Tupilak | Queer cultural workers in the Nordic area

TUPILAK CALLING

2011-12-12T17:14:00.039+01:00

Swedish visit to Tallinn LGBT center. January, 2012

Swedish visit to Riga LGBT Center, February 7, 2012

2012 MOONBOW SOLIDARITY CRUISES --

STOCKHOLM to BALTIC STATES

Two nights on board. In Stockholm: discussion on board on "Tupilak co-operation with Eastern Europe."

In Tallin/Riga, meeting with LGBT activists and culture workers.

Riga visit (Photo by Sayeed of Sweden)

For next cruise, contact: bill@tupilak.org

______________________________________________________________________________

2012 TUPILAK RAINBOW CULTURAL AFTERNOONS
at HALLONGROTTAN (Hornstull, Stockholm)

By Aleksandar Duvnjak

Usually Last Sunday of the month. Presentations, discussions, foreign guests, photography, films, music and performances.

Next time: (Next to the last Sunday) --
February 19, (17.00 - 20.00)

Report from Tupilak/ILGCN Cruise to Riga (Feb. 6-8) 4th Baltic Pride - Riga (end of May)
Senaste nyheter från riksdagens HBT gruppen
Lesbian art from Belarus -- L. Mosolova
Rainbow art from Serbia -- Aleksandar Duvnjak

Report från HBT Seniorerna, Göteborg -- Bill Schiller
Tupilak with UN Women -- 8th of March: "Violence against Lesbians, Trans Persons"

Tupilak at the Nordic LGBT Workplace Forum & Career Fair -- Stockholm 2/3 August, 2012

http://nordic-lgbt-workplace.org/

Performance: The Mad Monk -- "The Wrinklies & the Reluctant Reaper"

Film: Tupilak Swedish/Belarus delegation to Kiev, 2011

Next time: March 25 (17.00 - 20.00)
_____________________________________________________________________

Olena Shevchenko, Kiev in Stockholm (Photos by Jussi Jässkeläinen)

Trio Continuo - Budapest

Special input from Ukraine and Hungary
Stockholm: 1st Nordic Fire Salutes East Europeans

   Stockholm -- The first Nordic Fire on Eastern European Rainbow Barricades festival took place in the Swedish capital November 25-27, 2011 with invited guests from Ukraine and Hungary as well as presentations on LGBT situations in Belgrade, Minsk, Riga, Helsinki and Bucharest.

      "We are fighting against the same law proposal against positive information about homosexuality now spreading to more Russian provinces," says Olena Shevchenko of the women's organization, Insight - Kiev, new ILGCN (international rainbow cultural network) cultural ambassador from Ukraine.

    Folk and classic music, song, and dance was provided at several of the festival venues by Tamás Lovas, Károly Varga and Sándor Fehér of the Continuo Trio of Budapest, the ILGCN cltural ambassadors of Hungary.

     "We are working with LGBT groups in St. Petersburg and in the Balkans, and hope more Helsinki Human Rights Committees in other countries will join us in work with LGBT human rights," says Peter Öholm of Civil Rights Defenders (formally the Swedish Helsinki Human Rights Committee).

                               Tupilak and ILGCN awards for Swede, Poles

    At the Nordic Fire session at the CRD offices in the Stockholm Gamla Stan island, Swedish Liberal Party parliamentarian Barbro Westerholm received the annual Tupilak "Bifrost" awards honoring heterosexual bridge-builders uniting the LGBT and the heterosexual communities both in Sweden and abroad.

   The Polish Institute - Stockholm received the annual ILGCN "Rainbow Iceberg" award for promoting Polish and Swedish LGBT cultural exchange and for bringing Polish LGBT women and men to different Swedish Pride events and for promoting Polish and international art exhibitions and publications.

    "Thanks for this fine award. This appreciation for our work with this fanatic and moving motivation really means a lot to us," says Michal Piotrowski, project leader at the Polish Institute.

    Also at the CRD, Bill Schiller described the long history of Tupilak & ILGCN involvement with Eastern European colleagues and the emphasis on mutual exchange. "We were very impressed with the mutual interaction of LGBT groups in the Ukraine and Belarus with our Swedish groups," says Schiller over the recent 3-nation meetings in Kiev and Minsk made possible with support from the Swedish Institute -- the official body promoting international co-operation.

