As 300 Pride events, and counting, have been called off across Europe, President of the European Pride Organisers Association, Kristine Garina talks about what this will mean for the LGBTI community, and how we can come together to rise to this critical challenge.

By last weekend the number of LGBTI Pride events impacted by COVID-19 reached 300. In every region of the world, the hard-working and dedicated volunteers who lead these events have had to make the devastating decision to cancel or postpone their 2020 Pride, and in Europe more than 150 have been affected already, including EuroPride in Thessaloniki, Tbilisi Pride in Georgia, and Baltic Pride in Estonia.

I imagine that everyone reading this blog has been to a Pride march or at least knows of their importance. Every Pride changes lives, and for some people will be the first time in their lives that they have felt loved, included, valued, cherished, and part of a community. And it’s that impact, that opportunity to create love and solidarity, which will sustain the Pride movement through this year and beyond COVID-19.

The challenge ahead

But it is going to be a challenge. Like most civil society organisations in our sector, the vast majority of Prides are poorly-funded and only just manage to raise the funds they need each year to deliver their events. COVID-19 is adding to costs, because some Prides are having to pay suppliers for cancelled contracts, and others are not getting money from funders and sponsors. The impact may be that some Pride organisations become insolvent and close down.

As a consequence, the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) has been urging its members to think about financial resilience: how can Pride organisations adapt their plans for 2020 to ensure the organisation can be sustained beyond COVID-19? This might involve frank and honest discussions with funders, municipalities, sponsors and partners. Suppliers might be asked to move contract dates rather than to cancel and incur costs. And for some — perhaps not now, but in the future — it might include asking the community to give financial support. It can also mean considering whether their 2020 event is cancelled or postponed — and being frank in communications with their community. Many Prides are considering online events as an alternative, enabling their LGBTI community to participate, albeit at a reduced level.

At EPOA, we’ve also been signposting our members to the resources from ILGA-Europe, ILGA World and other partner organisations. There are some great resources being developed for civil society organisations, many of them relevant and useful to Pride organisers.

The needs of our communities

It’s become clear that the needs resulting from COVID-19 are not just practical and financial but also emotional, as the impact takes a very personal toll on people. We’ve been organising a weekly online ‘meetup’ for our members to come together, chat and socialise, simply providing a place for friends and colleagues to come together. Checking in on each other is really critical at this time.

At a global level we’ve been working with our partner InterPride — the worldwide Pride network — to coordinate our movement’s international response to COVID-19. We have a team with representatives from Pride networks all over the world meeting weekly to discuss the impact in each region, and what resources and support is needed. We are delivering a series of webinars on various topics including crisis communications and mental health and wellbeing.

We’re also now developing Global Pride, which will take place on Saturday 27 June. Over 24 hours, from the far east to the far west, Pride organisations will deliver speeches, human rights activism and advocacy, musical performances and entertainment via a live stream, accessible by anyone with a smartphone, tablet or television anywhere in the world. Every Pride will be included and in the coming weeks we’ll be asking LGBTI organisations to submit suggestions for content they can provide, and we look forward to collaborating with ILGA Europe and its members. Global Pride has the potential to reach millions of people and bring our community together in these unprecedented and challenging times.

After our blog on crisis communication, ILGA-Europe hosted a Q&A call for LGBTI groups to share experiences and advice on communicating clearly during the COVID-19 crisis. Here is a summary and 60-second video of five lessons we learned from each other on that call.

Our call focused on how to communicate about COVID-19 from the perspective of an LGBTI group, but we repeatedly discussed how it is not possible to completely separate communications from other organisational tasks. How your organisation acts externally and internally during a crisis is your crisis communication, and it does not matter if your COVID-19 statement says one thing if your actions communicate something else.

With this in mind, ILGA-Europe is developing a rounded response package to help the LGBTI movement ‘Protect, Adapt, and Rally’ through the COVID-19 crisis. You can find many more resources on questions such as digital security, adapting activities, remote working, and financial management on our website — with more to come.

