Annual Report of the IGLYO Executive Board 1996

In what was generally a successful year for IGLYO, the bureau have been preparing for change and have been very busy in representing lesbian gay and bisexual youth on a European level. As acceptance of the issues raised by IGLYO increase so does the workload. The bureau this year have also accepted the reality that there is only so much that we as the main body of IGLYO can physically do in a year. What has not changed is the inability to increase our work outside Europe as funding is not yet available. These options are constantly being reviewed and hopefully we will be able to increase the amount of work we do outside of Europe.

This report is a brief overview of the work of the organisation. Further details can be obtained from reports on activities and individual bureau member reports.

Bureau Changes

 The first meeting of the Bureau was held in April with Suzy Byrne being elected Chairperson, Dennis van der Veur was elected Secretary.

Following this meeting Carime Borjestadt has not participated in any work of IGLYO. She has failed to respond to phone calls or letters requesting an explanation of her absence.

In accordance with the resolution passed at the General Meeting, the bureau decided to invite Sanne Goedhart (NL) to join the Bureau as a full member.

In June the Bureau decided to ask Henrike Eisfeld to join as acting Bureau Member due to the absence of Carime Borjestadt and also due to the Thomas Tichelmann's increasing commitment to his responsibility as a bureau member of the Youth Forum of the European Union. The remaining members of the bureau felt unable to continue with their work unless there were other bureau members available to share the ever increasing workload. Henrike did not have voting rights but in every other way operated as a Bureau Member for this period and was appointed Treasurer.

In September Thomas Tichelmann tendered his resignation as a member of he bureau which was accepted by the bureau. Thomas (former chairperson of IGLYO) had been a member of the bureau for over 4 years and had brought the organisation a long way. He continues to represent IGLYO and was nominated by us to run as bureau member of the new European Youth Forum.

Membership

IGLYO's level of membership has not changed even with increased public relations and also requests to members to pay membership fees. But this has not stopped IGLYO from responding to requests and also involving many organisations who are not fee paying organisations in our work. We have run recruiting campaigns and also distributed membership forms but this has not seen any real increase in the numbers of member organisations.

Conference

 This is the first year that IGLYO did not have a international conference, instead a conference for Eastern and Central Europe was held in Budapest, Hungary. Over 40 people attended this skill sharing and political event with four themes being discussed. Youth Work, International Youth Work, Human Rights and HIV and AIDS. The conference was organised with the assistance of H'att'er and held in the European Youth Centre. IGLYO would like to congratulate this inspiring group for their great assistance in the organisation of the conference and their excellent hospitality.

For many participants it was the first European or international youth event and there have been many contacts made and continued since the conference. A full report of the conference is available and the bureau are also looking into follow up activities and assessing the feasibility of a training programme for youth leaders from the region.

Study Session

Shabbab Akalyiat, was the title of the double study session held by IGLYO and the Council of European Minority Youth Committee's in June in the European Youth Centre in Budapest. This session was originally planned for 1995 but due to problems with our partner organisation was postponed.

Problems with CEMYC continued but due to assistance and valued co-operation of the European Union of Jewish Students we were able to go ahead. For the past 4 years IGLYO through members of the bureau have been involved in thinking through how to develop links with our partners who also represent minority youth. The session examined the needs and situation faced by minority youth throughout Europe and This was a very important session bringing together minority youth from a wide variety of organisations together, there were over 70 young people present with over a quarter being from lesbian gay or bisexual organisations. The session was seen as a success by participants, sponsoring organisations and also the European Youth Centre, A policy document and report are available and follow up is being examined

Many many thanks must go to Susie Weigl And Lars Nyctelius for their long work, and persistence with this session which was a pet project of theirs for some time.

Secretariat

IGLYO continues to rent a office in Amsterdam, here the administration of the organisation is carried out. This year we reduced the amount of space rented to save money. The secretariat in Amsterdam consists of volunteers who devote much time to the work of IGLYO and often receive little recognition. They are responsible for answering the mail, sending IGLYO mailings, distributing the information to bureau members and administering IGLYO events. This year has been no different except that the increasing amount of work has been done with fewer volunteers and they have had to deal with much frustration at times with money being tight and cash flow being a problem.

In previous years, IGLYO has appointed a Secretary General to co-ordinate the work of the secretariat. This position has been voluntary.

The bureau recognise that this position is extremely time consuming and work has been increasing as our activities increase. This year we investigated the feasibility of employing someone to work for the organisation looking after the day to day administration. We have been in contact with a employment agency in Amsterdam and envisage employing someone with the assistance of a scheme run by the Dutch government to provide employment to a person who has been unemployed. The cost to IGLYO will be 4000 HFL and also increased costs in terms of office administration as the amount of work increases. We have applied for administrative grants to cover these costs. In agreement with the employment agency the hours worked will be 28 hours a week.

