A community event celebrating LGBT+ lives all over the world!
BRIGHTON will mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) on Friday, May 17, 2019.
May 17 commemorates the day in 1990 the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental diseases.
In 86 countries globally, homosexual acts remain illegal while in many countries lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and those who identify as trans (LGBT) are often murdered simply for their sexuality or gender identity.
Join the volunteers of the Brighton and Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum at 6pm sharp outside of the Jubilee Library, Brighton as they celebrate LGBT+ lives around the world to mark IDAHOBIT.
Jubilee Library
The outside event will include:
♦ A live performance from The Rainbow Chorus
♦ A minute’s ‘noise’ to remember the international victims of homo, bi and transphobic violence; (so bring a whistle, horn, bell, tambourine, trombone etc to make some noise!)
Two of the city’s main beaches have been classified as ‘excellent’ by the Environment Agency, winning Blue Flags from environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.
THE beaches at Hove Lawns and Brighton central have been awarded Blue Flags for the 2019 bathing season with Saltdean beach being recognised with a Seaside Award.
Blue flags are used to highlight coastal destinations that have achieved the highest quality in water, facilities, safety, environmental education and management.
Nick Hibberd, the council’s Executive Director for Economy, Environment & Culture said: “We’re delighted that our beaches have been endorsed as among the UK’s best. The awards recognise the hard work and dedication of our beach cleaning teams and volunteer groups, our dedicated Seafront Office and Beach Lifeguard Team and our partners at Southern Water who are always looking at methods and measures to improve the water quality along our coastline.”
This year Keep Britain Tidy is presenting 208 awards to England’s best beaches, including 71 international Blue Flags and 137 Seaside Awards.
Chris Ingall, Brighton & Hove’s seafront operations manager added:“This is great recognition for everyone’s hard work. As a city we’re promoting the reduction of single use plastics and removal of waste from our beaches. There is still a lot to be done but the tide is turning on this global issue.
“My message to everyone who comes to our lovely beachfront is to please be considerate, use the bins provided, recycle where possible and leave the place tidy for everyone to enjoy!”
Allison Ogden-Newton
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said:“The success of the 156 beaches in reaching the very high standards demanded by both awards is testament to all those who have worked so hard to protect and improve our beaches – from beach managers and volunteers to local people and businesses.
“When you enjoy a trip to a beach flying an international Blue Flag or Seaside Award, you know you are on one of the safest, cleanest and very best in the country.”
International experts in the field of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV control are meeting today in Scheveningen (Netherlands) during the Wolfheze Workshops.
THEY will be discussing the alarming TB/HIV tandem in the European region that requires a stepped-up joint approach to combating these infectious diseases.
KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation and co-organisers, the World Health Organisation (WHO/Europe) and the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) emphasise urgency and the need for concrete steps forward.
TB, the deadliest infectious disease in the world, causes 1.6 million deaths every year. The most recent ECDC/WHO European Region data shows that in 2017, 275,000 people in the European region were diagnosed with TB.
Van Weezenbeek
The WHO/Europe estimates that 27,000 of them are also infected with HIV. “Unfortunately, TB and HIV go hand in hand: people with HIV run a much higher risk of developing TB and TB is the leading cause of death among people with HIV,”says Kitty Van Weezenbeek, executive director of KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation. However in many countries there is insufficient progress in combating TB and HIV.
The meeting in Scheveningen today aims to produce concrete plans to strengthen the collaboration between stakeholders.
The Dutch KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation is the world’s leading TB expert organisation. An integrated, patient-oriented approach to TB/HIV care has been one of its focus areas for more than fifteen years.
Van Weezenbeek added:“Our projects have shown that effective collaboration allows us to identify more people with TB and HIV, to treat them more effectively and also to help reduce stigma. We need to make this the norm across the world.”
In September 2018, KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation convened the leading players in the response to TB and HIV at a TB/HIV breakfast session prior to the first United Nations High-Level Meeting in New York on TB.
In Scheveningen the conversation will continue during the opening day of the Wolfheze Workshops.
Tomorrow and Friday the focus is entirely on TB control in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia with the theme ‘translating the TB UN High-Level Meeting commitments into actions’. A total of 150 experts from 31 countries will be present at the various sessions.
Wolfheze Workshops
In 1990 KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation organised a workshop in Wolfheze (Netherlands) where experts discussed the necessary interventions to eliminate TB in Europe. The biennial event continues to hold the name and the spirit of the first ‘Wolfheze Workshop’ over the past three decades. This year it will take place at the Bilderberg Europa Hotel in Scheveningen (May 15 till 17).
Internationally renowned Zap Arts closed on March 29, 2019 after thirty extraordinary years creating critically acclaimed art projects throughout the UK and Europe.
FOR one night only, there is an opportunity to witness the last ever Zap Cabaret. An evening to mark the end of an era with a celebration of innovators and risk takers across all art forms. A joyful synergy between the leading edge of art and entertainment in a trajectory that takes us from 1982 far into the 21st Century and beyond.
Zap Club founder, Neil Butler, has invited artists and performers, who worked with the Zap in its several manifestations as the Zap Club, Zap Productions, UZ Arts and Zap Art, to perform for the Zap one last time – the response was overwhelming.
