I was appalled to read that there are such crazy laws against LGBT individuals!
However I should point out that one need not be LGBT to be challenged in terms of safety at a conference venue: I was shouted at in Malpensa airport right after Wikimania 2016, in the presence of a WMF employee who did nothing to stop the shouting, by a Wikimedian who should be a "role model" for his community (given all the authorities he has been conceded); the WMF totally backed the offender and decided that despite my feeling harassed, hurt, intimidated and frustrated, no action need be taken.
[Needless to say I don't put up with hypocrisy and if you ever see me again at a Wikimania or other Wikimedia event it will not be on a WMF scholarship (I've received three). If the WMF supports such unacceptable behavior I want nothing to do with it: I remain faithful to the movement and the movement only, it being by the people for the people.]
Read my full report about the encounter here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants_talk:TPS/Saintfevrier/Wikimania/2016/... (also check out the last paragraph in the Grants tab)
Best of luck in your endeavors to find a safe venue for upcoming Wikimanias and do not tolerate harassment in any form, from anyone. Keep us posted.
Best wishes,
Mina (User:Saintfevrier)
Kefalonia, Greece
----- Original Message ----- From: wikimania-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org To: wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Monday, October 17, 2016 9:34 AM Subject: Wikimania-l Digest, Vol 126, Issue 1
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Today's Topics:
- Re: [Wikimedia-l] LGBT+ safety considerations for conference venues (Pine W)
- Re: [Wikimedia-l] LGBT+ safety considerations for conference venues (Amir Ladsgroup)
- Future Wikimanias (Ellie Young)
- Re: Future Wikimanias (cs)
Message: 1 Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2016 10:26:56 -0700 From: Pine W wiki.pine@gmail.com To: Wikimedia Mailing List wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, Ellie Young eyoung@wikimedia.org, "Wikimania general list (open subscription)" wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] [Wikimedia-l] LGBT+ safety considerations for conference venues Message-ID: CAF=dyJjpcL94jC2U5DDRC=MURi3J9X0CPE+Cx7km2-QpKb0eYQ@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Hi Pax,
My understanding is that WMF is doing a strategic review of Wikimania. If that is correct, considerations like the ones you raise about location could be included in the scope of that review. I'm pinging Ellie with the hope that she can provide information about the status of WMF's thinking about Wikimania, perhaps in a new thread. Wikimania involves significant amounts of time and money, and I am hoping that WMF will develop ways to align Wikimania with WMF and community strategic goals.
Pine
On Oct 16, 2016 08:10, "Pax Ahimsa Gethen" list-wikimedia@funcrunch.org wrote:
Hello all. I had a positive experience at WikiConference North America last weekend, where I gave a talk on transgender issues and Wikipedia.[1] I'm posting because there's an active discussion in Wikipedia Weekly on Facebook about choosing a host country for Wikimania 2018.[2] I am concerned that some of the suggestions are not taking into account the safety of LGBT+ people; not just those attending the conference, but also those living in the host country.
As a queer trans atheist in a same-sex marriage, there are a number of places where I am considered a criminal for just existing or going about my daily routine. This applies to some parts of the U.S. as well, by the way; I won't be visiting North Carolina as long as it's illegal for me to use the men's restroom there. Please keep these considerations in mind when planning meetups and conferences. Thank you.
- Pax aka Funcrunch
[1] http://funcrunch.org/blog/2016/10/12/making-connections-at- wikiconference-north-america/
[2] https://www.facebook.com/groups/wikipediaweekly/permalink/ 1114259788621851/
-- Pax Ahimsa Gethen | http://funcrunch.org
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