Activist Academy

Online Edition

The fifth edition of the Activist Academy took place between 17 June-3 July 2021. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Academy was held online and it was entirely hosted by IGLYO.

 

The fifth-year format built on the feedback from the 2020 participants. Similarly to 2020, the online format allowed for an extension of the Academy to two weeks. This allowed participants to have extra time to work on their challenges, build connections, and reflect on the workshops.  The online format meant that more applicants than ever could be invited to take part, and this year’s Academy was attended by more participants than in the previous physical editions.

 

The fact that the Academy was entirely online allowed us to work with activists from all over the world. This year’s participants had the opportunity to apply through an organisation as well as on their own. This allowed for a very multicultural environment, with participants from Pakistan, Mexico, Mauritius, Nigeria, and others joining their European fellows.

The program was designed to ensure the following outcomes:

  •       Increased skills
  •       Improved self-confidence
  •       Greater experience of team working and group processes
  •       Experience of behaviour enhancing processes, such as competition and collaboration
  •       Strengthened links between organisations and personal connections across the group
  •       Increased motivation to be engaged in the international LGBTQI movement.

The Academy ended with the awards ceremony. The winner and the runner-ups were festively announced. This year, the top three teams each received a cash prize of €450 and each participant received a participation certificate. The top three teams were Crystal Queer from Portugal made up of Isabel and Rita, Team CYGEN from Mauritius which was an individual team of Tanya and The Meerkat Family from Bulgaria with Katerina and Andrea.

IGLYO is co-funded by the Rights Equality and Citizenship (REC) programme 2014-2020 of the European Union and the Government of the Netherlands. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of IGLYO and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission or the Government of the Netherlands.