    RFSL chairperson Ulrika Westerlund also described the national Swedish LGBT organization's extensive international work with the Baltic states, Uganda and elsewhere, "The situation in Latvia is hardly easy and even those few open LGBT activists don't get much support from often very critical LGBT colleagues," says Kjell Rindar, former RFSL chairman and teacher at Latvian universities.

    "We are very happy to have had the financial support of ROHS (Swedish national LGBT solidarity organization) to make this min-festival "between" Stockholm Prides possible," says Bill Schiller, international secretary of Tupilak (Nordic rainbows cultural workers) and secretary general of the ILGCN's Information Secretariat in Stockholm.

     Alexander L. described the turbulent situation and extensive homophobia Serbian. (Belgrade is to be the site of one of the stages of next year's ILGCN world conference, along with Rio de Janeiro and the Crimean town of Seimiz.) while Finnish photographer Jussi Jässkeläinen described his work with Bucharest and Helsinki Prides.

Films, Music, Photography, Discussions at Posithivagruppen

"We are pleased to have another Tupilak event at our premises," states Ola Ståhle of the Posithivagruppen (HIV positive men having sex with men) office, and we are happy to have colleagues from the Baltic states at our summer camps and hope to join in future Tupilak and ILGCN exchanges in Eastern Europe."

LGBT Monument-Visby (Photo by Willi Reichhold)

    Films by Swedish Tupilak member Willi Reichhold described the recent Swedish-Ukrainian-Belarus solidarity visit to Kiev, the summer inauguration ceremony in Visby of the first Nordic LGBT monument on the shoreline of the Swedish Baltic island of Gotland and the "Global Survival" journey of plants and human beings in harsh conditions around the world.

    Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Icelandic and Eastern European works from the Tupilak & ILGCN Travelling Art & Photography Exhibition were displayed at all the festival venues including new photo series from Belarus and the Ukraine, and LGBT CD music from Poland and the Nordic nations were played at festival venues as well.

    Other foreign visitors taking part in discussions at the CRD office, the Bio Rio, Posithivagruppen and the LGBT cultural center Hallongrottan came from Norway, Finland, Kenya and Somalia.

                                        Next stop: Estonia, Russia, Belarus

     "We hope the next Nordic Fire festival in Stockholm at the end of next March will focus on Swedish and Nordic LGBT co-operation with Estonia, Russia and Belarus," concludes Bill Schiller. "Once again we'll ask our Tupilak colleagues and the national LGBT organizations in the Nordic region to join us. We hope the Nordic Fire festival can be duplicated elsewhere in the Nordic region -- and we'll discuss this at coming Nordic-Baltic-Polish-Russian-Belarus Rainbow Network meetings coming up in Stockholm and other Nordic capitals during 2012."

                                                     ************************

                                                                                                                                                      Visby LGBT Monument - Visby

2011-12-12T09:40:00.007+01:00

LGBT
Moument - Visby

Olena Shevchenko (far left) in Kiev
(Photo by Willi Reichhold)

    Stockholm -- The first Nordic Fire on Eastern European Rainbow Barricades festival took place in the Swedish capital November 25-27, 2011 with invited guests from Ukraine and Hungary as well as presentations on LGBT situations in Belgrade, Minsk, Riga, Helsinki and Bucharest.

     "We are fighting against the same law proposal against positive information about homosexuality now spreading to more Russian provinces," says Olena Shevchenko of the women's organization, Insight - Kiev, new ILGCN (international rainbow cultural network) cultural ambassador from Ukraine.

    Folk and classic music, song, and dance was provided at several of the festival venues by Tamás Lovas, Károly Varga and Sándor Fehér of the Continuo Trio of Budapest, the ILGCN cltural ambassadors of Hungary.

    "We are working with LGBT groups in St. Petersburg and in the Balkans, and hope more Helsinki Human Rights Committees in other countries will join us in work with LGBT human rights," says Peter Öholm of Civil Rights Defenders (formally the Swedish Helsinki Human Rights Committee).

