Belgrade, 15 September 2015
Earlier today, the National Assembly of Serbia was the place where ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey was established!
ERA is an umbrella association of 25 LGBTI civil society organisations from Western Balkans and Turkey, aiming to promote and advocate for the rights and freedoms of all people regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics. It was the result of the already existing informal networks among some of the LGBTI organisations working on mutual projects, of the need for increasing capacities and the effects of the organisations’ advocacy activities, and of the need for cooperative access to funding opportunities, both regionally and worldwide.
“I am so excited that after a year of tremendous efforts committed to building this shared vision of unified approach in aligning advocacy, capacity building and fundraising activities among the 25 member organisations, we are finally able to proudly say: ERA is established! It has been quite a journey so far and I am really looking forward to seeing more opportunities for growth for every member organization, and thus advancing LGBTI rights and status in our region.” – said Dragana Todorovic, the chief responsible behind the implementation of the project of creating a regional LGBTI association for Western Balkans and Turkey.
“We as LGBTI activists in the seven countries of this region, are often encountering challenges in multiplying the effects of our work and in leveraging regional cooperation to advocate for LGBTI rights nationally, regionally and internationally, particularly in the framework of the EU integration processes. This sometimes also depends on the access we have to funding opportunities. Donors frequently favour cross-national and regional approaches to funding, and therefore, joining our efforts in fundraising, and thus, securing long-term sustainability of our organisations is one of the key goals ERA will attempt to achieve.” – added Amarildo Fecanji, from PINK Embassy, Albania.
The establishment of ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association is part of a project that is financially supported by the European Union, and is being implemented by Labris – Lesbian Human Rights Organisation from Serbia.