Thanks to the efforts of activists from the region, Central Asia was included into the ILGA Europe, Transgender Europe, and now in EL*C. We deliberately strove for this, since for the activists from the region, it is crucial to recognize common experience, problems and solidarity with the countries of Eastern Europe and other post-Soviet republics. However, Central Asia is often included formally, as an example of some “other”, problematic region, where the “eastern” LBQ women need intervention and salvation from the outside.
The purpose of the workshop is to discuss the state, priorities and future of the direction of the lesbian movement in Central Asia and the possibilities of building international coalitions and solidarity in the framework of activities like EL*C. The result of the workshop will be a manifesto / declaration expressing our goals and vision for the future. Among our requirements we have inclusion of Central Asia in the name of the organization / network EL*C (that is, renaming to “European and Central Asian Lesbian Conference*), as well as holding the next conference of the organization in 2021 in one of the cities of Central Asia.