Hirschfeld Eddy Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation (Hirschfeld-Eddy-Stiftung) was founded in Berlin
in June 2007. It is a foundation focused on human rights
of lesbian
, gay
, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT
) people.
people: Dr Magnus Hirschfeld
(1868-1935), after the German physician, sexologist, sexual reformer and civil rights activist and FannyAnn Eddy
(1974-2004), the prominent lesbian human rights activist from Sierra Leone, who was murdered in 2004.
). LSVD is one of three gay and lesbians organisation which was formally granted consultative status at the United Nations
in 2006 and is giving organizational support for the Foundation.
s."
The combination of the names of the "founding father of the gay rights movement in Germany" and the modern-day "human rights activist" and Martyr from Africa reflects that the struggle for the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people began in Europe but is now being waged in every continent of the world.
Human rights for LGBT people is a global issue which concerns universal principles. "The work which began in 1897 with Magnus Hirschfeld, who established the world's first homosexual rights organization, is now being carried forward by countless people on every continent – often at great personal risk. The Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation also aims to raise awareness of, and counteract, this threat to human rights advocates through international publicity campaigns. The name of FannyAnn Eddy symbolizes this brave dangerous struggle against oppression which often puts the lives of those involved at risk."
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in June 2007. It is a foundation focused on human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
of lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) people.
Name origin
The Foundation's name remembers two personalities who are important for the worldwide struggle for the Human Rights of gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
people: Dr Magnus Hirschfeld
Magnus Hirschfeld
Magnus Hirschfeld was a German physician and sexologist. An outspoken advocate for sexual minorities, Hirschfeld founded the Scientific Humanitarian Committee, which Dustin Goltz called "the first advocacy for homosexual and transgender rights."-Early life:Hirschfeld was born in Kolberg in a...
(1868-1935), after the German physician, sexologist, sexual reformer and civil rights activist and FannyAnn Eddy
Fannyann Eddy
Fannyann Viola Eddy was an activist for lesbian and gay rights in her native Sierra Leone and throughout Africa. In 2002, she founded the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association, the first of its kind in Sierra Leone. She traveled widely, addressing the United Nations and other international groups...
(1974-2004), the prominent lesbian human rights activist from Sierra Leone, who was murdered in 2004.
Background
The initiative came from the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVDLSVD
Lesben und Schwulenverband in Deutschland is the largest civil rights organisation of homosexuals in Germany....
). LSVD is one of three gay and lesbians organisation which was formally granted consultative status at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in 2006 and is giving organizational support for the Foundation.
Aims, idea and concept
The purpose of the foundation is "to foster respect for the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, contribute to international human rights advocacy, provide active support to human rights defenders, promote awareness-raising and dismantle prejudicePrejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
s."
The combination of the names of the "founding father of the gay rights movement in Germany" and the modern-day "human rights activist" and Martyr from Africa reflects that the struggle for the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people began in Europe but is now being waged in every continent of the world.
Human rights for LGBT people is a global issue which concerns universal principles. "The work which began in 1897 with Magnus Hirschfeld, who established the world's first homosexual rights organization, is now being carried forward by countless people on every continent – often at great personal risk. The Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation also aims to raise awareness of, and counteract, this threat to human rights advocates through international publicity campaigns. The name of FannyAnn Eddy symbolizes this brave dangerous struggle against oppression which often puts the lives of those involved at risk."
Founding council members
- Boris Balanetkii, Executive Director of Information Center GenderDoc-M, Moldova;
- Gloria Careaga, El Closet de Sor Juana, Mexico and Latin American board member, (ILGA), Faculty of Psychology in the National Autonomous University of MexicoNational Autonomous University of MexicoThe Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
(UNAM);
- Rosanna Flamer-CalderaRosanna Flamer-CalderaRosanna Flamer-Caldera is the Co-Secretary General of the International Lesbian and Gay Association .She has made a significant impact in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer advocacy in Sri Lanka, the Asian region, and internationally...
, Executive Director, Equal Ground, Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Co-Secretary General, ILGA;
- Muhsin Hendricks, The Inner Circle, South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, first openly gayGayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
imamImamAn imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
;
- Joey Matale, ANZAPI (Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia and Pacific Islands ) board member, ILGA, Tonga Leiti’s Association;
- Juliet Victor Mukasa, SMUG (Sexual Minorities UgandaSexual Minorities UgandaSexual Minorities Uganda is an umbrella non-governmental organization based in Kampala, Uganda. Headed by Executive Director Frank Mugisha and Chairperson and founder Victor Mukasa and formerly co-headed by Advocacy Officer David Kato , it pushes for the protection and human rights of lesbian,...
);
- Dede Oetomo, Founder and Trustee of Gaya Nusantara, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
;;
- Arsham ParsiArsham ParsiArsham Parsi is an Iranian LGBT Human Rights activist who lives in exile in Canada. He is the founder and head of the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees .-Career:...
, Executive Director, IRQR Iranian Railroad for Queer RefugeesIranian Railroad for Queer RefugeesIranian Railroad for Queer Refugees is an advocacy group founded and headed by Executive Director Arsham Parsi on behalf of Iranian LGBTs seeking safe havens both within and without Iran. It is currently the only active Iranian NGO in the world that works on behalf of the Iranian LGBT around the...
;
- Carlos Perera, Equal Ground Pasifik, FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
;
- Belissa Andía Pérez, Instituto Runa, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Trans Secretariat, ILGA;
- Toni ReisToni ReisToni Reis is the president of the Brazilian LGBT organisation called Grupo Dignidade, the general secretary of the national association of Gays, Lesbians and Transsexuals in Brasil of which he was a founding president in 1995, and a member of the international council of the Hirschfeld Eddy...
, President of ABGLT (Associação Brasileira de Gays, Lésbicas e Transgêneros - Brazilian LGBT federation).