                                             Tupilak and ILGCN awards for Swede, Poles

     At the Nordic Fire session at the CRD offices in the Stockholm Gamla Stan island, Swedish Liberal Party parliamentarian Barbro Westerholm received the annual Tupilak "Bifrost" awards honoring heterosexual bridge-builders uniting the LGBT and the heterosexual communities both in Sweden and abroad.

     The Polish Institute - Stockholm received the annual ILGCN "rainbow iceberg" award for promoting Polish and Swedish LGBT cultural exchange and for bringing Polish LGBT women and men to different Swedish Pride events and for promoting Polish and international art exhibitions and publications.

    "Thanks for this fine award. This appreciation for our work with this fanatic and moving motivation really means a lot to us," says Michal Piotrowski, project leader at the Polish Institute.

     Also at the CRD, Bill Schiller described the long history of Tupilak & ILGCN involvement with Eastern European colleagues and the emphasis on mutual exchange. "We were very impressed with the mutual interaction of LGBT groups in the Ukraine and Belarus with our Swedish groups," says Schiller over the recent 3-nation meetings in Kiev and Minsk made possible with support from the Swedish Institute -- the official body promoting international co-operation.

      RFSL chairperson Ulrika Westerlund also described the national Swedish LGBT organization's extensive international work with the Baltic states, Uganda and elsewhere, "The situation in Latvia is hardly easy and even those few open LGBT activists don't get much support from often very critical LGBT colleagues," says Kjell Rindar, former RFSL chairman and teacher at Latvian universities.

      "We are very happy to have had the financial support of ROHS (Swedish national LGBT solidarity organization) to make this min-festival "between" Stockholm Prides possible," says Bill Schiller, international secretary of Tupilak (Nordic rainbows cultural workers) and secretary general of the ILGCN's Information Secretariat in Stockholm.

     Alexander L. described the turbulent situation and extensive homophobia Serbian. (Belgrade is to be the site of one of the stages of next year's ILGCN world conference, along with Rio de Janeiro and the Crimean town of Seimiz.) while Finnish photographer Jussi Jässkeläinen described his work with Bucharest and Helsinki Prides.

                                           Films, Music, Photography, Discussions at Posithivagruppen

     "We are pleased to have another Tupilak event at our premises," states Ola Ståhle of the Posithivagruppen (HIV positive men having sex with men) office, and we are happy to have colleagues from the Baltic states at our summer camps and hope to join in future Tupilak and ILGCN exchanges in Eastern Europe."

     Films by Swedish Tupilak member Willi Reichhold described the recent Swedish-Ukrainian-Belarus solidarity visit to Kiev, the summer inauguration ceremony in Visby of the first Nordic LGBT monument on the shoreline of the Swedish Baltic island of Gotland and the "global survival" journey of plants and human beings in harsh conditions around the world.

     Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Icelandic and Eastern European works from the Tupilak & ILGCN Travelling Art & Photography Exhibition were displayed at all the festival venues, including new photo series from Belarus and the Ukraine, and LGBT CD music from Poland and the Nordic nations were played at festival venues as well.

     Other foreign visitors taking part in discussions at the CRD office, the Bio Rio, Posithivagruppen and the LGBT cultural center Hallongrottan came from Norway, Finland, Kenya and Somalia.

                                                                          Next stop: Estonia, Russia, Belarus

     "We hope the next Nordic Fire festival in Stockholm at the end of next March will focus on Swedish and Nordic LGBT co-operation with Estonia, Russia and Belarus," concludes Bill Schiller. "Once again we'll ask our Tupilak colleagues and the national LGBT organizations in the Nordic region to join us. We hope the Nordic Fire festival can be duplicated elsewhere in the Nordic region -- and we'll discuss this at coming Nordic-Baltic-Polish-Russian-Belarus Rainbow Network meetings coming up in Stockholm and other Nordic capitals during 2012."

                                                    ****************************
Special input from Ukraine and Hungary
1st Nordic Fire in Stockholm Salutes Eastern Europeans

Tupilak Calling November 2011

2011-09-15T11:26:00.031+02:00

Nordic Fire on Eastern European Rainbow Barricades -- a mini-festival in Stockholm between Prides.

