Initiated by social enterprise the LGBT Excellence Centre, the
conference will take place at Cardiff City Hall along with a series
of events between 31 August and 2 September.
CEO, Federico Podeschi, told DIVA: "The LGBT Human Rights Summit
is an opportunity for policy makers, politicians, business people
and organisations across all sectors to connect with experts in the
UK and from around the world in order to develop a deeper
understanding of, and achieve greater equality for the human rights
of people belonging to gender and sexual minorities."
The Summit has received the support of policy makers and
celebrities from around the UK who are standing together to call
for an end to the inequalities and discrimination that people are
facing because of their sexual orientation or gender
identity.
Peter Tatchell, gay activist and human rights campaigner, said:
"It is great that Cardiff is hosting this important conference,
bringing together campaigners from around Britain and from
overseas. Congratulations to the LGBT Excellence Centre. Nearly all
of Britain's anti-gay laws have been repealed in the last decade.
But there are still bans on same-sex marriage and on gay blood
donors. These discriminations must be repealed, to ensure full
equal rights."
Welsh Government Minister for Finance and Leader of the House,
Jane Hutt said: "I very much welcome the tremendous opportunity
that this conference offers in understanding further the issues and
challenges faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
It is heartening that this conference is taking place in Wales and
that there are many international guests who will be experiencing a
warm Welsh welcome. Over coming months and years, we will continue
to work with partners to reduce the incidence of domestic and
sexual violence and reduce homophobic, transphobic,
disability-related and religiously motivated bullying and hate
crime."
The LGBT Excellence Centre will broadcast on its website a live
stream of the debates and workshops with professionals and
activists from across the world, such as: Peter Tatchell, John
Horan from Cloister Chambers, and John Fisher from ARC
International. The innovative use of a built-in social network and
Twitter technology will enable people from other parts of the world
to interact with the conference, putting Wales at the heart of an
important International development.
New York Times best-selling author and former NBA basketball
player John Amaechi urged policy makers and the media to listen to
the LGBT community.
"There are still people living in countries where being lesbian,
gay, bisexual, or transgender is not only challenging, but is still
criminalised and punished, sometimes with the death penalty," he
added.
Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, Rt. Hon
Theresa May MP said: "While we celebrate the real progress towards
equality in recent years, we must not be complacent and we are
working hard to achieve more. In March, the government published
Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality: Moving
Forward where we outlined steps to tackle homophobic and
transphobic bullying, to encourage the reporting of hate crimes and
to see how legislation can develop on equal civil marriage and
partnerships, to name just a few."
Lesbian author Sarah Waters also supported the event. She said:
"Come Out & Play 2011 promises to be a hugely impressive and
exciting event. Conferences like this one are a wonderful way of
building on current successes and enabling further change."
