First LGBTI Health Summit
to Be Held August 21-25, 2002
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| Compiled by GayToday
Boulder, Colorado--Leaders in the field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex
(LGBTI) health are making plans to converge on Boulder, Colorado this
summer for what is expected to be their largest summit and strategy
session in over a decade: The National LGBTI Health Summit 2002.
The summit, scheduled to take place August 21-25, is being organized by a
collective of 10 individuals from throughout the nation, including key
organizers from the 1999 and 2000 national Gay Men's Health Summits,
leaders in the lesbian health movement, and key bisexual and transgender
activists.
"After years of parallel organizing including two national Gay Men's
Health Summits," declared Eric Rofes, long-time community organizer and
convener of the Summit, "several conferences focused on lesbian health
issues, over 15 local/regional health summits nationwide, and exciting
recent strides in the fields of transgender and bisexual health, and the
formation of the Intersex Society of North America, these movements will
finally converge in one massive five-day summit...
"An event of the scope of LGBTI Health Summit 2002 has not occurred on the
national level for many years, as AIDS has drawn most of the energy,
attention, and resources from the community. HIV will remain central to
our discussions, but our ambitions are to address the broad array of
health challenges facing our communities."
Health activists, public health workers, medical professionals, HIV
prevention leaders, and community-based service providers are expected to
convene in response to a range of challenges currently facing LGBTI health
advocates nationwide including:
a dramatic fall-off of funding for non-profit organizations and LGBTI
health clinics in the aftermath of September 11th:
escalating controversies surrounding appropriate responses to
transgender and intersex health concerns;
and public health authorities' accusations of community irresponsibility
in the face of rising gay male rates of sexually transmitted infections.
"We are coming together at a very critical time for LGBTI communities
throughout the nation," said Rofes.
"In Boulder, we intend to chart exciting new directions for the movement, strategize about
new ways to assist our communities as they navigate the complex and fragile health
care systems of our nation, and ignite new initiatives as we catapult our
movement forward."
Cheryl Pearson-Fields of the Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer in
Washington, D.C. added:
"We'll be doing a lot of important, strategic work
at Boulder, but we will also be modeling ways to get the job done while
taking care of ourselves. The program includes important meetings on
issues ranging from cancer and domestic violence to HIV/AIDS and mental
health.
"But we also have almost two dozen workshops on holistic and
alternative health, self-care, and complementary therapies. This isn't
your ordinary conference-it's going to be a time of re-energizing
ourselves, as individuals, communities, and movements."
A program committee of 25 LGBTI leaders has recruited and evaluated over
250 proposals for meetings, debates, workshops, speeches, public
conversations, and media events.
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The result is a program that promises to be as diverse as
those in attendance. This diversity will be reflected not
only in the topics covered but in the session formats as
well, including workshops, plenaries, experiential programs,
topic tracks, and social events. Initial information about
the program is posted on the Summit website: www.healthsummit2002.org
The final program of the summit includes many highlights. Pat Dunn and
Marty Rouse of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association have organized a
major plenary session titled "What Is The Proper Role For the Federal
Government in the LGBTI Health Movement" that will examine issues of
agenda-setting, community power, and the Bush administration.
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Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:
Gay Men's Health Summit Planned
The Call to Health Summit 2000
Lesbian Health: A Landmark Report
Related Sites:
The National LGBTI Health Summit 2002
GayToday does not endorse related sites.
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Cheryl Chase of the Intersex Society of America will be one of the key speakers on a
panel focused on "Integrating Intersex Health into an LGBT Health
Movement."
A number of community leaders, including Rofes, Mark Beyer of
the Boulder County AIDS Project, and Scott Pegues, a community organizer
from Denver, will present a session entitled "Creating a Sustainable
Community: A One-Day Training for Leaders of an Unapologetic, Sex-Positive
Gay Men's Health Movement."
Sylvia Rhue of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center will lead a workshop
titled "Deep Fried Dogma and Mental Health," examining the impact of
homophobia on the mental health of LGBTI communities.
Alexa Franka from Washington D.C. will present "Ambiente Joven.org: Using the Internet to
Strengthen HIV Prevention Efforts Among Young Latino GLBTQ and MSMs."
Monica McLemore, of San Francisco will offer a workshop on "The State of
Public Health Research: Including Bisexuals in Study Methodologies and
Interpreting the Results."
Seth Kirby and Kai McBride will present a
model rural health program, titled, "Organizing Transsexual / Transgender
/ Intersex Healthcare in Rural Washington State."
The summit is expected to draw activists and professionals from all over.
Hundreds of registrations have already been received including registrants
from throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, the Philipines, and
Zimbabwe!
Rofes commented:
"Clearly this is already building into a historic event for queer health organizers.
We want to be sure that people register now, and grab housing, so they won't be
disappointed if we max out on slots. We're excited to be bringing together lesbians, gay men,
transgender people, bisexuals, intersex folks for five days of critically
important meetings. I think amazing things will come from these efforts."
The host organization for the event is the Boulder County AIDS Project.
Major funding has already been received from the Gill Foundation and
Bristol Meyers Squibb.
Registration and Community Housing: mark@bcap.org
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