Part IV, 

Impressions of the ILGA Asia Conference,

Bangkok 29-31 of March 2013.

Happy starting the last part of my impressions with a side step again:

One thing I forgot to mention so far. The use of social media while in Bangkok attending the ILGA conference, went trough the roof, and if you know as me with hinsight, what happened, no idear...haha, I only know I had to go back to my room several times a day to recharge my iPhone and as such could only do that in a limited way if I didn't want to miss interesting parts (for me that is) of the conference.

But then my iPhone played part as note book, camera, conference calender, etc. To think that in the so-called old days we walked around with piles of paper, we carried those so-called pilot briefcases with us, sometimes more then one... and now? One device the size of little more then a cigarette case and/or one with the size of a A5 writingblock... if you guys still know what A5 (and 1, 2, 3, 4 etc for that matter) stands for ;-) The participants walked around with maximum a laptop and one thing I would advice the organisers of the 2015 conference: please make sure enough sockets for recharging batteries are at hand all over the place, not only where the meetings take place, but also in the corridors and lobby... seems those are the new ink for all those new pens we carry around with us.

Nowadays modern gear for attending
a conference, so much easier if you know your way with it;-)

To the conference participants: make sure you have your adapter with you, and preferably a spare! ;-)

How much things can change in such a relative short time?!

During the relative early morning, by the look of the number of people then present, I walked into the membership meeting of ILGA and as a (policy)organisation and structure lover, if I can call it that this way, I got fascinated how the ILGA membership went about discussing a Strategy Plan, setting their goals, etc.. The commitment it showed BUT also the preparedness to get as much people involved, respectively behind the chosen path, felt very very good... but then again, at times I also wondered what I could take on face value and what not? But that's maybe the political animal, the cynic.... but I well prefer to take what I experienced on face value because it felt honest and good though not everybody could be made happy, that was clear too.

After I also wittnessed the elections of the new ILGA Asia Board, from a technical point of view about how to conduct such meetings and affairs, things didn't go as they should have, but who was I to comment? Maybe I was just the observer set in his ways and should not do too difficult if everybody present seemed to be happy respectively not too annoyed by the procedures followed. In the end I decided, of course, to happily keep my mouth firmly shut and enjoy a rather good spirited election meeting.

During the closing ceremony the newly elected Board was presented and goodbyes were spoken and applauded for those members who had resigned, specially the two who also had served on the Worldboard of ILGA for the last 7 years.

ILGA Asia and sports

But before we got to the closing ceremony, followed by a true conference party, at last, at Telephone Bar in Soi 4 of Silom Road, there was one more workshop I visited, with AEK, who had gone before: ILGA and sports.

Strangly, this was a rather small gathering but on the other hand, the discussions and exchanges of thoughts were more intense, direct and wonderfully respectfull to all different opinions.

This workshop was requested by a Canadian participant of the conference, who also sits on the Board of the Gay Games, so I was told.

He wanted to talk about how to get people to come to these big sports events, to find out if and so yes where they went wrong and why it was so hard in (SE) Asia.... looking at the Nepal initiative.

Well, happily our Aek, but also the friends present from Malaysia and Phillipines made it clear to him that they already had a sports event, which slowly grows and now has participants from al over SE Asia and beyond.

They also made clear that it was a so called grass roots event, not top down. That publicity, if at all, was non exsistend if they had their yearly Games in a country with a, lets stay politely, less tolerant approach to the LGBT community, also to protect the event and because all participants also enjoyed playing host, even if it ment nightmares for the organisers too, and receiving all their (new) friends. Competition took/takes place in 8/10 sports and is growing and the next host city/country would be Manilla, Phillipines in October 2013!

Our moderator, the Gay Games Board member, was, or acted, but I think he truly was, surprised and very interested how sport was being approached here in SE Asia.

Then to my surprise I was actively drawn into the discussion, exchanges, by a Nepalese long distance runner, who asked for my opinion as being Dutch and our experiences with it all, being such front runners. It was/is humbling when people still look at us Dutch people this way when it comes down to LGBT/SOGI rights and all activities connected with it.

I used this opportunity to support the grass roots set-up aand I combined it with the so-called tupperware parties from the '60/'70 and later (?) in the USA and somewhat also in Europe... these are parties where people come together at someones home and same time one of them or someone specially invited comes to sell them tupperware or whatever while they were all having fun and enjoyed themselves. Nobody the wiser too. I also told how we used this concept in Holland to reach women belonging to certain cultural minorities were talking about hiv and aids was, and still is, taboe so at least they could attend because there husbands/family

wouldn't be the wiser and they could get their education, information, assistance, whatever was needed. This operated pretty succcesfully and in that way we were able to help many otherwise lonely women.

I then made the link to the TSG Games and the role they fullfilled or could easily fullfill regarding SOGI(LGBT) advocacy. Giving the members of our community the chance to meet fellow members while same time respecting the social situation they might be in back home. Those who are still in the closset should be safe to take part too!

