From 21 to 24 November 2024 was again the Council, which Transgender Europe (TGEU) organises every two years. This four-day event brings together trans activists from Europe, Central Asia and beyond to learn from each other’s experiences and expertise, and to discuss global developments. Jochem (Transman Foundation) and vreer (Principle 17) were there. Other participants from the Netherlands were Femke and Lisa (Transgender Network), Sean Claude (Man.ish Cave) and Dinah Bons (TGEU).
Because Veer is a board member of TGEU, we already flew to Malta on Tuesday. The General Assembly of TGEU is always on Saturday and that also means a change of board. That is why the TGEU board met on Wednesday, because of all the last things that had to be completed.
Thursday
On Thursday afternoon, everyone could register as a participant at the TGEU desk after arriving at the hotel. Like every year, we received a welcome package with a special Council t-shirt. This year we also received a water bottle and some beautiful TGEU stickers.
In the evening was a commemoration on the beach for Transgender Day of Remembrance, but I was not present myself. The evening ended with a film by MGRM, the Maltese LGBTI organization. (With half a million inhabitants, Malta is too small for a separate T-organization.) The documentary consisted of colourful portraits of lesbian, gay, trans and non-binary people of different ages, who live in Malta. It was a beautiful film.
Friday
The following day, the Council was formally opened. Co-chairs Dinah and Sara and Executive Director Ymania welcomed all people present. The former President of Malta was also present and spoke about how important it is for LGBTI children and youth to be themselves, without being bullied or facing violence. Her presence was a involved gesture.
Because of the Central Asian participants, the entire programme was simultaneously translated into Russian. For hearing impaired participants, there was speech-to-text translation, although many other people also read along. Because if English is not your native language, it is nice to be able to read along with the ‘subtitles’.
The first plenary panel was on trans leadership: ‘Taking stock of the progress and looking ahead to the next decade of activism and advocacy’. We are at a pivotal moment in the trans movement, albeit a tumultuous and stressful one. This panel brought together leaders from some of the largest LGBTI and trans organizations for an open conversation. The panel looked back at the journey and victories thus far, and looked ahead to where our attention will be needed most in the coming decades. A key point was the need for the trans movement to be accountable to its supporters for what we do. This is something that is often forgotten in all the hustle and bustle.
Then there were several parallel sessions. Together with my good friend Lee from the UK I gave the workshop ‘Disability ability in trans communities’, for trans activists with a disability. During this workshop we exchanged personal experiences. An important finding was that accessibility often depends on individuals, often because of their own disability. Also many experience that services for trans people are often ableist and services for people with a disability are often transphobic. As a result, trans people with a disability unfortunately face double thresholds.
After lunch there was an hour of optional sessions. Together with Lee I gave the session ‘Our Bodies and Self’, a workshop in which participants were given the opportunity to take off as much clothing as they wanted, while we talked about our bodies. Due to the program running late, unfortunately few participants turned up. Nevertheless, it was a good and nice workshop, in which we exchanged many experiences.
Then there were several parallel sessions again. I attended the session ‘From awareness to action: Accessible communications for trans activism’ with Lukas and Nim. This workshop started with a short information about the different models for disabilities. Then we got practical tips on how to make digital documents, websites, videos and social media accessible. For example, by always giving images an alt-tag and providing videos with subtitles. This workshop was actually intended for trans activists without disabilities, although about 2/3 of the attendees had a disability themselves. As unfortunately often happens with these kinds of sessions…
In the evening, the new Gratitude Awards were presented for the first time. This is a token of gratitude, with which Transgender Europe wants to thank people or groups for their special efforts. The first Gratitude Award was of course for the founders of TGEU. To my utter amazement, Lee and I received the second Award for our years of dedication to making the Council accessible for trans activists with disabilities. We are both touched by this recognition of our struggle by TGEU. (Read here our ’thank you’ speech.) We sincerely hope that the next Council will be at least as accessible, so that all trans activists with disabilities can naturally participate equally!
