Rainbow Barricades 13.00 Pride House
Nordic Co-operation with Eastern Europe. 15:00 Pride House
Nazi & neo Nazi Persecution of LGBT 17.00 Pride House

Gothenburg -- Work of Tupilak/ILGCN will be presented at the International Square solidarity event at the giant book fair

(the biggest annual cultural event of the Nordic region) September 24-27.

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RAINBOW FLAGS ON SWEDISH BALTIC ISLAND

2009-06-14T12:00:00.000+02:00

Tupilak, Nordic Rainbow Council, ILGCN, Nordic Rainbow Humanists:

Visby – A successful week of discussions, art and photos, Nordic CD music and performances took place June 29-July 3 at the" Almedalen Week" in this capital of this eastern Baltic Swedish island of Gotland -- during the biggest political, human rights and cultural week of the Swedish summer.

"We were pleased to be once again at the large silo in Visy harbor, " says Bill Schiller of the ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) Information Secretariat – Stockholm -- together with some 25 other internationally-minded human rights organizations.

Tupilak also participated in other LGBT discussions among the over 1,000 seminars and other events during the week, pointing out the urgent need to help Nordic colleagues on the other side of the Baltic Sea by criticizing the Lithuanian Parliament's ban on all positive information about homosexuality and the program of "Vilnius – European Cultural Capital 2009" deliberately ignoring rainbow culture.

Bifrost Award to Baltic Square and Fellow Participants

During the week, Tupilak handed out the first of this year's "Bifrost Award" to the Östersjö Torget "for promoting rainbow rights and culture and proving that human rights groups working together can create a strong voice for international solidarity." The 2nd of this year's winner will be announced in September at the giant Gothenburg Book Fair. (Bifrost is the old Norse word for "rainbow" -- linking the world of the Viking gods and human beings – and honors today's hetereosexual-homosexual bridge- building.

At the "Baltic Square" presentation by Balkan women planning to repeat the "Almedalen" solidarity week in Belgrade this fall, Tupilak promised to send a delegation to the "Freja Forum" in the Serbian capital 13-15 November.

Helping man the Tupilak tent in Visby this time was the Swedish Peace organization, Peace Quest International.

More information: info@tupilak.org

NORDIC HUMANIST AWARD TO ROMANIANS

2009-06-02T21:26:00.002+02:00

PRESS RELEASE MAY, 2009

BUCHAREST/STOCKHOLM -- The 2009 Nordic Rainbow Humanist award has been
presented to the memers of the newly-started Rumanian Humanist
Association.

The award diploma was handed out during the ILGCN (International
Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) 1st stage of this year's world rainbow
cultural conference in the Romanian capital oon May 21st as part of
this year's annual Bucharest GayFest.

The Romanians are being honored for -- despite the association's
young age and the fierce homophobia from politicians, religious
leaders, the media and neo nazi hooligans in that Eastern European
nation -- giving strong support to the LGBT community and for
standing up in solidarity in public at Pride parades and LGBT cultural
events -- proving that real progress for human rights can best be
achieved by gays and straights jointly manning the rainbow barricades.

Earlier awards from the Stockholm-based Nordic Rainbow Humanists
have gone to pioneering human rights activists in Britain, Norway,
Sweden, the Netherlands and Nigeria (see diploma for details).

For more information: http://www.tupilak.org

TUPILAK CULTURAL EVENING

2009-04-01T23:55:00.004+02:00

Wednesday April 22, 2009 19.00 www.tupilak.org

Musik Valvet Kåkbrinken 5 Gamla Stan, Stockholm
(a few steps away from the exit of the "Old Town" tube station)

Preliminary program:

Jenny Gabrielsson -- song and music
Peter Fröberg -- music and song
"LGBT films at major film festivals" -- Marit Kapla, director of the Gothenburg International Film Festival
"Tupilak and ILGCN (International rainbow cultural network) Events 2009"
- from Riga to Krakow, Visby to Bucharest, Gothenburg to St. Petersburg
-- Bill Schiller, Tupilak chairman and secretary general of the ILGCN Information Secretariat - Stockholm
"News from Rainbow Colleagues in Belarus* -- Yury Kazhura, Tupilak international secretary.
Bastian Damascus "Flowers of the Cock" -- dance-performance
Tupilak award ceremony

Wine at budget prices!

