One of the very first
workshops for the day!! Yes! It was all exciting I thought.. the
way forward and the way ahead!! The youth! I must admit it all did fall a bit
short until this dynamic presenter came along and “ literally” swooshed us off
our feet!! Yes! That’s exactly what the ever bubbly Vica Krisilia Larasati from
Indonesia did! Being the third in line to reach her audience (after quite a
heavy but wonderful Thai lunch) She must have noted the serious lack of
enthusiasm when she decided to make everyone stand up and learn the words to
some song which she then made us sing! “L.O.V.E… Everybody needs some LOVE… Chuu..
Choo..Chuu.. Choo” it went! But let’s
leave that all behind and get to her message.. I was most intrigued by the statement ! “Religion
often becomes a medium to legitimize what is “wrong” and “right”! A hugely
debatable and I am quite sure it would be, but for now we shall leave it as I don’t
want to get as heavy as the topic and move on!
There was also ‘Agniva
Lahiri’ and Arif Jafar who spoke and I shall key in some of the single liners which
made me sit up and / or smile! J
Arif is of the belief that things have changed dramatically in the last 23 years of his activism and that ‘Gaydar’… wait for it!! Drum roll!! Is NOT as popular as Facebook!, Yes!! Mark will be thrilled! He also replied to a question made by a member of the audience that Facebook is still only an access route used by the literate and those in search of sex.
A question made by the Cambodian member (it was more a statement) was that back home they used FB as a medium to bring the LGBT community together, this I thought was rather clever in the face of oppression!
Agniva’s message was loud although to me not so clear. We need to address the Meental Health issue! But it was too academic and think I may need to access the document in order to truly report on it! A question from the audience based on caste brought a very interesting topic on the Hijras of India! I promise to track Agniva down before this conference is over and give the fully coloured illustration!
Arif is of the belief that things have changed dramatically in the last 23 years of his activism and that ‘Gaydar’… wait for it!! Drum roll!! Is NOT as popular as Facebook!, Yes!! Mark will be thrilled! He also replied to a question made by a member of the audience that Facebook is still only an access route used by the literate and those in search of sex.
A question made by the Cambodian member (it was more a statement) was that back home they used FB as a medium to bring the LGBT community together, this I thought was rather clever in the face of oppression!
Agniva’s message was loud although to me not so clear. We need to address the Meental Health issue! But it was too academic and think I may need to access the document in order to truly report on it! A question from the audience based on caste brought a very interesting topic on the Hijras of India! I promise to track Agniva down before this conference is over and give the fully coloured illustration!
Stefan Andre Joachim
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