Next event →

Event will be held in English.

2022 has been a particularly challenging year for democracies all over Europe: everywhere from Portugal, France and Hungary to Serbia and Slovenia, the far-right parties’ popular support surprised those who thought the former have been losing ground in recent years.

In our panel discussion Elections in authoritarian states, we invite representatives of Hungarian, Serbian, and Slovenian LGBTIQ+ organisations to look at the recent elections to understand how LGBTIQ+ concerns were considered in the different campaigns, and how anti-LGBTIQ+ propaganda was used to increase far-right popularity. The discussion aims to interpret the results as we invite guests to take a closer look at how activists have been resisting and mobilising.

*Máté Hegedűs is a part time organizer and spokesperson with Budapest Pride responsible for two projects: the first one focuses on obtaining grants and providing visibility for LGBTQ individuals and organisations in the countryside; and the second one on organising the registered groups, diplomats and participants from the countryside for the Budapest Pride March.

*Barbara Rajgelj is an Assistant Professor of Legal Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, where she teaches Labour and Social Security Law, Basics of Law and Business Law. Her main research interests include anti-discrimination law, industrial relations, employment relations, social security law and family law. She is the co-founder of the bar and cultural centre Pritličje and the Institute for Culture of Diversity Open as well as a human rights activist, focusing specifically on discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

*Maja Žilić is an activist from Serbia, strongly committed to human rights, LGBT+ rights, diversity and inclusion and gender equality. Maja is currently working at the Youth Initiative for Human Rights as programme coordinator and has participated in various programmes on human rights topics in the past few years.