Africa Travel Week hosts webinar spotlighting Pride events as drivers for tourism and change

On 20 June, LoAnn Halden, Vice President of Communications for the Worldwide LGBTQ+ Journey Affiliation, moderated an EQUAL Africa, a part of Africa Journey Week, webinar on unpacking the significance of Pleasure occasions as drivers of tourism and alter, particularly within the African context.

The webinar’s esteemed panellists included Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir, Queer Activist, Cultural Producer and Founding father of Moonlight Experiences; Michael Gladwin, Founding father of Afrigay Journey and AllStay LGBTQ+ Schooling; Rodney Otieno, Co-Founder and Director of Coverage Improvement and Membership for the Queer and Allied Chamber of Commerce Africa; and Nonhlanhla ‘MC’ Mkhize Co-Founder and Government Director of The Lesbian and Homosexual Group and Well being Centre.

The panellists explored varied essential matters throughout the LGBTQ+ group, together with how Pleasure occasions present that push for international locations – and the governments and companies working inside them – to completely embrace the concept of inclusivity as a substitute of ‘pinkwashing’ annually in June.

“Pleasure occasions, like Durban Pleasure, are promoting the idea of satisfaction as not only a one-day exercise, however a year-long marketing campaign and funding,” mentioned Mkhize.

“It’s actually necessary to assume past the idea of ‘we welcome everybody’. We have to perceive why we have to be inclusive and the way we have to be inclusive – what we have to do in an effort to change into actually inclusive. We will’t simply say we’re. We have to motion it,” added Gladwin.

The panellists additionally highlighted the significance of allies within the battle for change, addressing how there’s typically a ‘concern issue’ at play amongst many people, organisations, and enterprise house owners who want to assist the group.

“LGBTQ is a really complicated group, and generally folks get scared. ‘What if I say one thing unsuitable? What if I mess up the acronym? Or what if I say one thing that offends you?’ That concern, once more, goes again to schooling. We have to have open conversations with people who find themselves open to being our allies however don’t perceive the right way to come into our world,” Otieno commented.

Regardless of the numerous considerations in international locations like Uganda in the mean time, it’s true that Africa has taken many nice strides in direction of inclusivity, and every panellist is looking forward to continued progress throughout the continent sooner or later. Gladwin famous how a lot work is being executed to convey the World Pleasure 2028 occasion and InterPride 2024 Annual Common Assembly & World Convention to Cape City, typically seen as Africa’s LGBTQ+ beacon of hope.

“We have to create a world dialog, discover the gaps, and discover the options. Let the dialog start in Cape City,” he mentioned.

Shaibu-Lenoir concluded the webinar by reminding everybody of the muse of those Pleasure occasions.

“Anybody who needs to be an genuine ally should perceive that queerness has at all times been political. Pleasure, in its basis, is a protest. That should paved the way in Africa prefer it has in so many different international locations. Pleasure can also be a wondrous celebration, however we mustn’t neglect that, at its core, it’s about change. Issues can get higher.”

events who wish to watch the webinar can click on right here.