Saturday
The next day started with several parallel sessions. I went to the session ‘Trans economic development: what do our communications need?’ with Justus. Unemployment and economic inequality are insanely high among trans people. Yet little is being done to structurally change this problem. Together we brainstormed about the points where trans people are disadvantaged in terms of work, such as gaps in our CV (transition) or lower self-confidence (discrimination). Then we talked about possible solutions, such as training employers and solidarity networks.
Next up was the second plenary panel: ‘Now more than ever: The role of human rights institutions in securing the rights of trans people’. Moderator Richard spoke to representatives from the Council of Europe and the European Commission. In Europe (and beyond), there is a growing trend towards making gender identity and sexual orientation political. In many countries, laws are being passed that oppress LGBTQIA+ people, leading to more hate speech, violence and intimidation. In the first half of 2025, the draft of the new LGBTQ strategy will be published on the Have Your Say website. Everyone can comment on it here.
After a short coffee break, the third plenary panel was: ‘Gag laws as neocolonialism and anti-LGBTI idealogy: EECAC region at the forefront of resisting the anti-rights rollback’. The panelists discussed the geopolitical state in some former USSR countries. Many of these countries have dictators and are blackmailed financially and economically, if they do not support anti-trans initiatives and other anti-LGBTI laws, especially in Central Asia. This was the only panel where the majority of the panelists spoke Russian.
After lunch, the General Assembly of Transgender Europe took place. However, this was prematurely terminated, because the documents for the GA had been sent too late. As a result, all decisions taken would be legally contestable and they wanted to prevent that. That was a bit of a disappointment. The solution is an online GA, for which all members (organizations and individuals) will soon receive an invitation.
In the evening, there was a colourful evening with performances by all kinds of trans artists. The performances were beautiful, impressive and/or surprising.
Sunday
The last day of the Council started with a plenary presentation by the International Trans Fund, where they talked about the funding opportunities for trans communities. They have two types of funding: seed funding and thrive funding. There is less funding for the Global North, because other parts of the world need the money even more. The next deadline is early December, so there is still time to apply!
Next up was the fourth plenary panel: ‘Resilience amplified: Building healthy and connected trans movements’. This panel talked about bringing back ‘soul’ into the trans movement and putting the wellbeing of trans activists and collective care back at the centre. Trans activists often work with limited resources in stressful and unsafe circumstances. This has consequences for our personal physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, but also for the wellbeing of the trans movement as a whole. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen the resilience of our movement in times of crisis, and to equip ourselves with tools and resources to mitigate these challenges, for example by working with allies and strategic partners.
The final part was the plenary session: ‘Looking ahead: TGEU’s Strategic Plan and Vision’. Executive Director Ymania took the attendees through TGEU’s vision for the future and the new strategic plan.
With that, it was time for the closing. Co-chair Dinah had unfortunately gone home sick, so co-chair Sara thanked everyone for their presence, commitment and everything.
Accessibility
This year is the first time that the Council was fairly accessible. The hotel and almost all rooms were wheelchair accessible and there were also several wheelchair accessible toilets. In the plenary room there were professional interpreters who provided simultaneous speech-to-text translation on two large monitors. The restaurant took into account the most important dietary requirements. For people who wanted to de-stimulate there was a quiet room, where it was really quiet. For people who were (temporarily) struggling mentally, there were two English-speaking and one Russian-speaking psychologists. For acute questions there was an Accessibility Desk that was staffed all day. This ensured that I went home much less broken this time than in previous years.
Conclusion
I look back on a very inspiring Council. It is wonderful to be ‘amongst each other’ for more than three days, to exchange experiences and top tips, and to gain inspiration for new projects. I notice that I am now an ‘old hand in the trade’, with my 20 years of experience as an activist. In recent years, a new generation has become active, with new ideas and new resources. That is good to see! In two years I will definitely be there again!
Jochem
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