Giovanni Díaz-Infante Posadas, Grade 11
UWC Maastricht
As the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to adopt e-learning, businesses to close and governments to shut their borders, many events had to be postponed for safety reasons; unfortunately, the vibrant and colourful parades that take place during June year after year to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and its history were not an exception.
Hundreds of Pride parades all around the world were forced to cancel their 2020 march. This was devastating news for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies because this year marked a historic milestone: 50 years since the first pride parade in New York. But the importance of Pride goes beyond the festivities; it is also a time to promote the visibility of the community and a time for activism. As expressed by the World Economic Forum, “Pride is [...] a time to celebrate queer lives in a world where it is still challenging for people to be different”. Fortunately, several Pride networks around the globe recognized that the significance of this event could not be cancelled, and saw COVID-19 as an opportunity to reinvent it; thus, the initiative Global Pride 2020 was launched in April.
Led by European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) and InterPride, Global Pride was a 24-hour virtual broadcast that took place on Saturday 27 June all around the world with live and pre-recorded speeches, songs and performances from a diverse pool of participants including, among many others, drag queens, activists, celebrities and even political figures. Albeit the main focus was the queer community, the event also sought to amplify the voices of the Black Lives Matters movement and to highlight the shared history and interconnected nature of these two movements.
The content was streamed on mainstream social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, but also on alternate streaming venues, such as Revry, to ensure that everyone could participate, even in countries where social media is blocked or restricted. All that was needed was an electronic device and internet connection.
Furthermore, Global Pride established a relief fund destined to support Pride organizations affected by COVID-19 and ensure their survival. For these organizations, the challenge posed by COVID-19 was far greater than the mere cancellation of paredes; it involved cancellation of several contracts and the loss of sponsorships. This year was extremely problematic for them because the vast majority of these organizations are poorly-funded and survive year after year with just enough to deliver their events. Without the support of Global Pride, many would have been forced to close down.
In the end, this project included the participation of “over 500 LGBTQIA+ led organisations from over 80 countries” (Global Pride) and it made history for being the largest and first virtual global Pride celebration. It gave Pride a renewed importance because it showed the size, diversity, power and support of the LGBTQ+ community in a time of crisis, where we have longed for connection more than ever. More importantly, it gave thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals from backgrounds that reject and look down upon the queer community the opportunity participate in this event for the first time and celebrate their identity without fear.
Pride matters because it empowers people. Pride matters because it changes lives. This year was challenging, but thanks to COVID-19, even if homosexuality remains a crime in 72 countries, the spirit of Pride exists, persists and resists as, if not more, potently as it did five decades ago.
Hundreds of Pride parades all around the world were forced to cancel their 2020 march. This was devastating news for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies because this year marked a historic milestone: 50 years since the first pride parade in New York. But the importance of Pride goes beyond the festivities; it is also a time to promote the visibility of the community and a time for activism. As expressed by the World Economic Forum, “Pride is [...] a time to celebrate queer lives in a world where it is still challenging for people to be different”. Fortunately, several Pride networks around the globe recognized that the significance of this event could not be cancelled, and saw COVID-19 as an opportunity to reinvent it; thus, the initiative Global Pride 2020 was launched in April.
Led by European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) and InterPride, Global Pride was a 24-hour virtual broadcast that took place on Saturday 27 June all around the world with live and pre-recorded speeches, songs and performances from a diverse pool of participants including, among many others, drag queens, activists, celebrities and even political figures. Albeit the main focus was the queer community, the event also sought to amplify the voices of the Black Lives Matters movement and to highlight the shared history and interconnected nature of these two movements.
The content was streamed on mainstream social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, but also on alternate streaming venues, such as Revry, to ensure that everyone could participate, even in countries where social media is blocked or restricted. All that was needed was an electronic device and internet connection.
Furthermore, Global Pride established a relief fund destined to support Pride organizations affected by COVID-19 and ensure their survival. For these organizations, the challenge posed by COVID-19 was far greater than the mere cancellation of paredes; it involved cancellation of several contracts and the loss of sponsorships. This year was extremely problematic for them because the vast majority of these organizations are poorly-funded and survive year after year with just enough to deliver their events. Without the support of Global Pride, many would have been forced to close down.
In the end, this project included the participation of “over 500 LGBTQIA+ led organisations from over 80 countries” (Global Pride) and it made history for being the largest and first virtual global Pride celebration. It gave Pride a renewed importance because it showed the size, diversity, power and support of the LGBTQ+ community in a time of crisis, where we have longed for connection more than ever. More importantly, it gave thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals from backgrounds that reject and look down upon the queer community the opportunity participate in this event for the first time and celebrate their identity without fear.
Pride matters because it empowers people. Pride matters because it changes lives. This year was challenging, but thanks to COVID-19, even if homosexuality remains a crime in 72 countries, the spirit of Pride exists, persists and resists as, if not more, potently as it did five decades ago.
Bibliography:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/pride-month-origin-trnd/index.html
https://www.latercera.com/mundo/noticia/global-pride-2020-dia-internacional-del-orgullo-lgbti-se-conmemora-en-todo-el-mundo-de-manera-virtual/RDO6KH363FEP7PR6YGCSWSY5VA/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/pride-lgbtqi-solidarity-covid19/
https://www.globalpride2020.org/about/
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/06/26/global-pride-poised-to-make-history/
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53194245
https://www.globalpride2020.org/news/pr4/
https://medium.com/@ilga_europe/pride-in-the-time-of-covid-19-37dab1f9b5f1
https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/pride-month-origin-trnd/index.html
https://www.latercera.com/mundo/noticia/global-pride-2020-dia-internacional-del-orgullo-lgbti-se-conmemora-en-todo-el-mundo-de-manera-virtual/RDO6KH363FEP7PR6YGCSWSY5VA/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/pride-lgbtqi-solidarity-covid19/
https://www.globalpride2020.org/about/
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/06/26/global-pride-poised-to-make-history/
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53194245
https://www.globalpride2020.org/news/pr4/
https://medium.com/@ilga_europe/pride-in-the-time-of-covid-19-37dab1f9b5f1
https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/
www.unitedworldwide.co