(No entrance fee, but donations appreciated to help cover the rent!)

NOTE: Short Tupilak steering committee meeting at 18.00. (Open to all members as well.)

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Supporting Tupilak, ILGCN: Nordic Rainbow Council, Nordic Rainbow Humanists

_____________________________________________________________

Tupilak has members in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland. Iceland, Åland, Faroes, Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania.

Yearly Meeting protocol March 18, 2009, Stockholm

2009-04-01T23:26:00.004+02:00

Nordic rainbow cultural workers and supporters

www.tupilak.org p.g. 498 37 67-7

Yearly Meeting protocol March 18, 2009, Stockholm

Special thanks to Hallongrottan for the meeting place! And special thanks to Hallongrottan TV for the film greeting to our rainbow colleagues in Belarus on this the international day of solidarity with LGBT Belarus!

Meeting chairman: Peter Fröberg. Secretary: Bill Schiller
2008 Tupilak activities report approved (see separate report).
2008 financial report approved. Outgoing steering committee free of liability.

6100 sv kr. in the account. No funds coming in 2009 from the Swedish state. Fund-raising essential. New membership drive (100 kr./year).
(see separate report).
Webmaster report approved. (see separate report).
2009 Tupilak events & Tupilak participation:
Baltic Pride – Riga (May), Gothenburg Rainbow Festival (May), Baltic Solidarity Square -- Visby (June-July) , Sidelines of Stockholm Pride (July-August), Tribade Festival – Helsinki (September), Gothenburg Book Fair (September) Rainbow Islanders Festival– Reykjavik, ILGCN world cultural conference stages: Bucharest, Budapest, St. Petersburg). (see 2009 Calendar)
New steering committee, areas of responsibility, right to make post giro payments:
Chairman: Bill Schiller (firmatäckare. ILGCN, Nordic Rainbow Council, Nordic Rainbow Humanists, Swedish Pol-Balt Network)

Finance secretary: Peter Fröberg (firmatäckare. Performances)

International secretary: Yury Kazhuara (Belarus)

Webmaster: Martin

Other committee members/special contacts:

Bitte Andersson (Hallongrottan), Jenny Gabrielsson (Umeå), Kai Heino (Finland/Gothenburg), Tomas Näslund (East Europe)

Substitute (suppleant): Zafire Vrba (Gothenburg/East Europe)
Mihkel Kivilaan (Estonia)

Auditor: Jerry Nordquist
Next meeting: April 22. Musik Valvet. Gamla Stan. 18.00 prior to Tupilak Rainbow Cultural evening 19.00 – including Tupilak "Polar Bear" award presentation to Gothenburg International Film Festival.

Minutes by Bill Schiller

_____________________________________________________________________________

has members in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Faroes, Åland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and is a member of the Nordic Rainbow Council -- a member of ILGA (International Lesbian & Gay Association) and the ILGCN (international rainbow cultural network).

2009-03-04T17:39:00.002+01:00

To Tupilak colleagues/supporters on both sides of the Baltic Sea:

YEARLY MEETING. Stockholm,
March 18, 2009 19.00

at HALLONGROTTAN Bergsundsgatan 25 (T-Hornstull)
Tel: 08 658 13 20

& a special INTERNATIONAL SALUTE to young LGBT activists in BELARUS
- the last Eastern Europe dictatorship

Agenda:

