CHARM-EU joins the global awareness International Day Against LGBTQIA+ Discrimination on 17th May 2023
The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) was created in 2004 to raise global awareness about the violence and discrimination against people who identify as lesbians, gays, trans, bisexuals, or any other sexual orientations have to face every day. CHARM-EU joins to raise awareness of this International Day, reiterating our commitment to breaking down discrimination specifically in our day-to-day organisational culture and in a broader sense in science and education.
Importance of the issue
International Day is both a global call and an awareness-raising fight against all forms of discrimination. It celebrates the diversity of human existence and recognises how far societies have achieved to create more peaceful and just, inclusive societies and how far there is left to go. At first, it was named International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). In 1990 the WHO (World Health Organization) declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder to this day. In 2009 they added Transphobia to it when they realised trans people also experience discrimination as homosexuals. The new acronym was IDAHOT, International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Since 2015 we have used the current name (IDAHOBIT), which contains biphobia, too.
Thematic focus in 2023
"Together Always: United in Diversity” perfectly represents the force that connects people worldwide. According to recent studies, there are over 2 billion people in the world who live in an environment where homosexuality is criminalised.
CHARM-EU's commitment to working towards inclusive organisational culture inclusive and just societies.
How we interact with one another affects the integrity of the CHARM-EU's academic and workplace environments. CHARM-EU is determined to lead by example, reflect and act upon our unconscious biases and organisational culture and how our values and principles are implemented across our activities, community, and stakeholders. We work towards a climate of respect, accountability, honesty, and integrity in the community, as described in one of our core values - inclusiveness. CHARM-EU and its Master's recognise that all students and stakeholders must step-by-step design and implement aspects of inclusion, diversity, human rights, and non-discrimination within our organisation's culture, operations, educational activities and final educational projects. We are delighted that our Master's programme includes discussing many discourses on human rights and how to dismantle all forms of discrimination and reflect on our biases within ourselves, smaller and wider communities. We are committed to shaping minds and developing structures to realise the UN SDG's values meaningfully. We acknowledge that structural barriers, including stigma and discrimination, remain a huge obstacle to social inclusion. Joint efforts of the CHARM-EU community and actors will foster the creation of a more just, inclusive education and society.
Joins us to raise awareness by using the hashtag # IDAHOBIT2023 on social media. Find more information by visiting the following link: IDAHOBIT 2023 theme: “Together always: united in diversity” ~ may17.org
Resources:
- Long path to full equality says UN, marking Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia | UN News
- About ~ may17.org
Credit:
This contribution was prepared by Anna Tepliczky, a student volunteer (ELTE BGGYK) in collaboration with colleagues from the CHARM-EU Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team.