One Hundred Countries to Mark LGBT Rights at World Outgames

categories: International Gay Rights, LGBT Sports

Published July 22, 2009 @ 01:27PM PT

At the end of this week, Copenhagen will become a hub of LGBT activity as the city prepares to host the 2009 World Outgames, as well as a subsequent conference on LGBT human rights. The weekend festivities are expecting to bring tens of thousands of folks to the Danish capital, with a show of support from more than 100 countries.

Among the list of speakers? LGBT activist Cleve Jones, former NBA basketball player John Amaechi, Nepalese politician and LGBT activist Sunil Pant, and former head of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission Paula Ettelbrick, to name a few. The conference program can be viewed here.

Here's what the director of the 2009 World Outgames had to say about the event's impact:

From Northern Europe to South America, in Eastern Europe and the Far East, there are human rights battles to be fought - particularly for homosexuals. We hope that World Outgames and the thousands of people from around 100 different countries will be able to spread the message to the world.

So, if you find yourself near Copenhagen this weekend, and you're looking to mix a little athletics with a little LGBT activism, here's your weekend plans.

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Comments (1)

The 2009 World Outgames in Denmark will be important because it will also be a hub of LGBT rights activists while the event occurs. It's good that many prominent LGBT rights activists will be attending the conference on LGBT rights. Advancements in LGBT rights must continue because many countries still criminalize homosexuality, thus with many countries representing the 2009 World Outgames, the cause for human rights will be strong.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 07/22/2009 @ 03:01PM PT
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Author

Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.