Montreal is playing host to the first annual World Outgames, a huge coming together of GLBTQ amateur athletes from around the world. The Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association (GLISA), a group formed to develop gay and lesbian sport worldwide, are the organizers of the event. It is the second such organization after Gay Games.
GLISA sanctions world and continental games that welcome and encourages queer athletes, creates a calendar of global GLBTQ sports events, fosters the creation of new GLBTQ federations, clubs and teams, and supports existing sports organizations. The association promotes certain core beliefs that hold the acronym “PRIDE” (Participation and celebration, Respect and fairness, Innovation, Diversity, Empowerment).
GLISA itself grew out of a think tank of leaders in both the GLBTQ and mainstream sports world who met in Montreal in January 2004 to discuss the future of GLBTQ sports following a philosophical and financial disagreement with Gay Games. GLISA is quick to point out in its dealings with media that the Out Games are not in competition with Gay Games, or in reaction to them, but rather are a continuation of the spirit of GLBTQ sports and an expansion of opportunities for queer athletes from around the world to connect and compete.
“The City of Montreal, and Montrealers in general, were very supportive of hosting Gay Games VII,” says Pascal Dessureault, Press Secretary for the 1st World Outgames Montreal 2006. “During negotiations with Gay Games there were some disagreements and differences around how to approach these games and it was decided, based on the business model we had developed, to go ahead and create a new event. The backing was there, the venues were there, everything was in place. To have lost this opportunity would have been an economic blow [to Montreal].”
To date, approximately 12,000 participants have registered and organizers expect close to 250,000 spectators, generating close to $170 million for Montreal.
The Montreal World Outgames take place July 26th to 29th, 2006 in that city’s Palais des Congrès, the convention centre located in the heart of the historic city.
The Preliminary Programme of the International Conference on LGBT Rights opens with keynote speakers Gérald Tremblay, Mayor of Montreal; Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec; and Louise Arbour, The Canadian United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, based out of Geneva, Switzerland.
“The International Human Rights Conference is a first, that we know of,” says Dessureault. “So far, we have had a thousand delegates register for the conference and our goal is 2,000 delegates. No other GLBT conference has ever had those numbers.”
In addition to the main International Conference, there are two sub-conferences taking place: Workers Out!, dealing with GLBTQ labour issues and Out for Business, a gathering of GLBTQ Chambers of Commerce from all over the world. A bursary program has been initiated to assist delegates coming from Third World countries.
Other keynote speakers throughout the conference include: Mark Tewksbury; Martina Navratilova; Episcopalian Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson; author of The Trouble With Islam Today, Irshad Manji; Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa (retired) Desmond Tutu; Brazilian Appellate Judge, Court of Justice, State of Rio Grande do sul, Maria Berenice Dias; substitute Senator and former Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Mexican Federal Congress, Patria Jimenez; Spanish President José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero; and others.
During the brainstorming sessions, the organizers put forward various names of international individuals involved in or supportive of GLBTQ human rights. Letters of invitation were then sent out.
“It helped that the City of Montreal, the Province of Quebec, and the Government of Canada were so supportive of the games and the conference,” says Dessureault. “We approached individuals known for their work in human rights, and specifically for their work in GLBTQ human rights, to invite them to speak at this conference. We were very pleased with the level of affirmative response. It is very meaningful, for instance, to have the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights speaking at this conference. That has never happened before.”
While much of the funding and other administrative work was accomplished under Paul Martin’s government, Dessureault does not anticipate any problems under a Stephen Harper government.
“He has been invited. It’s too early to tell if we will experience any problems or reactions from his MPs. The funding is already in place, we’ve been working with the relevant departments to get this all up and running…so we will see what happens. We have had a high level of cooperation from the government on this, so we are confident there will be few, if any, problems.”
The various issues to be addressed in the five plenary sessions include GLBTQ rights in the US and Canada, Africa and the Arab World, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific Region, Europe, as well as the future of GLBTQ rights worldwide. Over 200 workshops on various aspects of rights work are planned.
“We put out a Call for Proposals early in the process,” says Dessureault. “We received over 800 workshop proposals and eventually managed to choose 200 we thought would be of interest to delegates.”
Such an enormous and high profile undertaking requires considerable cash. Again, various interests stepped up to help bring this conference to fruition.
“Approximately twenty-two per cent of our funding comes from corporate donations, such as Tourism Montreal, Labatt’s, Radio Canada, Bell Canada, Air Canada, and Via Rail, to name a few. One third is from registrations, one third is government funding at civic, provincial and federal levels, and then we have product marketing and branding.”
Throughout the conference, organizers will refer to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as to the United Nations’ Freedoms and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/pdp-hrp/docs/cesc/cn_e.cfm).
At the close of the Conference, participants will be presented with the Declaration of Montreal and will have opportunities to comment on the Declaration before and during the Conference. It is hoped this Declaration to the United Nations, and to national governments, will be instrumental in mobilizing unequivocal support for LGBT rights worldwide.
The Games themselves will be a major athletic and cultural event that brings together people from all over the world. The games welcome everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, age, gender identity, race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, physical challenge, political beliefs, physical ability, athletic/artistic skills or HIV/ health status. As with the Gay Games, all that matters is the desire to support the ideals of the Outgames. People with specific needs or disabilities are integrated as full-fledged participants, volunteers, officials and spectators.
Their website (www.montreal2006.org) declares, “Montréal 2006’s vision is to orchestrate the largest and most magnificent gathering of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transvestites, transsexuals and heterosexuals coming together in a festive spirit of celebration in North America’s City of Festivals. Montrealers of all persuasions, gay and non-gay, are dedicated to making this event a resounding success, thereby bearing out Montréal’s reputation as a City of Games.”
Montreal OutGames 2006
http://www.montreal2006.org