Our SE Asian, Chinese and Nepalese friends, supplemented with some Old Dutch, then concluded that these OUT games, World games, Gay Games, Pacific OUT games and whatever else they were cauled, it seemed one for each year, is quickly draining the resources of many athletes in (SE)Asia and quickly turning it into an elite event for the well to do and the general SOGI population, at least in Asia, wouldn't be reached that way! Also it ment a pretty steep inflation of these sports events, in other words, it wouldn't be long before allmost all if not all would loose interest and trow back gay sports many years.

Our moderator stated that this, plus some other things which were mentioned, might have contributed to the failed games of Vancouver.

Regional gay sports events, consisting from one sport to a wide range, could be held every year. Relatively simpely organised and be combined with general gay/SOGI advocacy, culture, etc...as desired or stimulated by the so-called local hosts. That tupperware idear. You can build things up from there, to let's say every 4 years something global.

After all (gay)sports was about bringing people together, to make people more resilient, stronger in achieving their goals. Stimulate our SOGI-community beyond its own believe!

The TSG Games take place every year, Last year, 2012, on Phuket again, it drew in even more participants then before, over 250/300. None of them comercially financed, true amateurs, with or without sponsorships by individuals or organisations to make it all possible for them to attend/participate. With an old Olympic credo still very much alive: its more important to participate then to win! Also my friends explained to our friendly Canadian friend on a question of him, that the whole TSG Games was organised by the host cities sporting activists with maximum some sponsoring from local companies and or private persons, and that the rest of the money needed came from the participants themselves!

Sporters/athletes from some countries have every time they are invited to see how they can get the money, find sponsor(s) etc. while others have to seriously safe money to attend.

Because of the friendship element involved in these TSG Games, it often happens that already on the last day of a games people already have organised sleeping accomodations at the next games with and through present (new) friends!

I made the comparrison with how most gay sportsclubs organised tournaments in Europe and travelled to these eachothers events. It ain't all that different, except here in Asia special fundraising is needed to make it possible for the average SOGI-community member to participate.

It was also mentioned that the TSG Games enjoyed receiving teams and players from elsewhere in Asia and the world, no exclusions. The last games as a result teams and individual players took part from Western Europe as well as the United States.

All participants to this workshop stated, knowing already the outcome of the members meeting earlier on the day, that it would be greatly adviced to see if it could be organised during the upcomming TSG Games of Manilla to have the 2015 TSG Games in the host city of the 6^th ILGA Conference in the same period!

At the end our Canadian friend concluded he had to rewrite most of a report he was preparing to the Board of the Gay Games, taking into account what had been said here at the ILGA conference!

We all said we were much looking forward to receiving this report.

Closing of the 5^th ILGA Asia Conference,

Sunday late afternoon all were ready to get together in the ballroom of the Palazzo Hotel in Bangkok, where the conference took place, for the closing ceremony and to hear who were elected as the new Asia Board of ILGA and who had been elected on the World Board.

The new ILGA Asia board taking in the applaus for their willingness to serve.

For me it was surprising that so many if not all delegates were still present, because the room filled up even more then during the openingceremony.

Next to the presentation of the new Board Members also the next host city was being presented: Taipeh, Taiwan, in October 2015, combining it with the Taiwanese Gay Pride.

The hope was expressed that maybe by that time it would be possible to have one real (!) mass gay wedding during that Gay Pride respectively ILGA Asia conference!

With a long big applaus the conference was closed by the outgoing World Board members wishing everybody not only a safe trip back home but also hoping to see everybody at the closing party at Telephone Bar!

After

The ILGA Asia closing party was also very well attended though some allready had to fly home, like our Vicky. Others had to depart early from it because they had to fly back that night to China and elsewhere because most if not all of these participants had to go back to work the following day! Sadly not all were able to combine it with a short Bangkok holliday.

The next day, while I sat down in the lobby of the conference hotel, it was like one big fare well reception of participants. Because my flight back to Phuket was in the early evening, I was happily able to say goodbye to new friends made. From Palestine, it was interesting to hear how his life was, as a SOGI but also as Palestinian in occupied Jeruzalem, from Bahrein, from Nepal, who told me about his university research, how he managed to get sponsored for his long distance running, the long flight to get to Bangkok (he arrived, in the end, Friday evening instead of Thursday evening) and how his trip back home was looking like. We decided to share the taxi to go to the airport later that day. But also from a wonderfull gentle gay/SOGI pastor from the Phillipines who had decided to found his own LGBT/SOGI Church with its own congregation, expressing the sincere hope he would see us in manilla for the TSG Games in October and hoped that we would be able to raise the money for the Thai/Phuket (volleybal)team to come and play again because they had become of the core of the TSG and it wouldn't be the same without them!

For me it felt like saying my goodbyes, again, to our hopes for the futur. Our hopes for the present and to those who were getting happily ready to fade away in the past, knowing the SOGI/LGBT-torch was enthousiastically carried forward with a stimulating determination!

Note: You will not find any names here in these 4 parts about the ILGA conference. If others have done so on their own sites, fine, but it was hard to tell who should stay unknown and who was comfortable about being in the open so I chose simply to avouid face shots and/or mentioning of names.

Of course the ILGA Asia board members e.o. can be found on their webistes, blogs etc..

I can only hope the readers enjoyed these impressions a little bit BUT please take note, they were from an outsider, observer with limitations but one who enjoyed attending same time though please no buffet-food for him anymore, haha