New steering committee (new blood wanted * especially outside Stockholm. Most meetings and decisions are by e-mail to save travel $$$$ and energy).
Financial report. (Miserable situation since no more funding from the Swedish state. Membership income and fund-raising more important than ever!)
Sending delegates to 1st Baltic Pride * Riga (May 15-17) and Gothenburg Rainbow Cultural Festival (May 15-17).
Working with the Swedish Pol-Balt Network (for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Next meeting in Stockholm March 23)
Baltic Rainbow Cultural Festival * Visby (June 28- July 4, 2009 * Almedalen Week).
Tupilak/ILGCN Art Exhibit during Stockholm Pride 2009*?
Delegate to Nordic Rainbow Islanders* Human Rights& Culture Conference (Iceland, Faroes, Greenland, Åland, Gotland, Öland, Stockholm Archipelago).
Delegate to 10th Tribade Day & Night Festival * Helsinki (September) and ILGCN World Culture Conference in St. Petersburg (September 21).
Work with SödraTeater on *Swedish-Eastern Europe Rainbow Cultural Festival * Stockholm, 2009.
Work with Nordic Rainbow Humanists, Swedish Humanists. (Visiting Nigerian pro-LGBT humanists!)
Rainbow music and art festivals at Musik Valvet - Stockholm

Bill Schiller, bill@tupilak.org
Tupilak international secretary andsecretary general of ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network Information Secretariat * Stockholm)

_______________________________________________________________

Tupilak members in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Åland, Faroes, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Norwegian Opera Singer Björn Haugan Dies

2009-01-28T18:03:00.005+01:00

Stockholm – Long-time Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers)

member and strong supporter of ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural

Network) activities, Norwegian opera singer and music teacher, Björn Björn, has died at a Stockholm hospital after a long illness.

Aside from his professional work as a singer and teacher, Haugan performed voluntarily at a number of rainbow cultural events arranged by Tupilak and by the ILGCN, including IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia) events in the Swedish capital – singing cheerfully and powerfully even from his wheelchair in the last years.

Björn Haugan was especially proud of his participation in 2002 in an ILGCN-arranged “Nazi & neo Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals” event in Linz, Austria, co-arranged at a city theater with the Austrian LGBT organization, HOSI-Linz, and including a rainbow ceremony at the near-by Nazi concentration camp, Mauthausen, where Haugan sang Wagner’s “Liebestod” at the gathering in front of the camp’s pink triangle monument marked “Beaten to Death, Silenced to Death” -- honoring the LGBT prisoners who were interned, tortured and murdered in the camp.

Björn Haugan carried out the visit to Austria despite severe pains from his diabetes.

. A memorial concert will take place on Saturday, February 7 at 17.00 at Sofia Church in Stockholm.

Bill Schiller – Tupilak international secretary

HOSI-Linzp photo from of a rainbow ceremony in Mauthausen -- honoring the LGBT prisoners

TUPILAK CALLING * January 2009

2009-01-09T16:55:00.008+01:00

TUPILAK CALLING * January 2009

-- from the international desk

Stockholm -- Tupilak/ILGCN cultural evening: a successful event at the Musik Valvet in the Old Town with live music, presentations and the exhibition of some of Tupilak & ILGCN Travelling Art and Photography on November 30, 2008.

Special participation (thanks to funding from the Swedish International Development Assistance Baltic Unit in Visby) with visiting Polina Savchenko of *Coming Out* and ILGCN co-ordinator - St.Petersburg, Lukasz Palucki -- ILGCN Eastern European Secretariat * Warsaw and Siarhei Padssonny -- journalist and ILGCN ambassador - Belarus, who also made presentations at the RFSU Youth Center in Visby
on November 29 .

Discussions with local activists also covered plans for a Baltic Rainbow Festival in the Gotlandic capital in July, 2009. and continued co-operation with the Nordic Rainbow Council and the Nordic Rainbow Humanists during the year.

Tupilak and ILGCN plans for 2009:

Stockholm * Tupilak yearly meeting February
Riga * Baltic Pride May 15-17
Reykjavik * Solidarity with the Faroe Islands (with Nordic parliamentarians) Spring
Stockholm -- Nordic Focus on LGBT Nigeria (with Swedish Humanists) Spring.
Bucharest * ILGCN World Cultural Conference (stage 1) June
Budapest * ILGCN World Cultural Conference (stage 2) June
Visby * Rainbow Human Rights & Culture Festival July
Helsinki -- 10th Tribade Day & Night Festival: focus on Tallinn, St.Petersburg September .
St. Petersburg -- ILGCN World Conference (stage 3) September
Stockholm * Cultural evenings at Musik Valvet, Art Exhibition
(volunteers welcome!)