A work plan for this position has been completed and advertisements have been placed in Amsterdam. Discussion within the bureau have been comprehensive with a full examination of the implications for the organisation as this will be the first time we will have employed someone and supervision of the work and also responsibility for providing funding for the increased costs and other issues are onerous. We anticipate further discussion on this issue both within the bureau and of course with our member organisations. It is hoped that the person will be appointed in April 1997 and will work both with the bureau and volunteers in co-ordinating the running of the organisation.

Public Relations

While we did not have the funds during 1996 to develop new written material IGLYO did increase awareness about the organisation through the internet. Thanks to the work of Ulf Dahlmann, we have a web site with basic information about IGLYO. Good usage is made of international and European queer mailing lists, sending information about IGLYO events and general membership information. This has increased the amount of contacts made by youth groups seeking information, recently contact has been had with groups in Spain, Japan, Australia and Greece to highlight just a few. Information on IGLYO is now on the Queer Resources Directory and also with the lgb youth mailing list and news group. A mailing list for IGLYO member organisations is being developed.

The Internet provides a great opportunity for IGLYO to reach out to our members and potential members. Currently the IGLYO email is being handled by a bureau member via a provider in Dublin. It is hoped that as soon as possible that we transfer this to the office, when the equipment and staff are available to do so.

Information on IGLYO events has also been published in magazines such as the ILGA bulletin and also Youth Opinion and lesbian and gay magazines.

Added to this IGLYO bureau members have kept in contact with many member groups visiting them where possible and assisting with planning exchanges and providing information on funding. Contacts with other organisations have also been made and invitations to speak and write articles have been accepted where time allows. PP

Pen Pal

Pen Pal has had a very successful year and its administration has been overhauled.. Again this year Pen Pal provides the biggest amount of mail for IGLYO and enables us to be in contact with young people on a individual level.

Speakout (IGLYO Magazine)

 This year Speakout was edited and produced by Ales Pecnik and others in our member group, SKUC, in Slovenia. 2 issues were produced and the format changed. Overall this has been very successful and the magazine is being printed with the welcome assistance of ASTA FU in Berlin. The problems with Speakout are lack of information from our members for inclusion, lack of content appropriate to women and lack of in depth articles about issues affecting lgb youth.

But with a very good groundbase we hope that Speakout continues to improve and urge all member organisations and interested individuals to contribute articles.

Organisational Review

The Bureau have spent time looking at the structure of IGLYO as resolved by the General meeting in Amsterdam. We have examined the statues of the organisation in light of the ever developing world of sexual minority youth work and politics. The results of these deliberations will be presented at this meeting.

The Bureau also wish to continue this process so as to involve more people in our work, increase opportunities for projects and also increase efficiency. It is essential that our member organisation are involved in this process and lead the way by informing the bureau of their needs and aspirations for IGLYO.

In particular we need to focus on developing our structure in North America. The IGLYO secretariat there is no longer in operation and there is limited contact there with our membership. Although we have a bureau member fro the USA at the moment, it is not fair to expect them to develop a new structure for attracting members and developing a work plan to increase awareness for international work among lgb youth groups. We also need to examine the consequences for IGLYO if do decide to focus energy on North America. The regulations for non profit organisations require a separate North American Board and we will need further examination of our statues for this to take place.

Applications for 1997

As is usual forward planning has been in progress for the coming year with applications being made for activities

It is proposed to hold our International Conference in Pisa in July 1997. The theme will focus on Homophobia and Facisim. This is the first IGLYO conference in the Mediterranean and will be a very important event for us to involve the growing movement in the region as well as attempting to include countries from outside Europe.

A study session focussing on Religion and Homosexuality will be held in the European Youth Centre in the second half of 1997. This will involve both member organisations and also International religious/Faith Youth Organisations.

It is hoped to hold a seminar for women in the second half of 1997 in Central or Eastern Europe. This comes after many requests for the specific needs of young lesbian and bisexual women to be assessed and some project work in this area to be undertaken. Currently IGLYO is seeking funds for this seminar and is in negotiation at present to secure a major funder for the seminar.

We also envisage holding a seminar on youth work at a European Level. This being the focus of our member organisations, we wish to provide training on youth exchanges.

The board is also examining the possibility of holding an event for lgbt youth groups in Commonwealth countries and is beginning a consultation process with contact groups in these countries.