November 25-27, 2011

Swedes, Belarus visit to Women's Insight - Kiev

Continuo Trio - Budapest

Special guests from Hungary, Ukraine, Finland, etc.. . Local experts on Belarus, Latvia, Romania, Poland.

Seminars, Discussions, Art, & Photography, Films, Performances, Award ceremonies.

Venues:

Civil Rights Defenders (Gamla Stan) -- Friday, November 25 (12.00)

Bio Rio (Hornstull) -- Friday, November 25 (16.00)

POSITHIVAGRUPPEN (Skanstull) -- Saturday, November 26 (13.00)

Hallongrottan (Hornstull) -- Sunday, November 27 (17.00)

CD's and art work from the Nordic region and Eastern Europe

No entrance fee.

_________________________________________________________________________

Successful Tupilak/ILGCN Visit to Belarus

Swedish-Ukrainian-Belarus LGBT Cultural Meeting in Minsk

Minsk/Stockholm – Swedish and Ukrainian queer delegations met with Belarus colleagues in the Belarus capital October 20-23,

Belarus Pride press conference 2011—the 2nd stage in the 3-nation project following a similar meeting in Kiev in October – also Minsk supported by the Swedish Institute, the official body promoting Swedish international exchange and co- operation.

"We were very pleased to have had this international input into our Belarus Pride,” says Natasha P. of the GayBelarus organization. “And to have once again Swedes joining us in Minsk!”

Despite the ban on any Pride parade, Belarus and foreign LGBT visitors “outwalked” any potential homophobic followers through numerous city streets in different groups, jumped into vehicles and re-appeared in a distant suburb – unfurling rainbow flags, marching a short stretch in the streets and cheering the release of a giant rainbow banner carried to the skies by large helium-filled balloons – to the delight of a crowd of Belarus newspaper, radio and television journalists.

                                                     Interested and supportive Belarus media

     “We wery pleased and surprised to see so many Belarus and Polish journalists present both at the GayBelarus office press conference and at the parade – and the positive response and intelligent questions – and great coverage in the media, ” maintains Bill Schiller, Swedish Radio journalist and international secretary of Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers). “And we are very happy that our 3-way meeting could be part of Belarus Pride – no doubt one of the most important Prides in Europe today.”

     The meeting included country-be-country presentations, seminars and discussions, Swedish film screenings and music provided by well-known Belarus singers and musicians calling for democratic rule in this the last dictatorship in East Europe, as well as a musical and dance-filled performance by members of the internationally-famous Belarus Underground Theater – banned by the regime.

     “Our meetings in Kiev and Minsk have been very beneficial and show what our organizations can learn from – and teach each other,” says Olena Shevchenko of the women’s organization Insight of Kiev, who also informed the delegates about the importance of working against the Ukrainian government’s and parliament’s plans to crack down on positive information about homosexuality.

      During the visit, the three national delegations also visited the office of the internationally-finance Belarus organization working with men having sex with men and combating HIV and AIDS.

    “These meetings have given us new inspiration on how to work in new ways for LGBT rights also using rainbow culture as a weapon against discrimination and phobias – including the discrimination of those with HIV and AIDS,” says Taras L. of the Men’s Alliance – Kiev.

    The visit also included displays of art and photo exhibitions from Tupilak and the ILGCN (International queer cultural network) which has works from nearly 40 nations and now has new brand donations from the Ukraine and Belarus.

                                                             More Belarus photos and art work on the way

    “I was very impressed with the international exhibit and will create a special Belarus exhibition at our next event” says journalist/photographer Alexander N., also editor of the biggest LGBT website in Belarus,.

      “We are working out plans for long-term Swedish-Belarus-Ukrainian rainbow co-operation – with our next event scheduled for June 1-2, 2012 in the Crimean port of Semiez,” says Slava Bortnik from Belarus Amnesty International and his nation’s second city, Gomel. “Overcoming the isolation of LGBT people in Belarus is crucial for our survival.”