-- Bill Schiller, Tupilak international secretary and secretary general of ILGCN
(International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) Information Secretariat - Stockholm

NOTE: Tupilak yearly membership fees greatly needed for Swedish,
Nordic, & international projects! (100 kr. post giro 498 37 67-7)

2008-11-14T14:02:00.010+01:00

NORDIC BALTIC WINTER GATHERING… www.tupilak.se

TUPILAK MEMBERS & FRIENDS -- on both sides of the Baltic!

We're pleased to invite you to a winter Nordic/Baltic rainbow human rights &
cultural happening in Stockholm on:

November 30, 2008 Musik Valvet
(Svartmangatan 27 Gamla Stan) 17.00-22.00

...to meet some of our visiting colleagues from the region (thanks to funding from the Swedish International Development Assistance Baltic Unit in Visby on the island of Gotland) and a few representatives from other organizations working with us to discuss international co-operation and coming projects:

Krakow -- The Turbulent Battle of Flowers -- at the tomb of the homosexual 15th Century King

Helsinki -- The 10th Tribade Day & Night Festival: September 2009 -- with a special focus on Tallinn, St. Petersburg.

Minsk -- Where rainbows are still in chains.

Vilnius -- Where the rainbow flag is still banned.

Visby -- A Nordic/Baltic rainbow human rights & culture festival, July 2009?

Photo/ ill: Willi Reichhold

St. Petersburg -- Russian Co-operation with Sweden and Finland 2009.

Stockholm -- Nordic Focus on LGBT Nigeria (via the Nordic Rainbow Humanists).

Kristall Nacht -- An international November salute to victims of Nazis/ neo Nazis.

Nordic Rainbow Memorials -- an initiative of ILGCN, Nordic Rainbow Council, Nordic Rainbow Humanists.

Music, Poetry, Art …. Wine and beer at low cost.

No entrance fees for Tupilak members and invited friends.

-- Bill Schiller, Tupilak international secretary and secretary general of the International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network: Information Secretariat - Stockholm

ILGCN www.tupilak.ilgcn.org

2008-10-09T03:00:00.001+02:00

ILGCN Information Secretariat - Stockholm (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network)
Press Release September 30, 2008

Including Salutes to Uganda, Iran, LGBT Exiles Around the World:
2008 World Cultural Conferences:
Finland, USA

Helsinki/Minneapolis-St. Paul/Stockholm—Art, photos, exhibitions, films, musical performances, seminars and discussions characterized the 1st stage of the 2008 ILGCN world rainbow cultural conference in the Finnish capital – November 14-16, part of the annual Tribade Day & Night Festival.

“We hope that the ILGCN input will also be part of our 10th jubilee festival next year,” says Anne Jaaskelainen, festival director and singer/song-writer, who also received the 2008 “Sowelu” award (for outstanding contributions from women in the Nordic sphere) from the Nordic rainbow cultural workers’ organization, Tupilak -- especially honoring her solidarity performances in Eastern Europe.

“We are really pleased to have our new Russian organization participating in the ILGCN conference, says Polina Savchenko from “Coming Out” –
St. Petersburg, and we hope that a future stage of the ILGCN conference can come to our city.”

The conference also approved a project linking the near-by cities of Stockholm-Helsinki-St- Petersburg for future rainbow cultural events, providing mutual co-operation and solidarity.

Also at the conference, the special ILGCN Nordic award “Arco Nordica” was presented to thenational Finnish LGBT organization, SETA for its support for Tribade festivals and ILGCN activities.

Willi Reichhold, Austria-Sweden

1st ILGCN World Cultural Conference in North America

The 2nd stage of this year’s ILGCN world conference took place at University of Minnesota venues in Minneapolis/St. Paul – September 19-21, the first ILGCN event ever in the United States. “We are also pleased to put a brighter spotlight on LGBT history and show the first work of our brand new travelling exhibition on this theme,” says Jean Tretter, secretary general of the ILGCN History Secretariat in Minneapolis/St.Paul.

