The European Commission highlighted the details of "UNION OF EQUALITY: LGBTIQ EQUALITY STRATEGY 2020-2025" during a webinar organised with the participation of Transgender Europe, ILGA-Europe and Queer Cyprus Association on Wednesday, June 30 2021 via Zoom. The webinar was also shared live on the EU Infopoint Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/ABBilgi/videos/1121475201708895

In his opening remarks, Michael Docherty, Head of Section at the European Union Programme Support Office, defined EU’s LGBTIQ Strategy and stated "the first-ever lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) Equality Strategy addresses the inequalities and challenges affecting this community, setting out a number of targeted actions, including legal and funding measures, for the next 5 years. The actions focus around four main pillars: tackling discrimination; ensuring safety; building inclusive societies; and leading the call for LGBTIQ equality around the world.”

One of the keynote speakers of the event Jonas Hamm, Policy Officer at Transgender Europe shed light on the details of the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy in his presentation and introduced Transgender Europe (TGEU) and its work as a network composed of different organisations established to advocate for the rights of transgender, transexual and other like-minded individuals. Jonas Hamm stated that "with the first ever LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, the EU takes its commitment to LGBTIQ rights to a whole new level, and that is good - But it will not solve everything. In fact, it cannot solve everything. However, it is an important milestone and a valuable tool that we as civil society can use in our work for LGBTI Equality in Europe."
The second keynote speaker of the webinar, Belinda Dear, Advocacy Specialist at ILGA-Europe, focused on the impact that EU's LGBTIQ Equality Strategy brought along in Europe. She said that "while it is important that governments call out human rights violations happening against LGBTIQ people abroad, they must also work on ensuring equal rights for LGBTIQ people in their own country, through legislation and leadership.”

The webinar continued with a presentation delivered by lawyer Öncel Polili from Queer Cyprus Association. Mr. Polili provided information on his ongoing work with regard to the legal gaps in this domain in the Turkish Cypriot community. The moderator of the webinar, Erman Dolmacı, also the Project Coordinator of the EU funded Diversity of Colours Project implemented by Queer Cyprus Association, concluded the webinar by stating that “the First Pride was a rebellion and our rebellion shall continue until the day everyone is equal with LGBTIQ”.