ILGA World Conference 2024: first mailing
Dear ILGA member organisation, dear friend,
On behalf of the Executive Board of ILGA World, and host organisations Iranti and Gender DynamiX, it is our pleasure to invite you to attend the 31st ILGA World Conference to be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 11 to 15 November 2024.
ILGA World Conferences are a reference point for the LGBTI people’s human rights at the global level, and this year’s event will be held under the theme Kwa Umoja we rise. Historically at these meetings, we have had between 300 and 900 representatives of civil society organisations from around the world coming together for one week. Public officials, legislators, academics, and representatives of international organisations also participate, enriching our analyses and discussions.
The conference will be an important and much-needed moment where we come together as a global family and learn from and support each other in all our global diversity. We will also learn from our local hosts in South Africa and their unique perspectives on bringing about much-needed change when it comes to respecting persons of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics, and protecting their rights.
ILGA World member organisations get a discounted conference fee to participate in our 2024 World Conference!
The same applies also to board members of ILGA regions, youth, and local participants (Cape Town and wider South Africa). Visit our conference website, find your conference fee, and register now!
There are currently no Covid-19-related restrictions to enter South Africa: no proof of vaccination, recovery, or testing is required. All remaining Covid-19 regulations were lifted on 22 June 2022.
Although all Covid-19 measures have been lifted, it is important to remain mindful of the ongoing dangers: if you develop any Covid-related symptoms before travelling, please take a PCR test. If you test positive, please self-isolate, do not travel, and let the ILGA World Conference team know as soon as possible.
Before your departure from Cape Town, check the regulations in the country of your return (and any country you may be travelling through) and arrange testing accordingly.
The ILGA World General Assembly
During this Conference, we will have the most important decision-making body of ILGA World. The General Assembly will be the time for you -our member organisations- to have your say about ILGA World´s finances, governance, membership and fees, and also elect seven persons on the ILGA World Executive Board.
Held over three days, the General Assembly starts on Wednesday 13 November in a plenary session, then breaks into its General Workshops where proposals and amendments are discussed in detail, and then meets again in a final plenary to adopt proposals and resolutions. This process is set out in the video below
This mailing provides you, as a member organisation, with the information you need to take part in the governance of ILGA World: our Queer Democracy in Action!
First mailing
On behalf of the ILGA World Executive Board, and as required by our Standing Orders, we are hereby sending you the first of three conference mailings, which includes:
- A call to submit proposals (resolutions and/or amendments to the Constitution and the Standing Orders). Please read the Guidance Note and use the Amendments Form.
- A call for nomination of candidates to serve on the ILGA World Board, namely for the following seven positions:
- two co-Secretaries General
- the Chair of the Bisexual Steering Committee
- the Chair of the Intersex Steering Committee
- the Chair of the Trans Steering Committee
- the Chair of the Women’s Steering Committee
- the Chair of the Youth Steering Committee
Please read the Guidance Note and use the Nomination Form and the Candidate Form.
- A call for nominations of city and host organisation(s) to host the next ILGA World Conference in 2026 (or 2027).
Please note that only the following entities may make nominations or submit proposals (and subsequently amendments to proposals):
- full ILGA member organisations;
- the ILGA World Executive Board;
- ILGA Regional Executive Boards; or
- the ILGA World Steering Committees.
Please also note that all persons running to serve on the ILGA World Board must be from full member organisations of ILGA. A list of full ILGA member organisations can be found here. Some member organisations are, for safety reasons, listed as anonymous. If you require clarifications on whether your organisation is a full member, please contact membership (a) ilga (dot) org.
You will find all the required documents and all documents relevant to the General Meeting on ILGA World’s conference website.
The deadline for full member organisations to present proposals and nominations – as set out in the Standing Orders – is Tuesday 20 August 2024. Proposals and nominations must be sent to chairingpool (a) ilga (dot) org.
The ILGA World office will send the received proposals, together with the preliminary General Meeting agenda, to all members with the second mailing 10 weeks before the conference on Tuesday 3 September 2024.
ILGA member organisations will then have 4 weeks to react to these proposals and to propose amendments to them. These amendments must be sent by Tuesday 1 October 2024 (six weeks before the conference begins) Bids to host the 32nd ILGA World Conference must also be submitted by this date.
The final General Meeting agenda will be sent by the ILGA office with the third mailing 3 weeks before the conference, i.e. by Tuesday 22 October 2024.
Please keep checking the conference page on our website for updated information: https://worldconference.ilga.org/for-our-members
Other information
The World Conference starts with caucuses and pre-conferences on Monday 11 November and Tuesday 12 November.
