Theme: Storytelling
Held on 8th-11th of February, 2018
Local Host: Intersex Danmark
The 2nd OII Europe Community Event & Public Conference took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, organized by OII Europe, Intersex Danmark and Copenhagen Pride.
50 participants from 25 different countries representing all Council of Europe regions attended the intersex community event; more than 30 of which had been granted a full or partial scholarship by OII Europe. The theme of the event was “storytelling”, as intersex people still have many unheard stories to tell.
On the first day, all the participants got to know each other a little bit, shared their regional realities and were introduced to various forms of storytelling. In the evening participants attended a public debate as part of Copenhagen Pride´s Winter Pride program.
The Amnesty International report First, Do no harm, published in spring 2017, had shown that there are stories to be told about violations of human rights that happened and are still happening to intersex people living in Denmark. The Public Conference part of the event, therefore, was held as a public hearing in the Danish Parliament and a reception at the city hall.
The Minister of Health, Ellen Trane Nørby, the Minister of Equality, Karen Elleman and the Director of the Danish health authority, Søren Brostrøm participated and were educated by intersex panelists and participants on the situation of intersex people and the human rights violation they face in Europe, including in Denmark.
On Saturday participants worked on various storytelling projects in different media such as art, infographics, writing, audio and the My Intersex Story Video:
Some of the feedback OII Europe received included:
“Meeting other intersex activists is the most inspiring thing that happened to me.“
„OII Europe helped me meet my unexpected but yet safest family“
„This community event was a very healing time, and it was very exciting to see how many and diverse we are ☺“
“Please tell them that events like that are making good difference in marginalized people’s life, even for a long time after the event itself. The positive energy and knowledge we took back home are incredibly valuable and irreplaceable. As a parent (that I couldn’t even dream for paying such a trip, cause both parents are jobless) I feel the most grateful for the people that gave us the awesome opportunity for my kid to meet with their own people’s loving intersex ‘tribe‘. This was – and still is – the most precious gift for them… So, From the deepest of my heart: Thank you all!“
„It’s extremely important to be able to meet other people with similar experiences, after living isolated and without people to relate to at home. Thank you so much for this event ❤“
“I really enjoyed the community event, from the storytelling projects we worked on and all the fun I had with our growing intersex family to the amazing public conference, which gave me the opportunity to learn and reflect. Thank you for providing us with this amazing empowering experience! Thank you for getting all of us together! Those 3 days were inspiring and full of positive energy. If only the event was a few days longer so I could get to know everyone even better!“