“We are also proud of the conference’s well-attended, special performance of the LGBT Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra—which also gives great emphasis to playing the works of lesbian and gay classical composers,” Tretter adds.

“Our valuable discussions with the leading organizers of Minneapolis Pride and other activists here convince me that there is a real desire to increase American involvement in our battles on the rainbow barricaded in Eastern Europe and the possibilities that more American Prides will invite some of the courageous representatives from Belarus and other nations where the rainbow is still in chains or under siege,” says Bill Schiller, secretary general of the ILGCN Information Secretariat - Stockholm.

Salute to gay researcher and educator, Magnus Hirschfeldt

“We are proud to announce that this year’s ILGCN “Orfeo Iris” award for essential information work about Nazi and neo Nazi persecution of homosexuals goes jointly to the Minnesota Libraries and the Magnus Hirschfeldt Society in Berlin for their outstanding exhibitions marking the 75th birthday of the pioneering Hirschfeldt’s Sexual Institute in Berlin which was destroyed by the Nazis,” adds Tretter.

“Speaking of history, we are pleased to send a salute to the coming October 31 ILGCN event in Krakow lifting a 15th century Swedish-Polish-Hungarian-Russian ruler into the rainbow spotlight – a ceremony organized by Lukasz Palucki, the secretaray general of the ILGCN Eastern European Secretariat -Warsaw, (luke.santi@eranet.pl) -- also to be attended by our ILGCN Hungarian cultural ambassadors,” says Schiller

“We are also proud to announce that the 2008 “Sappho in Paradise” award goes to Ugandan editor in exile, Kizza Musinguzi and his website gayrightsuganda.org -- crucial to an African LGBT community facing violent homophobia,” Schiller adds. “We hope the award diploma will be handed out in London where the Ugandan has found asylum.”

The award honors outstanding contributions to LGBT information, books, libraries and publications – and is co-ordinated both by the ILGCN Information Secretariat and the Paradise Press in London. This is the second time the award goes to Africa – earlier going to the Library Project of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe. At both world conference stages, examples from the Tupilak/ILGCN Travelling Art & Photo Exhibition were displayed -- including works from Norway to Latvia, Russia to Denmark, Sweden to Spain, Finland to Germany, and photos of the ILGCN delegation to Bucharest Pride this year.

LBGT’s in Exile & Violence in Iran Focal Points in Canada

The 3rd stage of this year’s ILGCN world conference will take place in Toronto, Canada November 14-16 – giving special attention to LGBT’s in exile and the brutal situation for homosexuals in Iran. This is the first time an ILGCN event is taking place in Canada.

“We are offering a great program of art work, seminars, films and musical performances,” says Michael Gfroerer, secretary general of the ILGCN North American Secretariat – Toronto (he is also an ILGCN “Orfeo Musica” prize winner). “And of course we welcome other ILGCN cultural ambassadors, co-ordinators as well as other rainbow cultural workers to the gathering.” michaelgfroerer@gmail.com

The Canadian conference also hopes to follow tradition by confirming new ILGCN ambassadors and co-ordinators as well as next year’s world conference sites. Proposals so far have come from Bucharest, Budapest, St. Petersburg and Istanbul. ILGCN world conferences are traditionally shared by different cities to make it easier for those unable to afford travelling long distances, since the ILGCN has no travel funds for participants.

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Supporting the ILGCN Information Secretariat:

Nordic rainbow cultural workers www.ilgcn.tupilak.org info@tupilak.org www.tupilak.org

2008-08-13T20:29:00.008+02:00

TUPILAK CALLING August, 2008

--- colleagues in the Nordic region on both sides of the Baltic Sea

info@tupilak.org www.tupilak.org

Thanks to Tupilak and ILGCN members for the great co-operation during our events in Visby (Almedalen) week, July 19 in Stockholm with PositHIVa Gruppen, with ROHS on 26 July at Theater Tribunal and at Galleri Kocks and Musik Valvet in Stockholm July 24-30!!!

