Networking
Membership in various networks and platforms around the LGBT+ topic is highly important to our work. It brings us not only valuable contacts but also experience and information.
ILGA-Europe
The international organisation represents nearly 700 associations, groups and entities from 54 countries in Europe and Central Asia. It was founded in 1996 and is part of ILGA-World, which has existed since 1978.
ILGA-Europe is the driving force behind the political, legislative and societal changes by organising seminars for LGBT+ activists and campaigners and workshops, providing advice and financial contributions. Its vision is a world where dignity, freedom and full human rights are secured for all, regardless of orientation, gender identity, etc. Representatives of Prague Pride participate in the annual conference.
EPOA – European Pride Organisers Association
This is a network of European lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex organisations that organise Pride festivals. It was founded in 1991 as a joint initiative of pride festivals in Amsterdam, Berlin and London. Today it has more than 100 member teams from over 40 countries. EPOA’s goal is to promote Pride festivals, which it sees not only as a celebration but as an essential part of the LGBT+ rights movement, on a pan-European level. At annual meetings, it enhances the skills of member organisations through training, seminars and workshops. EPOA came up with the concept of EuroPride, a major pan-European Pride event held annually in a different city each year. EuroPride has not yet been held in the Czech Republic, but never say never.
PROUD – Platform for Equality, Recognition and Diversity
This Czech platform focuses on lobbying, legislative change and public awareness of LGBT+ issues. The basic starting point for all of its activities is the belief that people are free and equal in their dignity and rights without any distinctions. The vision of the association is a Czech society where sexual orientation and identity are not a decisive factor in the quality of human life. In the past, PROUD has initiated the submission of a proposal bill on adoptions and implemented the Same Family Campaign. Members of the platform are Prague Pride, Charlie, Ollove, STUD Brno and individuals.
NELFA – Network of LGBTIQ* Families Associations
A European network of organisations dedicated to LGBTIQ* families has been operating since 2009. Its purpose is to connect lesbian, gay, bi, trans, intersex and queer parents and their children. The asterisk in the name indicates that NELFA is open to all other possible family constellations. Currently, NELFA is now a network of 41 organisations from 33 countries in Europe. The main objective of NELFA is to ensure that children growing up in rainbow families have the same rights as other children. It encourages European governments to adopt laws and policies that do not discriminate against LGBTIQ* families. Since 2012, member state organizations have celebrated International Family Equality Day on the first Sunday in May. (International Family Equality Day, IFED)
InterPride
InterPride is an international organization that brings together Prides all over the world. It was founded in 1982 in Boston originally as an association of gay and lesbian pride in the United States. However, it has gradually added members and since 1997, it has become a global organisation also focusing on bi and trans issues. InterPride organises an annual conference (in cooperation with EPOA), nominates cities to host WorldPride, and publishes the PrideLife yearbook.
Pride Business Forum
The Pride Business Forum is an initiative that aims to promote both employers in implementing LGBT+ diversity principles, as well as the right of all employees for fair treatment by their employers, regardless of relationship orientation and gender identity.
Coalition for Marriage
In 2016, Prague Pride initiated the formation of a coalition consisting of organizations dedicated to LGBT+ issues. The founding organizations are: Amnesty, Logos Czech Republic, Mezipatra, Prague Pride, PROUD and Queer Geography. The coalition works to implement the We Are Fair campaign, aiming to open marriage to gay and lesbian couples in the Czech Republic.
The initiative has been running since the spring of 2017 and has had a number of successes, such as 75,000 signatures on a petition for marriage for all and the introduction of a bill in the Chamber of Deputies in June 2018.
Festas
The Festas collective brings together the biggest and most interesting music festivals in the Czech Republic and provides feedback to the state authorities to prevent the adoption of legislation that disproportionately burdens the festivals. Through our membership in the association, in addition to monitoring current trends on the festival scene, we also maintain relationships with other festivals and gain new inspirations.