Participants from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Jharkhand, and West Bengal
Kolkata, January 17 (MExN): The US Consulate General Kolkata hosted ‘Voices of Diversity – Action for Inclusion’ conclave under the “Rainbow Dialogues – All in this Together” project in partnership with US based non-profit StoryCenter at the American Center.
The project was implemented in collaboration with local non-profits Prodigal’s Home and BRIDGE. The event marked the culmination of a five-day storytelling workshop at the American Center Kolkata, that brought together ten LGBTIQA+ activists-participants from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Jharkhand, and West Bengal to share their personal stories and express their voices through short videos.
An update received here stated that addressing the gathering American Center Director, Elizabeth Lee said, “Building support for and protecting universal human rights is at the very heart of our diplomacy, and we remain committed to advancing human rights for all, with a special focus on LGBTIQA+ individuals.” She added, “It is about choosing to stand up for the basic human rights visibly and vocally, call out bias and unacceptable behaviour, and use your voice to effect change.”
It is the first state-level advocacy conclave under the ‘Rainbow Dialogues: All in this Together’ project, which is being implemented in seven East and Northeast Indian states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Odhisa, and West Bengal.
The conclave was an advocacy event which was a culmination of a week-long (January 10-15, 2024) immersive storytelling workshop, jointly facilitated by Amy Hill, Silence Speaks Director, Story Center, USA, and Raymond Caldwell, Producing Artistic Director, Theater Alliance, USA, that witnessed participation from LGBTIQA+ identified individuals from all the seven states.
