NYC Taiwanese Queer Activities

LBT organizing in China reportback - 12/3

Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Organizing in China -- A Reportback from Lala Camps 2008

Come hear about exciting current LBT organizing efforts in China from New Yorkers who participated in five regional Organizer Training Camps Chengdu, Kunming, Beijing, Anshan and Shanghai this past October! We'll discuss recent victories, highlights and challenges raised by queer Chinese activists from a wide range of experiences and geographical regions.

Wednesday, December 3rd
7-9PM
Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice
116 East 16th Street, 7th Floor, on the corner of Irving Place
212.529.8021
N R 4 5 6 trains to Union Square

Please rsvp to meanirene@gmail.com

"Lala Camp 2008 · Lala Connections" leaps forward

Breaking Regional Boundaries, Fostering Diversity and Cultural Exchange

"Lala Camp 2008 · Lala Connections" is the second annual cross-regional leadership forum. The term "lala" is a local identity embraced by Chinese-speaking communities, used here as an umbrella term to include lesbians, bisexual women, and women-loving transgender people (LBTs).

Building on last year's vision of breaking isolation, "Lala Camp 2008" aims to provide leadership training for even more lala activists and organizations. This year's five-city convenings emphasize programming that closely reflects local needs, the exchange of organizing experience across regions, skills development for grassroots organizers, and the opportunity to interact with winder local & regional communities. These unique gatherings were organized by local lala teams and held in five designated regions of Anshan, Kunming, Chengdu, Beijing, and Shanghai.

One Focus, Five Cities

To better serve the needs of grassroots lala organizations from different regions, five local groups took charge of hosting lala camps in each of their cities. While last year's camp was held in one location, "Lala Camp 2008 · Lala Connections" was underscored by in-depth involvement in the local communities, to better understand
local issues and conditions.

Based autonomously on regional needs and interests, topics of training include some of the following: a history of the queer movement, organization building, volunteer management, fundraising and accounting, public education, media and press, working with youth and marginalized queers, and various types of cultural events such as film
screenings, photo exhibits, oral history projects, and book exhibits.

Educating the Public, Reaching Thousands

150 organizers from 35 cities in the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States participated and benefited from the intensive training portion of "Lala Connections. " Delegations of 30 experienced lala activist visitors from Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Mainland, and the U.S., had the unique opportunity for exchange with the local communities.

Through the conference, lala groups in various cities were able to connect with other organizations that address women's, HIV/AIDS/MSM, civil society issues. These groups are invited to cosponsor and attend events in the public portion of the forums, attracting as many as 1,000 people.

After the conclusion of all regional camps, organizing groups and delegates gathered in Shanghai to discuss collectively the need to assemble a coalition structure. Thus, the "Chinese Lala Alliance" was founded at this meeting for the joint purpose of providing a sustainable framework for leadership training, resource sharing and
organizational development in Chinese lala communities.

"Lala Camp 2008 · Lala Connections" was planned by Beijing Common Language, the Gender/Sexuality Rights Association of Taiwan, the Women Coalition of Hong Kong, and the Institute for Tongzhi Studies in New York. Regional host groups included Beijing "les+" Magazine, Shanghai Nvai Lesbian Group, Chengdu Les'GO, Kunming Tong Hua She, and Anshan Lala Yizhan.

November 5th, 2008


2008年北京拉拉營培訓課程，北京拉拉營為今年拉拉營的五個分站之一。

新聞稿

拉拉串串 女同志領導力培訓

突破地域 開展多元文化交流

"2008拉拉營·拉拉串串"爲第二屆跨區域的女同志培訓活動。今年重點在於根據當地拉拉需求開發設計活動培訓、跨區域組織者的經驗交流、基層組織工作者能力培訓、瞭解當地拉拉社區文化。本屆特別安排在鞍山、昆明、成都、北京、上海等五個地區進行，吸引了150位來自35個城市的拉拉組織志願者進行深度培訓。她們來自中國大陸，臺灣，香港及美國等地。

"拉拉串串"沿襲去年拉拉營的宗旨，旨在對於拉拉社團領導力培訓。這里拉拉是涵蓋性辭彙，意指包括女同性戀、雙性戀和跨性別等多樣性/性向的女性。

五地拉拉營 別具意義

爲了配合來自不同地區之女同志草根組織的需要，今年特別由五地承辦五個拉拉營，有別于去年集中在一個營區進行，深入社區瞭解當地需求，努力促進多元文化交流。

培訓課程內容同樣經過精心策劃，包括同志運動史介紹、組織搭建，專案開展，志願者招募與管理、資金籌集與財務管理，公衆教育，媒體技巧，青少年及邊緣同志的支援；及各式各樣的文化活動：如電影展，照片展、口述史、及圖書展等。

公衆教育 面向千人

各地女同志小組，藉由"2008拉拉營拉拉串串"，與公民社會、艾滋病運動、及婦女組織等進行多面向的交流，當中參與的公衆更達千人。

"2008拉拉營拉拉串串"組委會由北京同語，臺灣性別人權協會，香港女同盟會及紐約華人性別研究中心共同籌備。地方承辦小組由北京les+，上海女愛，成都les愛心工作小組，昆明同話舍，及鞍山拉拉驛站工作組組成。到訪五地的訪問員是來自美國、臺灣、香港的資深同運人士30人。本次活動在2008年10月 16~27日期間在鞍山，昆明，成都，北京，上海等五個地區舉行。活動結束後，促成了"華人拉拉聯盟"的成立。此必將持續推動華人地區女同志的培訓及組織發展。

2008年11月5日

posted by longtimeago @ 10:07 AM