Steering Committee
Tupilak Steering Committee meetings in Stockholm are to take place on the first Monday of the month. Check for information on local, change in dates, time, etc.. Members are very welcome in person and through the e-mail with suggestions and proposals. Especially welcome -- colleagues who want to help with future exhibitions, concerts, performances, etc.

ILGCN World Rainbow Cultural Conference Stages
Information on the coming stages in Helsinki, Minneapolis and Toronto are on the ILGCN website. Tupilak members are very welcome to these and future stages with seminars, performances, art work, etc. www.ilgcn.tupilak.org

TUPILAK & ILGCN Travelling Art & Photography Exhibition
More contributions have come in from the Nordic region and beyond. Additional artists and photographers are also very welcome. The next stops planned for the exhibit will be Helsinki and Minneapolis in September, 2008, Toronto November 2008, and Budapest and Bucharest in 2009.

Membership Drive
If you know other rainbow cultural activists and supporters in the Nordic region who might want to join Tupilak, please contact them and give them our address or let us know and we'll contact them.

With the sharp cutback in state support to all LGBT groups in Sweden, we are more than ever dependent on membership payments.

100 sv. kr. per year post.giro 498 37 67-7

Ganymedes” of Carl Milles, photo by Willi Reichhold

-- Bill Schiller, international secretary

2008-07-22T17:52:00.032+02:00

Rainbow Cultural Festival – focus on Eastern Europe

July 24-30, 2008 12.00 – 18.00
Gallier Kocks Kocksgatan 18 ( Söder) Stockholm
ART & PHOTOS No entrance fee. No dog tags.
(including Tupilak/ILGCN Travelling Art & Photography Exhibit)

Eka Papinashvili -- Georgia/Sweden
Gun Nordstrand – Sweden
Yvonne Gerner -- Denmark
Timo Sarelmaa – Finland
Oyvind Rauset -- Norway
Michele Tancredi – Italy
Lukas’ Daughter – Sweden
Celsius Junior – Portugal/Brazil
Tarletzky – Belarus
Simon – Macedonia
Artur Andrejs -- Latvia
Ismao Hyrvinen – Finland
Leif Hageson – Sweden
Andrius Privetas, Lithuania
Willi Reichhold, Austria/Sweden
Guest: Paulina – Cuba

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Festival Seminars at Galleri Kocks
No entrance fees. No Dog tags Kocksgatan 18.

Friday, July 25

16.00 Tennesee Williams in Sweden -- Dirk Gindt (Benelux/Sweden)
17.00 Rainbow Culture & HIV/AIDS – ILGCN Information Secretariat

Sunday, July 27

16.00 Hungarian Rainbows – Tamás Lovas, Rudolf Balázs (Budapest)
(ILGCN cultural ambassadors – Hungary)
17.00 Nordic Baltic Cultural Co-operation -- Tupiak/ILGCN
18.00 ILGCN Eastern European Secretariat: Poland, Belarus, Ukraine,
etc – secretary general Lukasz Palucki (Warsaw)

Monday, July 28

16.00 Humanists on the LGBT Barricades – Rolf Solheim, (Norway)
17.00 Nordic Rainbow Council Session (2nd session in Helsinki. Sept. 14)
18.00 Rainbow Films & Film Festivals –
Andrejs Visockis, secretary general -- ILGCN Film Secretariat (Riga)

Tuesday, July 29

16.00 Rainbows in Riga: Andrejs Visockis (Mozaika-Latvia), Kjell Rindar (S)
17.00 Nazi & neo Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals –
Colin de la Motte- Sherman, ILGCN-Berlin/ ILGCN Info Secretariat
18.00 Rainbow Culture vs. Nazis and neo Nazis: art, films, drama, music,
literature, homo monuments – ILGCN Info Secretariat

FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES at:
Galleri Kocks Kocksgatan 18 Söder Thursday July 24 No entrance fee

Linus Raudsepp of the Cross -- ‘Martyricum’
Dark Religious Porn– choreography/ instalation 19.00

Continuo Trio (ILGCN cultural ambassadors – Hungary)
20.00 Tamás Lovas, Eszter Sztrákos, Rudolf Baláza

