Our Annual Conference 2022: Photo Essay
From October 20 to 22, after a two year wait, we were able to gather for the ILGA-Europe Annual Conference in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia at last. Our photo essay, taken by Ukrainian photographer Marina Bandelyuk, aims to give you a sense of the enthusiastic atmosphere, the vital networking, and the joy of being together as queer activists from across Europe and Central Asia in person once more.
Our Annual Conference was hosted in Sofia by the Bulgarian LGBTI organisations, Bilitis Foundation, Deystvie and Glas Foundation. We would like to thank them for hosting us, and over 350 activists from across the regions ILGA-Europe works with, and a big thank-you also to all the volunteers who helped us keep the conference running so smoothly.
Bringing so many people together for deep and nuanced panels, vital conversations, practical workshops, much-needed networking, meals, entertainment, karaoke and more is no small organisational feat. All of the staff of ILGA-Europe had their roles to play in bringing this all together, but a very special thank-you to Alejandro Hernandez Pulido, Beryl Abols, Anna Shepherd, Nadz, Anastasia Smirnova, and Mehmet Akin for their huge work behind the scenes in the months leading up to the conference, and during our time in Sofia. We, and so many activists, wouldn’t have made it there without you!
Our 2023 conference will take place next October in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, and work has already begun to make it another great gathering of brilliant and committed LGBTI activists and their allies. We look forward to meeting you there next October. In the meantime, we hope our photo essay gives a good picture of the time we had together in Sofia this year.