   “We hope that the Swedish Institute will continue to provide assistance to make this future human rights and rainbow cultural co-operation possible between East and West,” concludes Bill Schiller, project co-ordinator and also secretary general of the ILGCN Information Secretariat-Stockholm.
                                   ……………………………………..

More information: www.tupilak.org and www.ilgcn.tupilak.org

Photos by Elin Nordlinder and Willi Reichhold, Tupilak, Sweden

__________________________________________________________________

Nordic annual mega event in Swedish west coast port

Tupilak at Gothenburg Book & Library Fair September, 2011

Christina Kjellsson

Tupilak participated once again at the Gothenburg Book and Library Fair 2011 September 22-25 – the biggest annual cultural event in the Nordic region – at the International Square, both handing out printed material, displaying books and CD’s, meeting the public and presenting form the main stage Tupilak’s work with Eastern European colleagues.

Included in the stage presentation was the Tupilak annual “Sowelu” award presentation to Swedish singer, musician and song writer Christina Kjellsson, who came up to receive her award. She was honored for her year’s-long contribution to the Nordic rainbow cultural scene and for the use of her music via CD’s at Tupilak events at Nordic, Baltic and Eastern European rainbow solidarity events.

Tupilak shared its stand this year with the newly-created Göteborgs Rättighets Center (Gothenburgs Human Rights Center) – including RFSL-Gothenburg, Homan (working with rainbow refugees) and other LGBT organizations. At the stand , art and photography from the Travelling Tupilak & ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) Art & Photo Exhibition were on display.
_____________________________________________________________

Kiev: Men´s Alliance

Women's Insight Office, Kiev (photos by Willi Reichhold, Sweden)

Swedish-Ukrainian-Belarus LGBT culture co-operation

TUPILAK VISIT TO KIEV - stage 1 of 3

A Tupilak delegation has recently returned from a September 2-4, 2011meeting with Ukrainian, Belarus and Swedish LGBT activists and cultural workers in Kiev -- a trip made possible thanks to support from the Swedish Institute.

This included performances, art & photo exhibits, films, lively discussions and seminars as well as planning for future rainbow co-operation between the three countries.

Information and photos about the visit to Kiev will be presented at Tupilak's last-Sunday-of the-month cultural afternoon at the Stockolm cultural center, Hallongrottan on October 30 (see below.)

Minsk in October, 2011, Crimea June, 2012

Next stops in this Swedish-Belarus-Ukrainian rainbow solidarity project will be in Minsk October 21-23, 2011 and the Crimea June 1-3, 2012.

____________________________________________________________________________

Swedish and Ukranian visit to the Minsk office of the HIV/AIDS Campaign (Photos by Willi Reichhold, Tupilak - Sweden)

About Tupilak

2011-07-21T18:40:00.003+02:00

.....started in 1989 to join together lesbian, gay, trans, bi and queer cultural workers from different professions: writers, film makers, musicians, poets, journalists, actors, designers, singers, translators, sculptors, publishers, dancers, artists, photographers, etc.

Anna Rosén (Sweden)

........ arranges seminars, discussions, performances and exchange involving cultural workers in the Nordic area and visitors from abroad..

.......works on a global level as one of the co-coordinators of the International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network (ILGCN) and its publication "Erato" and to encourage cultural exchange and emphasise the power and visibility of lesbian and gay culture.

..... has members in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Faeroe and the Åland islands.

Lars Ohly (Left Party leader) Bill Schiller (Tupilak)
LGBT-Monument, Visby

...... a "Tupilak" is a figure from Greenland made out of animal tooth or bone, given magical powers and sent to destroy one's enemies. Tupilak's enemies are homophobia and the silence over the enormous contribution of lesbians and gays to the world's culture.

TUPILAK CALLING

2011-04-07T15:43:00.002+02:00

Still to come: Visby, Stockholm Pride, Minsk, Kiev, Crimea, Gothenburg Book Fair, Uppsala, Poznan:

TUPILAK IN BELGRADE, ESKILSTUNA, GOTHENBURG, TALLINN

Stockholm – Tupilak rainbow cultural delegations have recently been at events in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, the Eskilstuna Spring Pride in this central Swedish city, Göteborgs HBT Festival (Gothenburg ILGCN Festival) in the Swedish west coast port, and the 3rd Baltic Pride in the Estonian capital of Tallinn (rotating each year between this city and the Baltic capitals of Riga and Vilnius).

