The Frontline

Across Europe and Central Asia, Pride has become far more than a celebration of LGBTI visibility. Increasingly, it has become a measure of whether democratic rights and freedoms are under pressure.

In this episode of The Frontline, we ask why disinformation about LGBTI people has become one of the clearest challenges to democratic resilience. And we explore what attacks on Pride, including the appalling events at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day, reveal about the wider health of democracy.

Host Brian Finnegan is joined by Chris Kremidas-Courtney, Senior Advisor at Defend Democracy and the European Policy Centre, and Hripsime Kizogyan, Executive Director of Pink Armenia, who has documented how anti-LGBTI narratives are increasingly intertwined with anti-democratic politics in Armenia and across the region.

At the beginning of Pride season 2026, Chris wrote about Pride being Europe’s annual democracy test, which you can read here. More recently, Hripsime wrote about a disinformation campaign about Pride in Armenia, available here.

Together, our guests explore why governments so often target Pride before restricting other fundamental freedoms, how anti-LGBTI rhetoric and disinformation are being used to consolidate political power, what common patterns are emerging across different countries, and what European institutions must do to defend freedom of assembly and civic space.

SIGN OUR OPEN LETTER TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO PROTECT PRIDE, PROTECT DEMOCRACY

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Across the world, political and financial challenges are intensifying. For movements working toward justice and equality, the question is no longer just how to survive, but how to grow stronger, sharper, and more effective in the process. That means rethinking how we build participation from the ground up, and how we form alliances that might not have seemed possible before.

In this episode of The Frontline LGBTI activism podcast, we ask a pressing question: how do we transform uncertainty into momentum, and pressure into real, collective power?
Guiding the conversation is ILGA-Europe board member Masen Davis, bringing together a diverse panel of voices working across very different contexts, but facing connected struggles.

From Hungary, we hear from Tamás Dombos of Háttér Society. From Germany, Claudia Bollwinkel joins us, representing the philanthropic foundation Dreilinden gGmbH. From Croatia, we’re joined by Antonija Stojanović of LORI. And from South Africa, Jabu Pereira, Senior Fellow at Equality Without Borders and founder of Iranti, an organisation focused on LGBTI rights across Africa.

Together, they tackle the hard questions that sit at the heart of movement-building today: How do we bring more people into the fold without diluting our purpose? How do we work across differences while holding onto solidarity? And how do we use limited resources in smarter, more collective ways to sustain long-term impact?

This isn’t just a conversation about resilience. It’s about strategy. It’s about connection. And it’s about what it takes to build movements that don’t just endure pressure, but learn how to lead through it.

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At a time when democratic values are under increasing strain, LGBTI communities and other marginalised groups are finding themselves at the centre of a growing political backlash. Across Europe and beyond, rights that once felt secure are being challenged, and the forces behind this shift are organised, strategic, and expanding.

In this episode of The Frontline, host Micah Grzywnowicz (Executive Director of IPPF European Network and board member at ILGA-Europe) brings together a powerful panel to unpack what’s happening, and what comes next.

Joining the conversation are:

·        Jolyon Maugham of the Good Law Project
·        Eve Geddie Director at Amnesty International European Institutions Office  
·        Srishagon Abraham of the Colored Qolective
·        Enes Hocaoğulları, youth delegate to the Council of Europe, who was arrested and imprisoned in Turkey after speaking out against
police violence and democratic backsliding in 2025.

Together, they explore urgent questions: How do we respond politically when institutions grow more hostile? How do we defend hard-won rights? And how can movements build real solidarity without losing focus or momentum?

This is a candid, deeply informed conversation about strategy, resilience, and where hope can still be found in a difficult global moment.

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What can a small, divided island teach LGBTI activists about working across differences to build real resistance, solidarity, and power? Listen to our latest podcast from activists working across the Green Line in Cyprus.