Every crisis is different (do you know any organisation that started 2020 anticipating this scenario?), but the process for effective crisis communication is often exactly the same. In fact, the reason why some groups respond well to crises is arguably because they follow the same process, whatever the crisis — having a routine to follow can help give you structure to respond to the unpredictable.

Many participants in the call had different questions, but the first steps to take were often the same:

? Be brief

? Focus on the facts

? Stay human

? Test it from your audience’s perspective

Our initial blog on crisis communication has more detail on how to follow those tips, specifically for LGBTI groups during COVID-19.

During the Q&A, we annotated an example together — a mailout that a foundation in the USA had sent their audience. While our participants saw a lot of positives (“clear”, “urgent”, “all the important information for customers”), we also started to pick apart all the things it could do better (“not empathetic”, “not very two-way”, “no contact for follow-up questions”).

That’s not because it is a bad piece of communication. We chose it precisely because it is a good example sent very early on in the crisis from a small organisation with a communications capacity that is more relatable for most of ILGA-Europe’s members. But it is normally easier to spot what someone else has missed out, or what is not clear to you, than it is to see in your own work.

There are two actions that come out of this lesson for all of us:

? Ask someone who was not involved in writing the communication to test it from your audience’s perspective.

? Forgive ourselves for the things we will probably miss in our own communications. As long as we remember to stay human, our audiences will understand that humans make mistakes under pressure. We are all in this together.

The LGBTI movement is strong, deeply connected and has much learning that can help the world at this time. We have the resilience, creativity and solidarity to strengthen society’s response to the pandemic, and so many of our questions can be answered by each other. Here are examples of participants in the call helping each other on crisis communications:

Questions and tips from the call

“How do we maintain activities but not look like we don’t care about people, or the importance of the virus?”

? Repeat the official general advice from your local health authorities (do not assume that people have already heard enough of this).

? Emphasise that you are continuing your activities because of the crisis and explain why people need it at this moment. Do not talk as if you are continuing activities in spite of the crisis or it could sound like you are selfishly pursuing ‘distractions’.

? Include a (short!) message about why you care (do not just state that you care) to help your audiences understand and empathise with your motivations.

“What about those who are left without money, jobs, or who are at risk of remaining on the street?”

? Prioritise communication directly to those who are most vulnerable and marginalised.

? Governments still have an obligation to protect people and you can hold them accountable for human rights during this crisis. ILGA-Europe has created briefings on advocacy for affected LGBTI groups and legal obligations of states in our ‘Protect’ resources for COVID-19 response.

? Pay attention to minorities who may have an additional language barrier. In one country the government is over-reliant on TV, and there was a role for civil society to work with specific communities on a local level.

Ideas from the call

Participants shared some ideas with each other about their actions so far:

? “What we did was talk about our feelings about the new situation during our online events for the first two weeks and then moved on to other topics, thinking it might be too much to talk about constantly about the virus.”

? “We developed a series of new events on Zoom. Interviews like ’10 uncomfortable questions’, psychological and informational training, support groups, lectures. And we try to involve people in the process as much as possible.”

? “Thinking of alternatives for Prides, etc — we reorganised our theatre initiative as an online initiative. We could share links to this online and think about subtitles and translations.”

? “Due to corona we had to cancel all the workshops we were going to do on the concept of building a new queer centre, but we got consultants to help turn it into a survey, and then an online workshop on Zoom where we worked in small groups on the results of the survey.”

Moving from crisis communication to proactive communication

Some questions moved from reactive crisis communications to questions about how to proactively campaign during this crisis. ILGA-Europe will be sharing more about how we can ‘adapt and rally’, but in the meantime do you have suggestions for these questions?

? We are trying to transform a three-day queer activist camp to an online course — how do we make sure this is effective when we don’t have experience of organising interactive activities online?