“We were very pleased with our meetings with Serbian LGBT activists and hope to hold a stage of the ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) world rainbow cultural conference in Belgrade next year together with contributions from Tupilak,” says ILGCN Information Secretariat-Stockholm general secretary, Bill Schiller.

SPRING PRIDE ESKILSTUNA

In addition to the Tupilak/ILGCN art exhibit, performances and seminars in the Swedish city of Eskilstuna west of Stockholm, a special guest was Polish activist and initiator of Warsaw Pride, Szymon Niemiec – whose visit was made possible thanks to the Polish Institute in Stockholm.

The Eskilstuna event also included the handing over of the ILGCN “Arco Nordica” 2010 award diploma to Spring Pride for promoting rainbow culture and international solidarity – emphasizing that this work is especially courageous and necessary outside of capital cities. The award was shared with Gothenburg LGBT Festival and Uppsala Pride.

Szymon also participated in a Stockholm cultural and church happening and at Tupilak’s last-Sunday-of -the- month session at the award-winning Hallongrottan cultural café in Stockholm, together with Swedish supporters of Palestinian rights and LGBT colleagues in Palestine .

GOTHENBURG LGBT FESTIVAL

Tupilak’s Gothenburg HIV Festival events included seminars (one recorded by Swedish Educational Televsion Broadcasting) on rainbow culture, rainbow history, Nordic co-operation with Eastern Europe and Humanism on the rainbow barricades as well as an unusual “daytime” performance of Tupilak cabaret artist Peter “Bo Peters” Fröberg,” and Concert House “cat” performances of Zafire Vrba and Tomas Woodski.

The Tupilak & ILGCN international travelling art and photo exhibition was displayed during the festival week at the city library with many visitors looking at this and the other exhibitions.

The Tupilak delegation to the Tallinn 3rd Baltic Pride included meetings with local LGBT activists and a visit to one of several Baltic art and photo exhibits in the Estonian capital.

FUTURE TUPILAK EVENTS 2011

Tupilak and the ILGCN will also be participating in the International Square – the week-long solidarity event during the giant political and human rights “Almedalen” week in July in Visby – the capital of the Swedish Baltic island of Gotland. This will also include the historic inauguration of the first LGBT monument in the Nordic area on the sea shore of this Baltic port on July 6th.

Tupilak will host a number of events at the coming Stockholm Pride—some in co-operation with the Polish Institute- Stockholm bringing several high-level Polish cultural personalities and activists to Stockholm – and the inauguration of the Tupilak & ILGCN expanded art and photo international travelling exhibition on August 2 at Teater Tribunal.

At the end of August and in the beginning of September, Tupilak and the ILGCN will participate in the 2nd stage of this year’s ILGCN world cultural conference (1st stage in Istanbul and Ankara in May, 2011) in the Crimean port town of Simeiz as well as a rainbow conference in Kiev and in the Belarus Pride event in Minsk in early September – thanks to support from the Swedish Institute.

Tupilak will also participate again in September’s the Gothenburg Book and Library Fair in this Swedish west coast city September 22-25 – the biggest cultural event in the Nordic region – manning an information booth and providing stage presentations.

Tupilak also plans to return to the Uppsala Pride event in this university city just north of Stockholm in November with more seminars, art exhibitions and performances.

Also on the list is another visit to Poland’s “Poznan LGBT event” in November – with performances, art work, films and seminars.

Tupilak members interested in joining these events are very welcome.

Bill Schiller, international secretary
_____________________________________

TUPILAK på HALLONGROTTAN

Bergsundsgatan 25 (tel. 658 1320) (T-ban Hornstull) Stockholm

REGNBÅGS KULTURAFTON * SISTA SÖNDAGEN I MÅNADEN / Rainbow Cultural
Afternoon ... last Sunday of the month.