Cyprus is often framed as a polarised place, but its LGBTI movement is rewriting that story. In this episode of The Frontline, activists from both sides of the green line that divides Cyprus, talk about how they’re challenging division, confronting rising hate, and reclaiming their space through protest, dialogue, and community care.

Recorded at ILGA-Europe’s Annual Conference in October, Stephanos Stavros Evangelides from Accept LGBTI Cyprus in the Republic of Cyprus residing in the southern part, and Reşat Şaban from Queer Cyprus Association, across the Green Line in the northern part of Cyprus, speak about how cooperation between the two organisations has a become a driving force for wider social transformation in Cyprus and beyond.

You’ll hear how a movement shaped by occupation, nationalism, and deep social conservatism has grown into a force for unity, equality, and justice. This isn’t just a local struggle, it’s a blueprint for cooperation in the current political context, despite deep differences.

Stephanos and Reşat unpack how they collectively take on far-right rhetoric, anti-rights backlash, and navigate post-colonial traumas, all while building bridges across communities and borders. Through their wins, missteps, and lessons learned, they offer practical strategies that activists across Europe and Central Asia can apply right now.

If you’re navigating political division, institutional neglect, or rising hostility, this episode gives you an honest, inspiring look at how to stay resilient, and how queer liberation can fuel broader movements for peace and justice.

Subscribe to The Frontline for more episodes with LGBTI organisers sharing movement expertise and exploring what effective activism looks like.

This episode is part of a series of podcasts, blogs and resources from ILGA-Europe’s Annual Conference in October 2025, looking at what it takes to work across differences to become a united movement for LGBTI human rights in the current political climate.

Follow ILGA-Europe's social media and keep up to date with all our work alongside the LGBTI movement in Europe and Central Asia for safety, equality and freedom.

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As LGBTI communities face growing hostility, veteran activist Ailbhe Smyth reflects on how Irish activists united across divides to win a historic referendum victory for marriage equality ten years ago, and what today’s LGBTI organisers can learn from that approach.
 
We’re living in a time of rising authoritarianism, where politicians use LGBTI people as scapegoats to create a common enemy. This moment demands that our movement work across our differences and truly connect with people’s hearts and minds to build understanding, solidarity, and the courage to push back together.

Ten years ago in Ireland, the campaign for marriage equality showed what’s possible when a movement chooses connection over division. Groups that had long disagreed on strategy came together with a shared purpose: to speak to people’s hopes, their sense of fairness, and their desire to do right by one another. That spirit of unity and genuine outreach helped lead to an overwhelming vote to include same-sex marriage in the constitution

Ten years after Ireland’s landmark marriage equality referendum, this episode of The Frontline offers a powerful and insight rich talk for LGBTI activists, community organisers and anyone working for social change at this moment in time. Ailbhe Smyth, cofounder of the 2015 Marriage Equality campaign and a central figure in Ireland’s feminist and LGBTI movements, shares practical lessons on how to work across differences to build people power, strengthen grassroots organising and create campaigns that win.

Recorded at this year’s ILGA Europe Annual Conference in Vilnius, Ailbhe reflects on the strategies behind both the marriage equality victory and the 2018 abortion referendum. Her talk is filled with guidance for activists navigating today’s challenging sociopolitical context, including how to build broad coalitions, how to work across differences, how to mobilise local communities and how to communicate in ways that shift public opinion.

This episode is designed for LGBTI organisations, grassroots groups, emerging leaders and movement builders looking for clear and real world organising knowledge. Ailbhe explains what helped Irish activists turn local conversations into national momentum and how campaigners can sustain themselves and their communities through long struggles for equality and human rights.

If you are searching for practical strategies for LGBTI organising, examples of successful equality campaigns or inspiration from one of Ireland’s most respected activists, this episode offers grounded and actionable insights you can use immediately.

Subscribe to The Frontline for more episodes that support LGBTI organisers, share movement expertise and explore what effective activism looks like across Europe and Central Asia.

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