115 people offered to help and 20+ to perform. “For one night at the Old Market Theatre, you will see a programme that includes performers from the earliest Zap Club days to Zap Arts most recent events. The inspiration from our past but also our hopes for the future,”said Neil Butler.
Zap Art Artistic Director, Dave Reeves added: “It has been amazing to work from Brighton, across the UK and Europe with such a range of talented artists, performers and organisers from every field of the arts.”
Artists will be travelling from across the UK, Ireland, Spain and Sri Lanka to take part in the Final Programme,
include; Liz Aggiss, Jon B, Roy Bayfield, Neil Butler, Marisa Carnesky, Marion Deprez, Angie Dight, Ginny Farman, Flick Ferdinando, Marianna Harlotta, Chris Lynam, Bear North, Mike Majendi, Nick Nose, Feilim O’hAolain, Chris Orr, Anne Pigalle, Paul Roundhill, Bill Smith, Miss Skavoovie, Stella Starr, Stompy, Ken Turner and Duncan Whiteman
Event: Zap presents “The Final Programme…The future of Art”.
Organisers hail 11th Exeter Pride, which turned the City rainbow-coloured on Saturday, May 11, as the biggest and best yet.
MORE than 10,000 people showed their support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT+) communities in the region by taking part.
It was the most colourful march yet, with two 50-metre rainbow flags carried by hundreds of volunteers and lead by the first-ever openly gay Lord Mayor of Exeter, Councillor Rob Hannaford, along with some of the volunteer trustees who run Exeter Pride.
The march also included Street Heat Samba Band, roller skaters, three fire engines, a rainbow-liveried ambulance, Great Western Morris dancers and musicians, police officers and a liveried police car and individuals and representatives from community groups and organisations.
Devon County Council had a gritter lorry which blew bubbles and played music in the march, and there was a sparkling recycling vehicle from Devon Contract Waste.
Also taking part were tribal belly dancers, many people in colourful costumes, a large model of a dog and many businesses, trade union and political party groups and charities.
Thousands of people lined the route to watch the march and listen to the inspiring speech from the Lord Mayor who officially opened the main stage.
The Lord Mayor of Exeter Cllr Rob Hannaford and consort with Exeter Pride sponsor, Elaine Evans (centre).
Alan Quick, co-founder of Exeter Pride, told the audience why he was originally inspired to approach Intercom, the South West LGBT support organisation, to help start the annual event in 2009 and extended thanks to everyone who had supported Exeter Pride from the start.
Alan Quick
He said:“Without the support of previous trustees, volunteers, committee members, sponsors, partners and other supporters, and those currently involved, Exeter Pride would not have grown to what it is today.
“Year-on-year it has grown thanks to the active involvement of so many people.”
He appealed to those present to defend the rights achieved in the UK for LGBT+ people to-date and urged everyone to do all they could to campaign to help other LGBT+ people across the world.
He added:“In 72 countries it is illegal to have a same sex relationship, and in 45 the law is applied to women as well as men.
“The death penalty for any same sex relationship exists in eight countries.
“I want you all to continue to campaign for LGBT rights. Each individual can make a difference.
“Write letters, support charities which do good works.
“Why not support your local pride, become a volunteer or a trustee, or become a sponsor if you are able?
“Remember, by doing good things, individually and collectively, we can all achieve results.”
Main stage included appearances by Devon’s LGBT choir, Spectrum Choir; Alex Ambiguous-A, Rowena, That’ll Be The Day, Arina Fox, The Dillyboys, Baby G and Sound of the Sirens.
A Showcase stage featured local talent acts with an array of performances including cabaret, comedy, drag performance, spoken word and acoustic music.
During the afternoon many other events and activities took place at Exeter Phoenix, Exeter Library, Rougemont Gardens and RAMM, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum.
There was a marketplace with more than 80 stalls, a health zone, family zone, workshops, Gender Diversity Hub, a ceilidh, drumming and many other activities.
The Talk Zone included two panel debates in Exeter Library.
There was information from local, national and international organisations, demonstrations and fun activities.
Openly gay MP for Exeter Ben Bradshaw was among those who attended the event.
The Gandy Street Traders and Vaults Bar and Club put on entertainment in Gandy Street in the form of music and a drag catwalk competition while celebrations continued into the evening at Exeter Phoenix.
Adam Rank
Adam Rank, chairman of Exeter Pride, said that Exeter Pride was a key annual event in the city’s calendar, revealed that the 10th Exeter Pride had been judged Event of the Year in the latest Exeter Living Awards and how proud he personally was that Exeter Pride continued to be a grass roots community festival, while being one of the largest free Pride events in the UK, existing without large scale public funding.
He said:“It was a superb community event, with a great atmosphere, and it was wonderful to have so many local businesses involved.”
He thanked everyone involved in helping stage this year’s event.
Plans are already underway for the 12th Exeter Pride in 2020. Anyone who wants to be involved is invited to get in touch by emailing: chair@exeterpride.co.uk.
You can also follow on Twitter: @exeterpride or Facebook: Facebook.com/exeterpride .
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