Caucuses
Caucuses are defined in the ILGA World Standing Orders as spaces where a collective body meets together to discuss any subject of mutual interest. ILGA World ensures there are caucuses for the 6 regions and 5 population groups that form part of its governance structure. This is so that member organisations from that population group or region may meet to discuss ILGA World governance issues of specific relevance to them — for example, youth member organisations may meet in a caucus to discuss candidates running for the position of Chair of the Youth committee. A caucus may make a recommendation to a General Workshop.
Member organisations only belong to one region, but persons representing member organisations may belong to more than one population group. Therefore, ILGA World is designing the agenda to minimise clashes, so that people may visit the different caucuses that are relevant for them.
Pre-conferences
A pre-conference is a place which explores a topic relevant to our communities in greater depth. The ILGA World Board decides which pre-conferences are to be held. For the 2024 ILGA World Conference, the ILGA World Board has invited organisations to propose and organise some thematic pre-conferences.
These are the pre-conferences that are currently confirmed:
Organised by ILGA World:
- Bisexual pre-conference
- Intersex pre-conference
- Trans pre-conference
- Women pre-conference
- Youth pre-conference
- Business pre-conference
- UN pre-conference
- Media pre-conference
- Newcomers pre-conference
Organised by (or co-organised) with other organisations
- Lesbian pre-conference
- Disability pre-conference
- Indigenous pre-conference
- Interfaith pre-conference
- Sex workers pre-conference
- Trade unions pre-conference
- Global Equality Caucus pre-conference
- The Commonwealth Equality Network (TCEN) pre-conference
- Francophone pre-conference
ILGA offers scholarships for activists who would otherwise be unable for financial reasons to participate in the Conference. This process started in June 2023 and closed in August 2023.
We are thrilled to announce that we are granting over 100 scholarships for the Conference in Cape Town! These scholars – chosen through a competitive process led by the ILGA World Board – represent the range and diversity of our world as well as bringing expertise and experience of activism to various sessions at the conference.
We encourage those who didn’t receive a scholarship to seek funding in advance within their own organisation or from other available sources.
In cooperation with host organisations Iranti and Gender DynamiX, ILGA World is also actively working to ensure human rights defenders across Africa are supported with scholarships to attend the World Conference.
During the 2022 ILGA World Conference, our members approved the resolution regarding the adoption of a new fee structure. The new structure consists of a sliding scale of fees based on the organisation’s annual budget. Through the payment form sent via email, each member organisation can choose the fee that best fits its financial status, and ILGA World will not ask for any budgetary documentation.
For more information about your membership status, please consult this page or email membership (a) ilga (dot) org.
In Cape Town, ILGA World’s new Strategic Plan 2025-2029 will be discussed and put to a vote. The draft plan has been developed by the Board following consultation with members, staff and other stakeholders throughout the past 12 months. Please find the proposed strategic plan here for your initial consideration.
The current draft of the Strategic Plan is still being revised and we are asking you for your input through a (final) membership survey. Follow this link to access and fill in the survey. We kindly ask you to take the survey by Wednesday 14 August 2024, and we advise you read the proposed strategic plan before filling in the form.
The survey results will inform the Strategic Plan 2025-2029 proposal, which is going to be presented to the membership in the second mailing which is due no later than Tuesday, 3 September 2024.
As member organisations, you will then be able to propose amendments to the proposed Strategic Plan. The deadline for amendments will be 1 October 2024.
Scholarship applications: Expired
Workshop proposals: Expired
Pre-conference proposals: Expired
Registration for paying participants: 11 October 2024
Deadlines for proposals and nominations from membership: 20 August 2024
Second mailing: 3 September 2024
Deadline for submission of amendments: 1 October 2024
Third mailing: 22 October 2024
World Conference: 11 – 15 November 2024
General Assembly commences: 13 November 2024.
Important: For those who need a visa, apply for your visa immediately. There are potentially long delays to get a visa to South Africa.
For all registrations: https://worldconference.ilga.org/register-now
Draft versions of the conference programme will be published on the conference website before the registration deadline expires. The final conference and workshop programmes will be available in late October 2024.
Register today!
We are looking forward to welcoming you all to Cape Town! Please make sure you register before the deadline!
Your participation – as an individual or as a delegation – is valuable and will contribute to the success of the Conference. If your organisation has a history of participation in ILGA Conferences, please consider bringing or paying for activists who otherwise would not be able to take part.
See you in Cape Town!
Luz Elena Aranda and Tuisina Ymania Brown
Co-Secretaries General, ILGA World
Julia Ehrt
Executive Director, ILGA World