Wednesday 21 May
8h30 – Welcome
9h15 – Opening of the conference - Auditorium
Pablo Sanz, President, Ex aequo, Bruxelles
Winnie Byanyima, Directrice Exécutive ONUSIDA (en video)
Moderation : Mike Mayné, Board member, Ex Aequo, Brussels
9h30 – Navigating a Troubled Context (Part 1) - Plenary session in the auditorium
The Impact of Anti-Gender and Anti-LGBTIQ+ Movements on Community Health Initiatives
Hostile rhetoric and legislation can disrupt vital programs. Speakers detail how far-right agendas, misinformation, or legal threats undermine LGBTIQ+ care, and share tactics to safeguard services. The focus is on mobilizing alliances, strategic communications, and emergency funding solutions that help communities remain resilient and visible.
Inès Alaoui, Global Health Policy Manager, Coalition Plus, Paris
Vincent Reillon, Senior Advocacy Officer, Forbidden Colours, Bruxelles
Moderation : Gabriel Girard, Researcher, SESSTIM (AMU - Inserm - IRD), Marseille
10h45 - Break
11h15 – Taking Part in Public Health Policy (Part 1) - Plenary session in the auditorium
Obstacles, Emergencies, and Opportunities
Engaging policymakers is key to sustainable change, but barriers abound—such as limited representation or urgent crises that overshadow LGBTIQ+ issues. Panelists will discuss how laws, regulations, and guidelines may differ, and present how to engage in public health policy. Attendees will gain insight into effective lobbying and coalition-building.
Céline Mahieu, Professor, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles
Justin Varney-Bennett, Regional Director of Public Health, Department of Health & Social Care, Birmingham
Chris Noone, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Galway, Galway
Moderation : Stephen Barris, Director, Ex Aequo, Brussels
test
12h30 - Lunch
13h45 – Parallel sessions
Trans Health on Our Terms (2h30 - Room F1)
Community-Led Approaches, Access, and Self-Determination
This session brings together initiatives and research that challenge traditional, often exclusionary, models of trans healthcare. From peer-led hormone education to grassroots clinics and advocacy in hostile legal environments, the presentations highlight how trans and non-binary communities are organizing for access, autonomy, and dignity. They explore how self-determination, experiential knowledge, and collective action are reshaping gender-affirming care, even in the face of medical gatekeeping, legal repression, and structural inequalities.
Moderation : Aurore Dufrasne, Psychologue, Genres Pluriels, Bruxelles
Presentation of initiatives - 1st round (13h45 - 14h55)
Dinah Bons, co-chair,TGEU Trans Europe Central Asia, Berlin
Rafik Taibjee, Senior Academic GP, The University of Exeter, Exeter
Maui Galang, Partnerships and Advocacy Officer, Filipino LGBT Europe, Amsterdam
Presentation of initiatives - 2nd round (15h05 - 16h15)
Nathan Bédon-Rouanet, Président, Union Testophile, Bruxelles
Maka Gogia, Programs Director, Georgian Harm Reduction Network, Tbilissi
Amélie Pasmann, Master Student, Maastricht University, Maastricht
Broad-Spectrum Harm Reduction Initiatives in LGBTIQ+ Contexts (2h30 - Room F2)
Rethinking Risk Reduction Across Mental, Sexual, and Social Dimensions
Harm reduction goes beyond substance use: it can address stigma, mental health challenges, and unsafe social environments. Presenters detail how intersectional factors—like race or disability—shape risks, and showcase approaches spanning peer support, digital outreach, and cultural adaptation to minimize harm in diverse contexts.
Moderation : Michal Albert Pawlega, Responsable de prévention, AHF Europe
Presentation of initiatives (13h45-14h55)
Ismar Hačam, Project assistant, AIDS Action Europe, Berlin
Eliane Nininahazwe, Director, HIV Stigmafighter, Amersfoort
Osmely Piña, Project Manager, Accion Triángulo, Madrid
Panel discussion (15h05 - 16h15)
Arianna Rogialli, Policy Officer, Correlation - European Harm Reduction Network, Arnhem
Vera Rodriguez, Program Officer on Access to Health, ESWA, Amsterdam
Florian Vock, Deputy Director, Swiss AIDS Federation, Zürich
Ethics and Methodology in Research (1h10 - Room B1)
Balancing Scientific Rigor with Respect for Community Autonomy
Studying LGBTIQ+ issues raises unique ethical questions. Speakers discuss insider/outsider dynamics, informed consent in mistrustful contexts, and ensuring marginalized voices lead inquiry. Through case examples, attendees learn to balance academic demands—like rigorous protocols—with the need for culturally safe, community-led research frameworks.
Tabea Hässler, Senior Lecturer, University of Zurich/ Co-Founder Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel, Zurich
Catherine Meads, Professor of Health, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
Léo Manach, Researcher, Ceped, France
Modération : Chris Noone, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Galway, Galway
LGBTQI+ Mental Health (Part 1 - 1h10 - Room B2)
Building Community Responses Amid Institutional Gaps
This session brings together initiatives from across Europe that address LGBTQI+ mental health through community-based, peer-led, and structural approaches. In the face of limited public policies, unequal access to care, and hostile environments, these projects create alternative networks of support, advocacy, and healing. Presentations explore mental health mediation, partnerships with institutions, professional training, and the recognition of lived experience as expertise—highlighting how collective resilience and community care can bridge the gaps left by institutional systems.