? How do we get through to the media and stakeholders when all attention is focused on COVID-19?

? Now that everyone is organising initiatives online, how do we make sure ours doesn’t get lost in the mix?

As the world is rapidly forced to change our daily working practices, this Q&A call itself was a chance to experiment. We had so many registrants and attendees that we had to change format at the last minute, but we managed to keep a couple of activities which helped visualise where everybody was coming from, and give everybody a chance to see each other’s feedback, live. It is obviously not the same as being in a room together, but it helps replace some of the benefits of all being able to see each other’s faces and each other’s post-it notes on flipchart paper.

Our combination of Google Slides and Zoom was inspired by Training to Change, which is a great place to find templates and tips for online (and offline) facilitation.

The last words should go to the participants — thank-you for taking part in this experiment and supporting each other, we hope to do more with you soon.

“I’m taking away… ‘adapt not postpone’, a very important message, which is well received!”

“I’m taking away… ‘society is only as strong as the weakest person in society’.

“I’m still not sure about… Zoom security and best tools for online activities.”

“I’m still not sure about… activities for people who don’t like cameras or video chat.”

“I would like more… specific examples from different countries of successful online activities, bringing the community together, advocacy, etc.”

“I would like more… meetings like this.

Do you have other questions about communications as an LGBTI activist? Join our new Facebook group for LGBTI activists in Europe and Central Asia who focus on communication as (part of) their role.

The COVID-19 crisis is having far-reaching effects on now our organisations are working. ILGA-Europe are adapting and finding new ways to continue our work using online platforms and resources. Our Finance and Admin team have brought together a really great resource for online financial management througout this time of lockdown, and here they share their top tips.

COVID-19 is having far-reaching consequences for LGBTI communities and organisations, but despite this time of unprecedented turbulence for the world, the human rights of LGBTI people must continue to advance. While you may currently be focussed on understanding what the immediate future looks like for your organisation and your activities, don’t forget to dedicate some time to thinking through how you are going to continue operating your finances and administration during this time.

Money matters. What matters even more is the proper management of money. A global crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates even more the importance of robust financial systems thanks to which an organisation can continue to operate despite external changes. Isolation measures in place in most countries will require a shift to digital culture in your organisation, and it must be done with people involved in finance and operations.

In most cases, you and your accountant currently don’t have physical access to your office, financial documents and computer systems. Digitalising and revamping your administration might be an unexpected outcome of these difficult times.

ILGA-Europe has gathered some tips on how to stay on top of the practical side of keeping your organisation running during the pandemic. Here are some of our key pieces of advice, and you can download our full booklet, complete with handy links to a range of free resources you can use, at the link at the end of this blog.

1. Use Cloud Based Storage

Without access to physical files, consider moving your documentation to online cloud-based storage that gives just the same, if not better, possibilities to file according to projects, funders, accounting codes — you name it. If you want to limit the hassle, use systems that allow for shared editing of documents and making annotations like “funded by…” or “paid”.

2. Adapt your forms

Think about how to adapt your regular financial and administrative forms for use in a digital (non-paper) format. Loose invoices or receipts floating around your cloud or mailbox will just make things more confusing.

3. Limit your cash operations

Use bank transfers. Move your checks and balances into digital format. For example, maintain regular cash reconciliations, reviewing bank accounts etc. online. That way you’ll pick up early if there’s something wrong!

4. Harness the full power of spreadsheets

Whether you use accounting software or not, it will no longer be easy or even possible to track payments by looking into physical files and documents. The key to your organisation financially healthy during this pandemic will be to harness the full power of spreadsheets (and other software, if you have it) to maintain control not just of your accounts, but also your budgeting and reporting.

