In the first few years since its inception, Bilitis Resource Center was working primarily on the grassroots level with the purpose to contribute to the social inclusion of lesbians, bisexual women and transgender people. Typical activities of that period were the organizing of self-support groups for lesbians and bisexual women, leadership camps, sports activities, and discussion clubs. Since 2005, Bilitis became co-organizer of the annual LGBT cultural fest at the Red House Center for Culture and Debate in Sofia, which exhibits art work of LGBT artists, and increases the visibility of queer art in Bulgaria. Besides being a unique cultural event, the LGBT festival also became a platform for voicing the opinions of LGBT people on topics of interest to them, such as the media coverage of LGBT issues, the same-sex registered partnerships, and instances of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender expression.
In 2009, in partnership with a wide informal group of LGBT activists, Bilitis coorganized the second annual LGBT pride event in Sofia, that was held on June 27 under the motto "Rainbow Friendship". Our participation in the preparation and carrying out of this event raised our confidence that we are capable of doing national-level advocacy work for LGBT rights.
The main current goal of Bilitis is:
- To achieve equality of and overcome all existing forms of discrimination against LGBTI people in Bulgaria
In pursuing of this goal, Bilitis will:
- Create a wide platform of NGOs, activists, donors, institutions and citizens, for the social inclusion of LGBTI in Bulgaria;
- On the grassroots level, will provide different types of support to lesbians, bisexual women, trans- and intersex persons;
- In the wider society, will work to disseminate the values of civil society, which exclude discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender and gender expression. |