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at: Musikvalvet Baggan Svartmangatan 27 Gamla Stan
80 kr. entrance (50 kr. Tupilak members) Friendly-priced wine bar

Sunday July 27

Linus Raudsepp Judas Baroque ”Devil Byzantine” 19.00
Lukasz Palucki (ILGCN Cultural Ambassador - Poland)
Continuo Trio - Budapest 20.00

Monday July 28

Melina (Athens) Marlene (Berlin) Lola (Paris) 19.30
Continuo Trio -- Budapest. Classical/renaissance music 20.00

www.tupilak.org www.ilgcn.tupilak.org

2008-07-19T00:47:00.004+02:00

Rainbow Focus on Europe

Stockholm Saturday, July 19, 2008

Tupilak, Nordic Rainbow Council, ILGCN

(International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network)

join with POSITHIVAGRUPPEN No entrance fee

Tjurbergsgatan 29 (T-ban Skanstull Exit: Allhelgongatan) Bar with humane prices. Summer patio!

14.00 Video art ”Black & White” – Veronica Lazorenka (Sweden/Ukraine)

14.05 Swedish Helsinki Human Rights Committee in Eastern

Europe -- Robert Hårdh, chairman

15.00 Hallongrottan TV – Bitte Andersson (Sweden)

15.45 A reading: APU HIV Positive Theater, Amsterdam

16.00 Film: “Tolerancja – Krakow” – Dianne Voxenbrant (Polish/ Swedish)

16.30 PositHIVa Gruppen in Sweden, Baltics – Hans Nilsson, chairman

17.15 Rainbow Culture vs. HIV/AIDS -- Bill Schiller ILGCN Info Secretariat

17.30 Tribade Day & Night Festival, Helsinki – Anne Jaaskelainen

18.00 ART-L:

movement, music, text. Anna (Sweden), Timo(Finland)

18.30 Film: “They Still Smile” -- Irina Sislova (Belarus)

19.00 ILGCN world cultural conferences: Helsinki, Minneapolis, etc.

19.15 Linus Raudsepp: ”Witness Protection”-- pain at the pump & tears of triumph

19.30 Music & song – Anne Jaasekelianen, (Finland)

Tupilak/ILGCN Travelling Art & Photography Exhibit

TUPILAK CALLING ** June 2008

2008-06-09T21:14:00.005+02:00

Success for the May 17 IDAHO DAY
(International Day Against Homophobia) at Hallongrottan in Stockholm - joining colleagues carrying out demonstrations, cultural events, happenings, etc.

Special guest: Andrejs Visockis from Riga, on HIV/AIDS and films.

(Future *Rainbow Culture & HIV/AIDS* events with other groups in the planning.)

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COMING EVENTS:

Visby - Nordic and Baltic Rainbow Co-operation July 6-12, 2008.

Tupilak members are welcome to take part in the discussions, stage presentations, art exhibit at the International Square.

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Stockholm -- Nordic Co-operation on Baltic Barricades - July 18-19, 2008

Seminars, discussions, performances, film screenings, poetry, art/photo exhibit. Södra Teatern and other venues.

Tupilak members are welcome to join and help out!

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Tupilak Art & Photo Exhibit - Gallery Kocks July 24-30, 2008.

(on the sidelines of Stockholm Pride)

(Nordic Tupilak artists interested in contributing? Contact info@tupilak.org .

Also to incude some works from the Travelling Tupilak/ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) Art & Photography Exhibition, just coming from Bucharest.

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AUTUMAN PLANS:

Stockholm -- Swedish-Romanian Rainbow Cuiltural Festival

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WiNTER PLANS:

Stockholm -- Winter Solstice Rainbow Cultural Festival

Regnbågskultur…. RAINBOW CULTURE & HIV/AIDS on IDAHO Day (International Day Against Homophobia)

2008-05-12T16:50:00.003+02:00

Hallongrottan (Bergsundsgatan 25 -- Stockholm Hornstull)

Lördagen, Saturday May, 17, 17.00-19.00, 2008

Musik, film, konst, teater, diskussion - med Östersjö Perspektiv! Baltic Perspective!