External Work

Youth Structures

1996 has seen major changes with the formation of the European Youth Forum. This is the end product of the merger of the Youth Forum of the European Union, the European Co-ordination Bureau of International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations, and the Council of European National Youth Councils. IGLYO is a full member of the first two organisations named and is also automatically a member of the new platform. As well as giving us a forum to speak on the issues which concern our member organisations, we also depend on these platforms to provide us with advice and information to continue and improve our work. The aim of the new platform is to cease duplication of work, increase and strengthen the voice of youth organisations in Europe and also to involve organisations and young people from throughout Europe.

Delegates from IGLYO have been involved in the 3 year long process that has seen the birth of this new organisation. We have been very vocal in the long and protracted negotiations and hope that small organisations will continue to receive support and services essential to our survival. We hope that the new platform will now take off and engage in policy formation and activities which will provide a strong voice for youth work and youth rights throughout the continent and will engage with the institutions including the European Union and Council of Europe to ensure the continuation of funding and recognition for the work of organisations including IGLYO.

Representation

Members of the bureau and other representatives have attended many meetings on issues of youth policy including events on education and training and social affairs. Training seminars on funding of youth organisations were also attended so that we were kept up to date on the latest development in funding the work of IGLYO Dennis van der Veur was a member of the preparation team for the Human Rights Seminar organised by the Youth Forum of the European Union. Suzy Byrne has been involved for 15 months in the organisation of a campaign to highlight youth unemployment in Europe.

Henrike Eisfeld is a participant on the Long Term Training Course organised by the European Youth Centre. Sanne Goedhart attended TC2, a training course for those involved in International Youth Organisations. Again it is vital that we continue to train for the future of IGLYO in 1997. We also were able to send 3 participants on language training courses

External Representatives

Suzie Weigl (Former IGLYO Bureau Member) was elected to the Advisory Committee of the Council of Europe Co-management system for the European Youth Foundation and Youth Centre. Suzie also replace Lars Nyctelius on the Governing Board for 2 meetings this year as Lars had to resign after being appointed tot he staff of the European Youth Foundation. Again IGLYO will continue to have a valuable input into the work of the Youth Directorate and the IGLYO bureau will keep in close contact with Suzie during her term of office. Many thanks must go to Lars Nyctelius for his work on behalf of IGLYO.

Thomas Tichelmann continues to serve as a bureau member of the Youth Forum of the European Union until it is formally wound up in early 1997. Thomas was nominated to run for election to the bureau of the new European Youth Forum and was elected as a bureau member in December of 1996. This is a two year term and Thomas and IGLYO will keep in close contact during this time and we look forward to continue working with him.

IGC

The Intergovernmental Conference of the European Union continues and IGLYO has been involved in work towards recognition of youth work and youth organisations in the new treaty through our participation in the IGC youth conferences run by the Youth Forum of the European Union. We also campaigned for the inclusion of an anti-discrimination clause in the treaty. This work will continue and the Treaty will be finalised during the Dutch Presidency of the European Union

Romania

We have continued to be involved in the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in Romania. This involves continuing to highlight the situation among our partners in International Youth work. We also ensured members of ACCEPT attended the Eastern Europe and Central Europe Conference, The Human Rights Seminar of the Youth Forum of the European Union, and a language course run by the European Youth Centre. Close contact has been maintained with ACCEPT and we have acted swiftly in ensuring those involved in European Youth Work are aware of the continuing human rights abuses in the country

ILGA

IGLYO continues to operate the youth information of ILGA (International Lesbian and Gay Association). Contacts have been made throughout the year with the ILGA office in Brussels and also with the European Region Office in Amsterdam. IGLYO has always had a good working relationship with ILGA and has been responsible for keeping youth issues on the agenda at conferences. ILGA is going though a great period of change in the coming year with continuing restructuring and the World Conference ( now biennial ) will be held in Cologne in 1997. The IGLYO bureau have already been in contact with the organisers with a view to organising a youth track during the conference.

International Bisexual Symposium

Dennis van der Veur represented IGLYO at the IBS in Berlin in May. This is the first time IGLYO was present at the event and he was able to make contacts with many organisations and also was involved in facilitating a workshop on youth issues. This is an area of work IGLYO is mandated to continue to develop and we hope to increase space for issues affecting young bisexuals throughout our work.

Thanks

 Thanks must go to our funders, the European Youth Foundation, European Commission and also the many private foundations who supported our Eastern and Central European Conference and to the member organisations who also subsidise IGLYO"s work by paying their membership fees.

On my own behalf I wish to thank members of the bureau for their very hard work and dedication, for carrying personal debts during our cash flow crises, to those people who are not bureau members but who help us carry our workload, participate as team members at events and also represent IGLYO at external events. I would also like to thank these people for their personal support during what was a hard year for me due to ill health.

Suzy Byrne
Chairperson IGLYO

FQRDFrance QRD
IGLYO

Last modified: Thu Jan 23 20:41:45 MET 1997
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