Lithuania IDAHO Report 2012

Activists in Lithuania celebrated IDAHO 2012 with Rainbow Days, which opened with a press conference held in the Parliament. The conference introduced a new publication, “Changing Faces – First March for LGBT Equality in Lithuania”.
In addition to Member of Parliament Marija Aušrinė Pavilionienė, speakers at the conference included Ambassador of the Netherlands Kornelis Spaans, John Finkb einer, Political-Economic Chief at the Embassy of the United States, and Helle Jacobsen from Amnesty International.
The ambassadors to Lithuania of France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Spain and the Czech Republic also hosted a joint reception for LGBT-friendly civil society, gathering representatives from various human rights organisations, ministries, public authorities and other institutions at the French Ambassador’s residence to celebrate achievements made in LGBT rights in Lithuania. In their speeches the host ambassadors shared their experiences and developments in their respective countries.
A seminar about the changing face of LGBT in the Lithuanian media was also held. Participants had the opportunity to learn about and discuss topics dominating the discourse about the LGBT community, who owns the discourse, and how this discourse has evolved.