EuroPride 2022 Belgrade BidBook CONTENTS ABOUT US 4 – 7 Civil Rights Defenders 5 Da Se Zna! 5 Heartefact 5 Geten 6 Izađi 6 Youth Initiative for Human RIghts (YiHR) 7 LGBT+ LIFE IN SERBIA 8 – 9 In a Nutshell 8 Facts and figures 9 WHY BELGRADE? 10 – 15 ABOUT BELGRADE 16 – 17 BelgradePride2022EuropePrideBidBook History 16 What to do 16 Where to stay 17 LGBT+ in Belgrade 17 How to get there 17 EURO PRIDE 2022 EVENTS 20 – 21 Belgrade Pride House 20 Pride Park 20 International Pride Forum 21 Pride Art 21 Closing Ceremony 21 MARKETING PLAN 22 – 23 Vision and identity 22 Promotion @ Pride 22 Social media 22 Timeline 22 Cooperation with local authorities 23 Television & Press 23 BUSINESS PLAN 24 – 25 LETTERS OF SUPPORT 26 – 35 CORE TEAM 36 – 37 Follow Us 36 About us Belgrade Pride and Pride Week is an annual Through participation and cooperation event aimed at promoting and empowering with human rights organizations and human Serbia’s LGBT+ community. Belgrade Pride rights defenders, Belgrade Pride has become has become the leading Pride in the Western the most visible platform for the promotion Balkans and serves as a hub for dialogue of human rights of the LGBT+ community in and mutual cooperation of regional LGBT+ Serbia. Belgrade Pride promotes democratic organizations and activists, contributing principles and calls on improvement of Photos by Vesna Lalić to the development of a Western Balkans legislation relevant for the LGBT+ community. network of human right defenders. Each The first attempt of organizing Belgrade The continued emphasis on organising in the region. Fellow LGBT+ activists have year Belgrade Pride is host to LGBT+ Pride in 2001 ended with extreme violence Belgrade Pride despite past obstacles has sent letters of support to Belgrade Pride, activists from all over the region. They from right-wing groups. The second attempt made it a cornerstone and platform for and agree that Belgrade Pride’s hosting of play an integral role in Belgrade Pride by in 2010 was more successful in terms of human rights, and for all citizens that think EuroPride would be a major milestone for the participating in lectures, workshops and Pride actually taking place, but thousands and act differently. After years of tirelessly entire region. other activities that strengthen the regional of anti-Pride protesters clashed with police working, it has become clear that the weeks Belgrade’s Pride Week and Pride Parade cooperation despite the lack of cooperation causing city-wide riots. Since then, Belgrade just before Pride is the only period when the have been growing in size and importance from their respective governments. Pride, with the help of several human rights government is ready to give commitments for the last 6 years, and their increasing organizations, has succeeded in overcoming on the improvement of human rights for popularity and visibility is an important sign security challenges and have successfully the LGBT+ community; thus enforcing our of progress for LGBT+ lives. In the last several organized consecutive, safe Belgrade Prides vital role in upholding and promoting such years, Belgrade’s Pride celebrations have BelgradePride2022EuropePrideBidBook since 2014 and Pride Week events since 2010. BelgradePride2022EuropePrideBidBook issues. become less policed and have happened These events were crucial in empowering The LGBT+ communities across the safely without incidents. LGBT+ activists and raising the of visibility Balkans struggle with similar difficulties The main organization that was LGBT+ rights and issues in Serbia. and setbacks as the LGBT+ community working on Belgrade Pride was “Belgrade in Serbia; from outright discrimination and Pride Parade”. Since the founders of the hate speech, to stubborn governments organization got political asylum in Canada in refusing to pass or implement proposed 2016, six different human rights organisations laws to advance equality. joined together to form the Belgrade Pride Belgrade Pride has set precedents Organizing Committee in order to carry in many regards that have acted as the legacy of “Belgrade Pride Parade” and guidelines and motivators for other continue the organization of Belgrade Pride regional communities. It is heartening and Pride Week. to enjoy friendship and solidarity across Belgrade Pride Organizing Committee is borders when it comes to human rights in the process of opening a new organisation defenders working together, despite the that will be formally and legally responsible for lack of cooperation amongst governments Belgrade Pride as well as EuroPride. The new Photo for Beta by Emil Vas 4 5 Photos by Vesna Lalić BelgradePride2022EuropePrideBidBook organisation will represent the decisions Da Se Zna! improve public perception and treatment of and plans of action that the Organizing Meaning “Let It Be Known!” this organisation LGBT+ youth in Serbia. They have recently Committee of Belgrade Pride brings. The is based on an online platform for safe Geten started collecting LGBT stories, with the idea opening of the new organisation will be and anonymous reporting of violence and Originating from the first Gay and Lesbian of sharing