Special guest: Andrejs Visockis of the Latvian LGBT organization Mozaika and the International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network Film & Film Festival Secretariat - Riga. Discussing HIV/AIDS in such films as: "Zero Patience"

"The Magic Mandela" - video art of Angelo of Italy

Eka Papinashivili, Tomas Näslund, artists

"Execution Drums" - Peter Fröberg

"Bo Jangles & the Angel"- AIDS monologue from an American prison

Readings from APU (AIDS Underground Theater-Amsterdam)

Timo Saarelma, Finland, etc. from the Tupilak /ILGCN Travelling Art & Photography Exhibit

Tupilak's "Thor's Hammer " -- this year honoring work combating discrimination based on HIV/AIDS

Organized by Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers)

ILGCN Information Secretariat - Stockholm

Nordic Rainbow Council

Nordic Rainbow Humanists

2008-03-24T23:18:00.004+01:00

TUPILAK & ILGCN SALUTE TO

RAINBOW CULTURE & HIV/AIDS in STOCKHOLM

Our theme for the 2007 IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia) May 17, 2007 is the use of rainbow culture to combat ignorance, invisibility and homophobia concerning HIV and AIDS. Art, music, theater, film, performances.

Anyone interested in joining us on stage, with art, or helping out?

____________________________________________

TUPILAK is BUCHAREST-Bound!!!

Tupilak and Nordic colleagues are invited to join Romanian LGBT colleagues in Bucharest May 19-25, 2007! Poets, artists, musicians, film makers, performers and others are very welcome!

At the same time, we're planning a Swedish-Romanian LGBT Rainbow Culture Festival in Stockholm -- perhaps in October, 2007. Those interested should contact us!!

________________________________________________

BALTIC RAINBOW FESTIVAL -- STOCKHOLM -- July 19

Interested in joining us for a festival including seminars, discussions, art, music, performances, films etc. about the human rights battles on the rainbow barriers in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Belarus. Let us know if you'd like to be with us on stage, with art exhibititions, or helping out?

_______________________________

TUPILAK ART & PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT IN STOCKHOLM

Tupilak members from the entire Nordic region -- artists and photographers -- very welcome to join our annual art exhibit in Stockholm, on the sidelines of Europride - Stockholm at the end of July. Join us..? Contact us.

TUPILAK STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING in Stockholm

2008-03-11T19:31:00.001+01:00

TUPILAK STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING in Stockholm

at HALLONGROTTAN (Bergsundsgatan 25)

17.00 Sunday March 16, 2008

söndagen, 16 mars, 2008 T-bana Hornstull (mot vattnett!) Stockholm

Open to all! Nordic visitors especially welcome!

Meet the new steering committee.

Discuss new ideas!
_____________________________________________________

P.S. A reminder to those who haven't paid their 100 kr. annual membership fee! Please pay as soon as possible. Your support helps us to carry out projects in the Nordic region and together with colleagues in Eastern Europe!

Tupilak Calling

2008-02-07T04:34:00.001+01:00

Årsmöte på HALLONGROTTAN (Bergsundsgatan 25)

17.00 söndagen, 2 mars, 2008 T-ban Hornstull (mot vatten!) Stockholm

Ett kortmöte med tilbaka blick om 2007, val av ny styrelse och en blick framåt: nordiska arbetet, nordisk-baltisk solidäritet, samarbetet med kolleger i Bucharest och Istanbul, och fortsatt samarbete med Nordic Rainbow Council, International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network and the Nordic Rainbow Humanists.

Vin och ost (kostnadspris). Regnbågs musik, poesi och konst!

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Yearly meeting at HALLONGROTTAN (Bergsundsgatan 25)

17.00 Sunday, March 2, 2008 T-ban Hornstulls (towards the water!) Stockholm

A short meeting looking back at 2007, electing a new steering committee and a look ahead at 2008 -- including Nordic events, Nordic-Baltic solidarity, work with collegues in Bucharest and Istanbul and continued co-operation with the Nordic Rainbow Council, the International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network and Nordic Rainbow Humanists.

Wine and cheese (at cost price). Rainbow music, poetry and art.