5. Keep on top of your cashflow

Given the crisis, you might forget to keep aside enough money for salaries, or forget that a big invoice from a thing you did a month ago is coming your way. We recommend you update your cash flow situation at least monthly, including the amounts on all possible cash and bank account balances, status of received funds and expenditure. The longer you leave it to do these types of regular checks, the harder it will be to back-track later to locate missing funds.

6. Get with e-timesheets

In case payroll was not done digitally before in your organisation, take the time to go through the entire process and think about the steps needed for them to be replicated in a virtual format. Ensure that timesheets or records of leave are e-approved following your usual practices.

7. Keep funders informed

It is always important to keep your funders informed and up-to-speed with any changes to project activities and/or budget lines. In the current crisis, it is likely that you will need to make changes to your project activities and budget, and communicating about them with your funders is key. Conditions for reallocation and eligibility of costs might be quite different from one funder to another.

8. Use digital signatures

Digital signatures are widely accepted nowadays so consider using them when approving costs and signing documents. However, get in touch with your funders first if you plan to make significant changes to the way you approve, process and prepare documents. Your funder is more likely to accept “unusual” methods if they have been consulted in advance.

9. Assess your risks

When doing your risk assessment, don’t forget to include financial and administrative risks, and think about how these will affect your cash flow and ability to deliver activities.

10. Reach out for emergency funding

It is better to plan for the possibility that the current situation will continue for some time. There is no harm in reaching out to your funders to explore what emergency funds might be available, or asking them on advise for alternative funding if your community has specific emerging needs relating to the crisis.

As part of our ‘Protect, Adapt and Rally’ package, please find below an overview of leading pro bono service providers and clearing houses that are offering their services to LGBTI organisations in finding solutions to the consequences of COVID 19 at the organisational level and other areas of LGBTI rights affected by the pandemic. Please consult the list below on Pro bono legal resources for guidance and support with changed organisational matters and associated impact of COVID 19 to find best catering for your needs.

The COVID-19crisis is generating complex challenges for the day-to-day work of LGBTI activist organisations, while it has become clear the global reaction to the virus is hitting marginalised communities disproportionally hard. ILGA-Europe’s three part plan seeks to help LGBTI organisations navigate and adapt to a constantly changing landscape, and work towards the time when the immediate crisis has passed.

The human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people must continue to advance, despite this time of unprecedented turbulence for the world, and in particular, we must pay attention to people on the intersections in our communities who are particularly affected. With this in mind, the work at ILGA-Europe is adapting and carrying on. We continue to be committed to our members, to the movement, and to the purpose of the work that needs to be done.

The LGBTI movement is strong, deeply connected and has much learning that can help the world at this time. We have the resilience, creativity, and solidarity to strengthen society’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and together create a better world for all of us on the other side.

This is ILGA-Europe’s plan to support our movement through this crisis :

1. Protect

We are already seeing the impact of the crisis on people who are underprivileged or marginalised. Our first priority is to support LGBTI groups looking after their communities by:

? Supporting organisations to support and protect LGBTI communities through these times

? Providing advice and resources on communicating clearly during crisis

? Providing advice and resources on effective financial management through the crisis

? Role modelling best practice in funder flexibility for groups at financial risk through our regranting

? Continuing to carry out our important monitoring, documentation and advocacy work to protect LGBTI people in Europe and Central Asia, including specific assessment of the impact and challenges of the pandemic for our members and the community

2. Adapt

Our working principle is to adapt to new working situations and conditions and to the new needs of the LGBTI community which arise as the COVID-19 crisis continues and beyond. We will support LGBTI groups to adapt to this new and unprecedented situation by:

? Advising on transitioning to remote communication, campaigning and organising

? Providing tech support and training on digital tools, online security and privacy

? Programmatic advice on how to adapt your strategy and activities to the new reality

? Offering advice on how to change advocacy focus and strategies to adapt to the current situation

3. Rally

When the unimaginable happens, it forces all of us to reimagine how the world could work. We can change the way the world sees LGBTI people, our rights and our place in society. We will first work on protection and adaption — then, in a few weeks from now, we hope to continue our journey with you to…