experiences among the community. completed in August 2019, after which it discrimination. In addition to recording lobby organisation, Arkadia, in 1990, Geten This was inspired by a Belgrade Pride Week will become a member of the Belgrade discrimination, hate crimes, and cooperating has long campaigned against discrimination event series called Queer Cafe. In 2019, they Pride Organizing Committee. Currently, with LGBT+ people who have experienced and homophobia, and promoted freedom opened their office, which became the first- the organizations that are members of the violence, Da Se Zna! works with the relevant of expression and identity. Geten is the first ever LGBT+ community centre in Novi Sad. Organizing Committee are: institutions at the local and national level, all-inclusive organization that, in addition mobilises and raises the capacity of the to lesbian and gay men, brings together Youth Initiative for Human Rights BelgradePride2022EuropePrideBidBook Civil Rights Defenders LGBT+ community and focuses their work bisexual, trans-persons as well as intersex, The Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), Acts to partner with and support human on social networks. queers and heterosexuals, affirming their founded in 2003, is a regional network of non- rights defenders who work in some of the rights, needs, problems, existence and governmental organizations with programs world’s most repressive regions on four Heartefact culture. on the territories of Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, continents. Through advocacy, litigation, Heartefact strengthens critical awareness Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. and public campaigns, they aim to advance and builds an open and free society in the Izađi The Initiative was formed by young people people’s rights globally. Civil Rights region of the Western Balkans through Meaning “Come out” a grassroots from these countries in order to enhance Defenders was founded as the Swedish creative, expert, and artistic exchange. organisation. Formed in 2010, and based youth participation in the democratization of Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Founded in 2009, Heartefact supports and out of Novi Sad, which advocates for LGBT+ the society and empowerment of the rule of in 1982 with the purpose of monitoring encourages contemporary and engaged rights at the national and local level. They law through the process of facing the past and compliance with the human rights provisions cultural and artistic creativity, and thus aim to improve the quality of life for young establishing new, progressive connections in of the Helsinki Final Act. creates the conditions for producing a new LGBT+ people, and to provide social and the post-conflict region of former Yugoslavia. generation of progressive individuals. psychological support. They also aim to 6 7 guarantee the safety of LGBT+ people, but this LGBT+ life in Serbia has not been fully implemented. Even though the status of LGBT+ people has significantly improved since 2000, the safety of LGBT+ people is still at risk. Attacks on the LGBT+ community are common, but their exact number is not known due to reluctance to In a nutshell was common for the patrons to be beaten up, report them. As a result, many crimes remain Being LGBT+ in any of the Western police were reluctant to provide protection or unreported, unprosecuted and therefore Balkan countries is a challenge. Not only to pursue the perpetrators of the attacks, and invisible. is there a lack of legislative framework (or worse yet, the victims often faced secondary The Laws on Registered Same-Sex Civil implementation of existing ones), social discrimination by the authorities. Partnerships and on Gender Identity are not attitudes towards sexual and gender After the violent Pride in 2001, many yet in the enactment procedure. Prejudices minorities are far from tolerant and organizations focused their work on are widely present and relevant research’s accepting. During the turbulent ‘90s, any improving the police force; a long process in Belgrade has developed. Over 30 drag findings from 2018 show that 80% of the total diversity was outright bashed in the media, that finally achieved results post-2010 when queens a and a couple of drag kings regularly population of Serbia would not want a LGBT+ leading to the recession of openness by the police finally started protecting LGBT+ perform in various venues in Belgrade and person as their neighbour and only 20% claim the general public. LGBT+ members were events and actually arresting perpetrators some of them are hosting their own parties to know and to have communicated with an portrayed as sick; an embarrassment to of violence. Along with heightened visibility that attract many visitors, mostly LGBT+ LGBT+ person. The Pride parade, which now their family, community and country. The of the community and its issues, Belgrade youth. takes place every year and in which police political regime made it difficult for activists has grown on to become far safer for LGBT+ presence is reduced every year, represents to openly fight for human rights and members.