Dear East meets West friends! 
 
Waking up after a long and warm summer? Yes, the wonderful sunny days and enchanting summer evenings are over and the reality of rainy and windy days is in front of us, but was the LGBTI community really sleeping…? Far from it. In this newsletter you can read what was happening not only in our region but also across the ocean. Most of us enjoyed one of many Prides, some were small and demanded courage from the participants, other Prides were huge, with tens of thousands of people celebrating diversity and the liberty to live the life we choose. But apart from Prides, you can read in this issue more details about other international events: NGLCC celebrated their 15th year of operations with a successful Conference in Las Vegas and the Canadian LGBTI Chamber of Commerce hosted their Global Summit in Toronto. We were also very happy to welcome the Italian GLBT Business Chamber and we wish them all the best. And last but certainly not least, a wealth of activities in our Central-and East European region: from a Business Breakfast, over a Gala Dinner to a Business Forum, not to forget the many conferences, forums and politically-inspired actions. An impressive list showing the powerful drive of our network! On the last pages you will find an overview of the planned activities in the coming months. 
Also for East meets West the summer had a special meaning as we, on the Vienna Pride Village, helped to set up a 1st LGBTI Business Center, a place where the LGBTI community can meet the business community. We already started planning the 2018 LGBTI Business Center… and 2019? Isn’t it when Vienna will host Euro Pride?