Gäst presentation, konst, foto, film, utländska gäster, information om
framtids projekt och internationella samarbete*

Guest speakers from Sweden and abroad. Art, photos, films, information
about solidarity projects in Sweden, elsewhere in the Nordic region and
abroad.

____________________________________________________

Also supported by: ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network)
Information Secretariat-Stockholm http://www..ilgcn.tupilak.org/

Nordic Rainbow Council

Nordic Rainbow Humanists

ROHS (Riks organisation för homosexuella solidaritet)
(Swedish National Organization for LGBT Solidarity)

Tupilak Hallongrottan Feb 27 2011

2011-02-14T23:26:00.009+01:00

TUPILAK på HALLONGROTTAN

Bergsundsgatan 25 (tel. 658 1320) (T-ban Hornstull) Stockholm

REGNBÅGS KULTURAFTON … SISTA SÖNDAGEN I MÅNADEN / Rainbow Cultural Afternoon ... last Sunday of the month.

Gäst presentation, konst, foto, film, utländska gäster, information om framtids projketer och internationella samarbete…

Guest speakers from Sweden and abroad. Art, photos, films, information about solidarity projects in Sweden, elsewhere in the Nordic region and abroad.

Nästa gången: Söndagen 27 mars från 17.00…. Sunday, March 27. From 17.00...

___________________________________________

( Obs!!! 15 minut styreslemöte 17.00 -- alla välkomna!!)

____________________________________________________

Also supported by: ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) Information Secretariat-Stockholm http://www..ilgcn.tupilak.org/

Nordic Rainbow Council

Nordic Rainbow Humanists

ROHS (Riks organisation för homosexuella solidaritet)
(Swedish National Organization for LGBT Solidarity)

Kvällen på Högkvarteret 15-dec, blev en succé

2010-12-15T14:17:00.002+01:00

Kvällen på Högkvarteret 15-dec, blev en succé.
“PALESTINIAN RAINBOW SOLIDARITY EVENING”

Föredrag med Zafire och Bill

Föredrag, film och uppträdande hölls av stapeln med mycket uppskattning av publik och arrangörer. Håll ögon, öron och sinnena öppna för nästa evenemang.

Alltid något nytt på gång. Lite bilder från kvällen.

Los Hombreros bjöd på underhållning

Jan Hammrlund sjöng och spelade

Bill "The Mad Monk" Schiller stod för filosofi..

Palestina 14-DEC-2010

2010-12-04T19:57:00.028+01:00

PALESTINSK REGNBÅGS

KULTURKVÄLL

PALESTINIAN RAINBOW SOLIDARITY EVENING-- STOCKHOLM

Tisdagen, 14 december 2010 från 18.00

Högkvarteret Scen/Klubb/Galleri

Närkesg. 8 T-ban Medborgarplatsen Stockholm

DISKUSSION:

"Regnbåger över Palestine...? Hur kan LGBT folk överleva i krigszoner? Hur kan israeliska och palestinska HBT folk samarbetar? Hur kan svenska regnbågsfolk samarbetar med kolleger i Mellan Öst....? Hur störtar vi både ockupationen och patriarkatet?

PRESENTATION:

Televiv PornFest 2010, PornFest 2011 -- Zafire Vrba

FILMS:

”Ezra Nawi” -- isreali bög och fredsaktivist och hans palestinska älskare i kamp mot ockupation, fortryck och homofobi.

“Divine Intervention”

FOTOS: Orlando Boström -- 1st Jerusalem Pride

CABARET, MUSIK, SÅNG:

Peter "Sexodus" Fröberg Jan Hammarlund

Los Habaneros

Jenny Gabrielsson

________________________________________________________

Efter 22.00: TUPILAK VINTER FEST

Pris ceremoni Skål till Tupilaks 20 års dag!

Film: Tupilak cabaret salute to ILGA world Confernece -- Stockholm, 1990!
________________________________________________

Arrangör: Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers) Svenska Palestinska Gruppen

ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network)

info@tupilak.org

www.tupilak.org

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).

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.)

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

_____________________________________________________________

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

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 TV

2009-01-09T16:55:00.011+01:00

TUPILAK TV
Homomonument

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.

******************************
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