Politics School for LGBTI Begins

As the general elections approach, Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association has begun its “In school, at work, in the parliament: LGBTIs are everywhere!” campaign. SPoD LGBTI representatives visited the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul Municipal Branch to inform them of the campaign. SPoD LGBTI aims to make LGBTI rights visible in the 2015 general elections and its Politics School is set to begin this week.

Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association’s Politics School will have its first session on Saturday, 28 February 2015 in Istanbul. The Politics School, which aims to strengthen lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex individuals in the political arena and to make LGBTI rights visible in the 2015 general elections, will run until 4 March 2015.

The third annual Politics School will inform LGBTIs of political participation mechanisms, conduct presentations and workshops to encourage active political participation, and plan future political representation and participation activities. The school aims to involve participants in campaigns and monitoring for the general elections in their own cities. The subjects to be covered are: Democracy and freedoms, queer democracy, participation methods in decision-making mechanisms, civil society in law-making processes, LGBTI movement’s history and political participation, political parties and rights-based policies, gender focused budgets, LGBTI focused social policies, LGBTI rights in local politics, organizing election campaigns and election monitoring.

Visits to Parties

SPoD LGBTI has started visiting political parties to inform them of their “In school, at work, in the parliament: LGBTIs are everywhere!” campaign for the general elections. SPoD LGBTI activists conducted their first visit to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and met with HDP’s Istanbul Co-President Ayşe Erdem.

The meeting took place in the party’s Beyoğlu headquarters. SPoD LGBTI’s Sezen Yalçın, Erdal Partog and Mehmet Akın explained the campaign, which will last until June, to Istanbul Co-President Ayşe Erdem. They discussed what SPoD LGBTI can do with HDP’s candidates for Istanbul within the scope of this campaign and the Party’s agenda for LGBTI rights in the election campaigns.

SPoD Political Representation and Participation Coordinator Sezen Yalçın emphasized that the campaign would function independently from political parties and that this campaign serves to bring LGBTI rights to the parliament. HDP’s Istanbul Co-President Erdem said HDP supports LGBTI rights and declared that they will support SPoD’s campaign in Istanbul.

LGBTI NEWS TURKEY is the official translation source for SPoD LGBTI’s “In school, at work, in the parliament: LGBTIs are everywhere!” campaign, which is endorsed by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).  

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