? Work on reframing equality in the current context

? Access funding for emerging needs

? Strategise for effective online campaigning

? Find new ways to effectively rally and campaign online

? Explore and provide new ways for the movement to come together to learn from each other and mutually support

? Strengthen the intersectional lens in all our advocacy work even more, ensuring we tackle the inequality crisis we are facing and including the most marginalised of our communities

In every activist organisation, previously solid plans are up in the air as we adapt to a new and never before experienced working landscape. With more questions than answers on the table, our Programmes Director, Bjorn Van Roozendaal shares some tips for rethinking 2020.

Never before have activist organisations felt as challenged in planning our work as we do now. Many of you are asking the same questions: Will we still be able to organise key meetings and events later this year? What will happen with our advocacy work or our campaigns during the rest of 2020? How will our changed work plans affect funding streams for specific areas of work that can’t be done now?

We all have more questions than answers at this moment, and it’s going to take some time before we have all the answers we need. In the meantime, here are some key organisational tips, based on how ILGA-Europe are adapting our work plan for 2020.

1. Don’t reschedule everything

If your current thinking is that all activities that were supposed to happen over the coming couple of months can simply be organised for later in the year, you are walking straight into a trap of your own making. Remember how busy last autumn was? Add your spring plans to that and you will see that this way of thinking is setting your team up for failure and burnout. Also, remember that for everybody else, the coming autumn is going to be super busy too.

2. Understand your risks

We all have planned activities that are core to our roles as civil society organisations, which include larger gatherings, along with numerous smaller events, advocacy work and media campaigns. At ILGA-Europe, to help us assess what risks might be associated with organising activities, we’re asking ourselves the following questions:

• For physical events: What travel restrictions could still be in place? Do we impose potential health risks on people if we bring them together? If yes, can social distancing be realised? Can we move meetings online?
• Advocacy and campaigning: Are our actions responding to the current needs of our communities? What does the political/public landscape currently look like, and is this the right time to further a particular agenda? Some work might simply continue, such as litigation work. Other work might need to be slightly adapted if it is to remain relevant.
• Fundraising: How appropriate does a fundraising campaign seem under these circumstances? Does our fundraising work legitimately respond to community needs at this moment in time?

3. Reassess your priorities

The virus is impacting on our teams and communities, and priorities are changing. Working from home, we might not be as productive as when we are in the office, so this has to be taken into account, as does the mental wellbeing of our teammates. At ILGA-Europe our priority continues to be making sure that team members are and feel supported; only then we can focus rethinking the work at hand.

Doing new things to respond to emerging needs means that you will need to let go of some activities that you had planned. It is important to discuss this in your team and make group decisions so that you can make the changes you need to make and adapt your work plan to remain relevant to our movements and communities. When reassessing your work plan, it’s important to ask the following questions:

• What are activities that need to continue? This is work that continues to be relevant to the community and our movement. Keep it!
• What are the activities that we can drop? For a variety of reasons, some activities might no longer be relevant to our work. Cancel!
• What are emerging needs? Our community might need us in different ways as a result of the crisis. Name those needs and discuss what you can do. Organise!

As the situation in our countries continues to change, remind yourself that it’s still only April and you have time to change our annual work plan. Set a clear date when you will reassess your work plan with the team, to make sure that you keep on track.

4. Talk to funders

Some funders might have already reached out to you asking how they can help your organisation during this difficult period. Others might not have. It is important that you engage with funders at an early stage, asking them how much flexibility is possible. Tell them what work no longer make sense and what new needs /realities you need to respond to. Make them part of the thinking, so that you build support and understanding for any major shifts in your initial plans. Most funders will want to approve any changes before you can start working on them, so don’t wait with getting in touch!

