ILGA World Conference 2022 – theme and key dates announced, scholarships and session proposals launched

Today we are proud to announce the dates, theme and logo of the ILGA World Conference 2022, and to officially open the call for scholarship applications and session proposals for this global event.

Originally planned for November 2021 and postponed due to Covid-19 uncertainty, the ILGA World Conference 2022 will take place from 2 to 6 May 2022 in Los Angeles, CA, United States, hosted by the It Gets Better Project under the theme LGBTIQ Youth: Future Present Change.

ILGA World recognises the Tongva, Tataviam, and Chumash tribes who are the indigenous peoples of the land where the World Conference will be hosted. We commit to working with indigenous communities – and especially two-spirit and queer people – as part of the programme of the event.

“After an incredibly difficult 2020 for our world and many in our communities, we look forward to coming together in-person in 2022”, said Luz Elena Aranda and Tuisina Ymania Brown, Co-Secretaries General of ILGA World. “It is time to join forces, and we are giving that focus to our LGBTIQ youth voices for them to step up and be a part of leading that change we want to see now and in our future!”

Change! Our world has never needed this more than we do now.  Social injustice and economic disparities are contributing to the inequalities that cut across our world. LGBTIQ communities have always stepped up in times of crisis, and we are again called to bring radical, positive change to support and protect our communities and this will be reflected all across our conference and its theme.

“LGBTIQ youth are key to this much-needed change. They are a positive force to our movements and our world, not just for the future, but right now”, explain Aranda and Brown. “From climate justice to feminism, from disabilities to anti-racism, fighting gender-based violence and LGBTIQ oppression and discrimination, our youth are a powerful part of social justice movements. They mobilise millions, speak truth to power, weave intergenerational and intersectional alliances, and make space to also speak for themselves. This is why the ILGA World Conference 2022 will focus on the power of LGBTIQ youth for the whole global movement. LGBTIQ youth are our future. They are also our present. And together we can change the world.”

Scholarship applications and session proposals are now open!

ILGA World now officially opens the call to all potential participants.

You have until
10 20 January 2021 (new deadline!) to propose a session,
17 27 January 2021 (new deadline!) to apply for a scholarship.

Registration for paying participants will open in May 2021.

The ILGA World Board has purposefully opened these calls early to maximise chances for overseas participants to obtain visas, and for unsuccessful scholar applicants to still seek other options to attend.

“We invite you to bring your wisdom and experiences, and share it with our global LGBTIQ family”, says André du Plessis, Executive Director at ILGA World. “In the coming months, a great team will work together to make this event as dynamic, thoughtful, inclusive and diverse as it gets. This is an incredible opportunity to learn from each other: we need every one of you to be part of this future present change!”.

The ILGA World Conference is committed to putting intersectional experiences front and centre, something that this edition’s theme allows in unique ways.

“LGBTIQ youth cut across all population groups and identities within our communities,” said Martin Karadzhov, Chair of the Youth Steering Committee at ILGA World. “We really looking forward to bringing our energy ideas and voices to the forefront, and to work with the global LGBTIQ movement to bring about positive radical change for society as a whole”.

“We are delighted to welcome our global community to Los Angeles and look forward to making this event a safe and empowering experience for all,” adds Brian Wenke, Executive Director at the It Gets Better Project. “We are confident that the ILGA World Conference 2022 will be a transformative moment for anyone interested in creating a better world for LGBTIQ young people. It is an important step towards the understanding and acceptance our community deserves”.

Despite that the launch of this conference takes place during the Covid-19 global pandemic when the future remains uncertain, our planning is and will be done with to account for different scenarios and eventualities.  We hope and believe that with, several vaccines now on the horizon, we may be cautiously optimistic that travel and physical gatherings will be possible by May 2022.

Key dates:

30 November 2020: opening of scholarship applications and session proposals
10 20 January 2021: deadline for session proposals (new deadline!)
17 27 January 2021: deadline for scholarship applications (new deadline!)
May 2021: opening of registrations for paying participants
Date TBC: closing of registrations for paying participants
17 January 2022 – first mailing to members: call for proposals and nominations
7 February 2022 – deadline for submissions of proposals and nominations
21 February 2022 – second mailing to members: proposals, nominations and accounts
21 March 2022 – deadline for submissions of amendments to proposals
11 April 2022 – third mailing to members: final agenda
2 to 6 May 2022: ILGA World Conference 2022