International Queer Solidarity – Building Resilience and Hope

Panel discussion
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Event will be held in English.

LGBTIQ+ people and communities are experiencing multilayered oppression everywhere in the world: from the most extreme conditions like facing the death penalty, to the daily microaggressions and exclusions. But we are also witnessing incredible strength, resilience, fight and hope from within the movements. This panel will look into ways of practicing international solidarity amongst and across LGBTIQ+ communities from global perspectives. We will explore the migrant queer perspective as well as the perspectives of LGBTIQ+ activists and movements from various regions beyond the EU. How do the »singular« identity groups build their practices of international solidarity? How do we build resilience and hope on a global scale as a movement unified in fighting common oppressions?

Guests:

• Saleem Haddad, writer and film director, Palestine, Lebanon, UK;
• Eka Tsereteli, Director of  Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG), Georgia;
• Hassan Dib – Queen of Virginity, interdisciplinary artist, Lebanon, Germany;

Moderation: Jessica M. C. Lima, Clube Safo, Portugal.

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Saleem Haddad was born in Kuwait City to an Iraqi-German mother and a Palestinian-Lebanese father. His first novel, Guapa, was published in 2016, receiving critical acclaim from the New Yorker, The Guardian, and others, and was awarded both a Stonewall Honour and the 2017 Polari First Book Prize. He has also published a number of short stories, including for the Palestinian sci-fi anthology Palestine +100. He also writes for film and television; his directorial debut, Marco, premiered in March 2019 and was nominated for the 2019 Iris Prize for Best British Short Film. His work has been supported by institutions such as Yaddo and the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin. He is currently based in Lisbon, with roots in London, Amman, and Beirut. A Slovenian translation of Guapa was published in 2022 by Lambda.

Eka Tsereteli is an activist and women rights defender, co-founder of feminist organization Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG). Eka’s feministic work is centered around transformative practices of organizational management, arts and creative initiatives, integration of multimedia and innovative technologies in activism. Since 2000, she has authored and implemented different initiatives directed towards ensuring gender equality, strengthening women and queer community and advocating their rights. She has organized multiple exhibitions and multimedia projects directed at changing public attitudes towards issues of queer community and women. Her work and experience in activism includes cooperation with different local and international organization both at executive positions and at the positions that bear responsibility for strategy development. Currently she is director of WISG.

Hassan Dib / Queen Of Virginity (they/them) is a Lebanese interdisciplinary artist based in Berlin. Hassan Dib’s work uses a mix of multimedia with elements of personal storytelling. It is often about their experience as an queer artist in exile, their relationship with Lebanon and their struggles in Berlin as an immigrant and what it means to be away from “home”. They present the idea of home and belonging as vague and often lacking answers. Hassan obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Stage Acting at the Lebanese University in beirut where they were born and raised. Hassan emigrated to Berlin in 2017 and began a new solo practice as a drag artist. In 2019, Queen of Virginit competed and won in Mx.Kotti, gaining recognition and prominence in the Berlin art scene. Staying true to their acting roots, Hassan continued to work in theater and film such as the stage productions Lila Lied, Planet Lubunya, Migraanten! and most recently, Wohin. Additionally they were in the film Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day?, which ran in the Berlinale Jury of 2022 and produced and starred in Lazarus.

Besides performance, Hassan is a founding member of Critical Queer Solidarity (CQS), Queer Arab Barty and HERA Collective. Through CQS, Hassan organized and facilitated youth exchanges and drag workshops with funding from the European Union. Their curational work started with Queer Arab Barty and continues with Adira Party, a queer Arabic-pop night, which debuted in 2023.