5. Build a future picture

The COVID-19 crisis raises big questions about the future of this world and our work. At ILGA-Europe, we have decided to first focus on the things that we can control: our work now and in the near future. The question leading our current work: What support to activists is most urgent and can be quickly provided. Meanwhile, we’re having as many conversations as possible with activists, institutions, other civil society organisations and funders as possible, so that we slowly start building a better picture of how this work will influence our work in the longer run. We are accepting that we don’t have full clarity on this yet, that this will take time, but the future of our work in a changed world is part of our overall thinking, as it should be everyone’s.

There will be more space in the coming months to think about the future, but now is the right time to focus on getting clarity for yourself and your team. It is very likely that you will end up with a different work plan for this year and that you may need to adapt your plans again in a few weeks or months from now. Now is the time to create space with your team to discuss what work makes the most sense for you and your organisation right now. Check out more here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hoaU8FgSY/

Amid the global outbreak of COVID-19, the fight for the human rights of LGBTI people doesn’t take a break, but how can activists and organisations connect and do their best work from kitchen tables? ILGA-Europe member organisation, All Out, has some answers.

Just weeks ago, many of us didn’t imagine that we would find ourselves working from home for an uncertain period. Like everyone else, LGBTI activists and organisations are learning to cope with the current unprecedented situation and adjusting to new routines.

Working remotely might be a sudden new norm for many of us, but for others, it’s business as usual. The staff of All Out, a member organisation of ILGA-Europe that fights for LGBT+ rights around the world, are used to operating virtually every day. Based in home-offices in London, New York, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Milan and more, they’re sharing their top tips for working together virtually and productively across timezones.

Online Chats

1. Avoid asking critical questions or assigning critical tasks on chat.

People don’t review group chats all the time and might miss your message.

2. Start a separate chat.

If you need to have a chat conversation in which one or more people in the group doesn’t need to be included, start a separate chat with the people you need to talk to.

3. Make sure you’re using the correct chat room.

Creating different chat rooms for different core groups is a great idea for not overwhelming people with messages, but always make sure to double-check to make sure you are messaging in the correct group chat.

Group Calls

1. Assign a facilitator for each team meeting.

These can be assigned in rotating fashion if needed. The facilitator will be in charge of bringing up the important points of discussion to the meeting.

2. Keep an updated document.

It’s good for people to be able to see the meeting points, so they can be prepared for the discussion and raise any assignments or updates.

3. Create a protocol for communicating.

You want to avoid people talking over each other. You can use a simple ‘hand raised’ protocol to call out each person when you are discussing any items.

4. Mute yourself when not speaking.

Background noise can kill a conference call.

Check-ins

Following a pattern will help everyone get in the right headspace and prioritise the correct items. Some examples are:

1. Weekly team meetings.

Gather the full team to go over important work items for the week.

2. Department team meetings.

Dedicated meetings for different departments or sub-groups in your team. This can be done once a week as well, depending on need.

3. Daily huddles for smaller groups.

A shorter daily check-in on priorities and pending items.

4. Weekly or bi-weekly check-ins with supervisors.

These should be set up for each team member.

Check out these top tips from our management team as they tell their personal stories of suddenly finding themselves working from home.

As with many in these unprecedented times, the staff of ILGA-Europe are working from home for the foreseeable future. However, we’re not working alone. Through messaging apps, video-conference software and e-mails, we’re staying connected, holding meetings, taking care of each other and even sharing virtual lunches!

Just because the world is consumed by what’s happening with Covid 19, it doesn’t mean that the work stops. At ILGA-Europe we continue to work in solidarity with our member organisations across 54 countries in Europe and Central Asia, we are committed to doing the work, and we are finding new ways to do it! Here, the members of our management team share their personal stories of working at home, and give some genuinely great tips!

Evelyne Paradis, Executive Director

In the current context, I keep reminding myself how fortunate and privileged I am to be able to work from home. Not only because I have a comfortable house and a well-equipped space to work from, but also because it means that I have a job that allows me to continue to work in a moment when so many are losing their jobs.

This doesn’t mean that the sudden and drastic shift to going fully remote is not affecting me at all. While being so incredibly grateful for all the technology available nowadays that allows us to stay connected and talk with each other, it requires an adjustment in terms of how we communicate and organise ourselves in the ILGA-Europe team (and I am as always so impressed by our team and how we rise to the challenges!). For me, the big adjustment this week has been to figure out how to work while being present and taking care of my eight-year-old, who’s also quite at a loss with all the changes in the world. We’re slowly figuring out our new rhythm!

If I had a piece of advice to give, it would be first to create a routine for yourself — whatever works best for you — and try to keep to it. It helps calm the mind and set boundaries between work time and leisure time. And more importantly, don’t expect to be doing as much as you would in the office. In regular circumstances, most of us will not be as productive, or productive in the same way, when working remotely every day. So, we need to be good with ourselves about what we expect to do these extraordinary times.

Overall, I am forcing myself to look for opportunities in these unprecedented times, such as opportunities to slow down, to think and do pieces of work I feel I never have enough time to do. Finding the silver-lining and setting my mind to think about everything that can be learned from the current situation helps me to keep my spirits up.

Katrin Hugendubel, Advocacy Director

Working from home, I am not alone. There are four of us, which is great. You don’t get lonely, yet sometimes…

As we learned schools would be closed, we made plans over the weekend, schedules that would keep us all busy, healthy and sane. At dinner of day one, we were all very proud. We made it work together, we took care of each other and even had fun. And I got work done.

It’s the afternoon of day two and I am moving around frantically, as there is yet another Zoom call with my colleagues, and the internet connection is unstable. Kid One did not have enough lunch and wants biscuits (which I just hand over — it’s not a time for principles). Father and Kid Two are arguing downstairs over how to clean the floor. Kid Two attempts to rope me in as a judge. All this while I am trying to follow a Zoom conversation that is repeatedly disconnecting.

The phone battery is running low, the charger is in the other room and Kid One just hit a new record with the Rubik cube that I should appreciate. I am finding it harder and harder to follow the conversation and stay engaged.

Oh, the zoom 40-minute time limit is up-we need to reconnect yet again.

My tip for working from home? Stay kind with yourself and others, don’t force it — and if you can, get a room of one’s own with a good wifi connection!

Björn van Roozendaal, Programmes Director

Early in the week, I started drafting a daily schedule for myself, to create some structure. I try to begin the day with a walk outside and then have breakfast, after which I work for the rest of the morning. The best thing about working from home is to have my own coffee and to be able to take my daily shower at whatever time suits me best. Around midday, I cook lunch for my boyfriend and myself and relax a bit, after which I work for the rest of the afternoon. With my gym, we agreed to continue our regular classes, albeit on Zoom.

Beyond that, my boyfriend and I also have agreed that I need to take calls in a separate room so that I won’t disturb him.

Our team has agreed on fixed moments to check-in with each other — twice a week with the whole team, and regularly with each other. We also agreed to use WhatsApp more often for work and non-work chats. Not only is it important that we keep each other posted about work issues, but since many of us are originally not from Belgium, we also want to take care of each other during these strange times. Building this structure into each day is important for me so that I can protect some boundaries between work and my private life during these times.

Brian Finnegan, Communications Director

Last Friday, when Brussels suddenly told us schools, cafés and restaurants would be closing, I made the stressful decision to take a flight to my home country of Ireland. My mother is in her eighties and with an underlying condition, and I wanted to be there to take care of her, not stuck in Belgium if the next news was that the borders were closing.

So now I’m working from the West of Ireland, where outside my window a fine rain falls on a mountainside, the house is heated by a turf fire, and St. Patrick’s Day this year was historic because the pubs were closed.

Working from home for me is an exercise in self-discipline. In my office, I can concentrate and keep up with the business and busy-ness of the comms team. At home, I keep thinking I should get up and make coffee, or see what’s on TV, or pick up my book. I keep having to remind myself that I am working and it’s no less busy.

It’s only been three days and I miss my colleagues. My team and I meet every morning on Zoom and along with organising our work, we reassure each other. It’s a strange time for us all, and the need for human connection is great, especially if you are living alone. Video calls will have to suffice for face-to-face connections, and I’m glad to have it. You can’t see people smiling via email. We’ve also set up a virtual office in Slack, and slowly I think our entire team will get used to communicating in real-time there.

My tip for working at home is to get away from the desk (or the kitchen table) for five minutes every half hour. Walk around the room, open a window and breathe in some fresh air, make a coffee — just do something to make you move. And plan some treats for when you finish your day, like a Netflix binge, a classic movie, or a long call with a friend. I’m having wine-time with a gang of friends on Friday evening on Zoom! Give yourself little things to look forward to.

Chaber, Financial Director

Just to state the obvious: working from home can be boring and isolating, even for introverts. In my case, I just moved to a new apartment and haven’t yet finished painting or unpacking, so living and working among boxes can be frustrating. The other day I spent 45 minutes digging through stuff to find an extension cable so I could have my laptop plugged in without having to jump over the cord every time I move. The cat being insistent on attention all the time is not entirely helpful either, even if cute.

However, home-working can also allow you to do things you otherwise can’t enjoy daily. One of my highlights was taking a group call from my balcony, sitting in the sunshine and eating ice cream (purchased responsibly earlier while maintaining #socialdistance). Another perk is watching Harry Potter movies over coffee or cigarette breaks — one of those things lasts roughly the entire day if you watch ten minutes at a time.

I guess, above all else, the key point is to give yourself a break and allow some time to adapt. It’s a crisis situation and it might last a while. Open yourself up to re-thinking what you do, along with how you do it. This is a chance for us to grow and to refocus our attention where it really matters and where it is possible to move forward for the benefit of our communities and movements. We’ll not only get used to it, we will get great at it.

Anna Shepherd, Partnerships Manager

I’m usually not a fan of working from home, so I’ve been surprised how painless transferring to remote working has been. Virtual meetings have been smooth and connections work well. There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding everything at the moment, like not knowing whether events planned for later in the year will have to be cancelled or not, and a lot of re-prioritising and planning to do.

However some pros of working from home so far have been learning and trying out new virtual tools, finally having timepieces of work that require thinking and research, and spending the day with my furry assistant (or manager, if you ask him), Oliver the cat. My top tip for working at home? Make a schedule that you more or less stick to every day, to help keep a boundary between work and other life even when in isolation.

We are living through a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty. We know that everyone is grappling with how best to respond to this rapidly changing reality, wondering how to navigate these unsettling times. 

There are many unknowns and concerns about our communities, especially the most vulnerable, will be impacted.  

This is why ILGA-Europe is committed to making sure our vital work carries on. We continue to be committed to our members, to the LGBTI movement across Europe and Central Asia, and to our core purpose. We are adapting and finding new ways to do our work and will be in communication with you as we go along.

In the meantime, take good care of yourselves, your organisations and each other, and remember, we are stronger together!

Evelyne Paradis, Executive Director of ILGA-Europe

At this time of uncertainty, our vital work at @ILGAEurope carries on. We continue to be committed to our members, to the #LGBTI movement across #Europe & #CentralAsia, & to our core purpose. We are adapting to the circumstances. Remember, we are stronger together! #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/VaHC1ViDJR

— ILGA-Europe (@ILGAEurope) March 18, 2020

At ILGA-Europe we continue to work in #solidarity with our member organisations across 54 countries in Europe and Central Asia. Check out how our staff are working from home these days and their top tips! https://t.co/IKzjseP8WX

— ILGA-Europe (@ILGAEurope) March 20, 2020