Christos Nousis, Research associate, Aeginiteio Psychiatric Hospital Suicide Outpatient Clinic, Athens
Cynthia Thöni, Clinical Psychologist, Zurich
Moderation : Matej Vrebac, Programe Coordinator, Sarajevo Open Centre, Sarajevo
15h05 – Sessions parallèles (1h10)
The Gender Binary Divide, Linked with a Feminist Perspective (Room B1)
Examining How Binary Norms Shape Healthcare and What Feminism Brings to the Table
Traditional male/female categories can marginalize non-binary and intersex individuals, while also reinforcing inequities. This session weaves feminist critiques into discussions on policy reform, focusing on patient autonomy, inclusive clinical practices, and the benefits of connecting LGBTIQ+ advocacy with broader gender justice movements.
Emma Sarter, Researcher, UNIA, Bruxelles
Jenna Krumminga and Nici Wertecki, Safer Sex Berlin, Berlin
Rosa Almirall, President, Kasa Trans* Association, Barcelona
Moderation : Charlotte Pezeril, Researcher, Observatoire du sida et des sexualités, Bruxelles
HIV and STI Care at the Margins (Room B2)
Addressing Barriers for Migrant and Undocumented LGBTIQ+
This session highlights community-led strategies to improve access to HIV and sexual health services for LGBTIQ+ people facing compounded vulnerabilities—especially migrants, asylum seekers, and those without health insurance. Presentations from Portugal, Germany, and France showcase peer-based prevention, treatment access, and tailored support models that bridge systemic gaps and respond to the specific needs of marginalized queer populations.
Nina Eder, Social Worker, Checkpoint BLN, Berlin
Steven Wen, Coordinateur des programmes de prévention, Checkpoint Paris, Paris
Moderation : Guillermo Moran Perez, Coordinator of Refcheckpoint, Positive Voice - Refcheckpoint, Athens
16h15 - Break
16h45 – Parallel sessions
Responding to Violence (Room F1)
Care, Listening, and Resistance in LGBTQI+ Communities
This session explores community-based responses to systemic, social, and intimate violence experienced by LGBTQI+ people. Whether through peer-led support groups, helplines, or grassroots observatories, the initiatives presented show how collective care, shared experience, and participatory knowledge are powerful tools for healing, empowerment, and social change. They highlight that care itself can be a political act.
Kyn Yoram Krakowski, Psychologist, Association for Queer and Feminist Healthcare, Toulouse
Klara Kruse Rosset, Coach for voluntary consellors, LGBTIQ Helpline / Pink Cross, Zürich
Tamara Perraud, Development and evaluation manager, Acceptess-T, Paris
Moderation : Mike Mayné, Administrateur, Ex Aequo, Bruxelles
Inclusive Cancer Care for Trans and Gender-Diverse People (Room F2)
From Barriers to Solutions
This session explores how trans and gender-diverse people experience inequities throughout the cancer care continuum—due to stigma, lack of provider training, and structural exclusion. Presentations highlight national efforts to improve screening access, address clinical dilemmas at the intersection of oncology and gender-affirming care, and co-create inclusive services. Together, they call for systemic change rooted in evidence, equity, and community partnership.
Alberto Giovanni Leone, Coordinator of "Oncogender" working group, AIOM, Milano
Alison Berner, Academic Clinical Lecturer in Medical Oncology, Queen Mary University of London, London
Moderation : Catherine Meads, Professor of Health, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
Rethinking Prevention (Room B1)
Game, Humor, and Collective Conversations in Queer Sexual Health
How can we talk about queer sexual health differently? This session explores creative, playful, and participatory approaches to sexual health promotion. From role-playing board games to a large-scale survey on condom use among MSM, the presentations and discussions invite us to rethink our tools, narratives, and strategies. Together, they highlight the need for prevention that speaks to the realities, desires, and languages of our communities.
Victor Abraham Lacô, Créateurice de jeux et outils de prevention queer, Lacôtepétrie, Bruxelles
Sandra Van Eynde, SENSOA, Belgium
Moderation : Jonathan Gregory, Campaign Management, Deutsche Aidshilfe, Berlin
LGBTQI+ people in the Health Sector (Room B2)
Between Invisibility, Discrimination, and Agents of Change
This session explores the often-overlooked experiences of LGBTQI+ professionals working within healthcare systems. Through research and testimony from Cyprus, Portugal, and Belgium, the presentations reveal how LGBTQI+ health workers face unique forms of stigma—including internalized phobias—while also holding crucial potential to lead change. From structural analysis to training and advocacy, the session highlights how lived experience becomes a tool for transforming healthcare from within.
Myriam Monheim, Psychologue, Plan F, Bruxelles
Mara Pieri, Researcher, Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Coimbra
Moderation : Margot Annequin, Researcher, Aix Marseille Université, Marseille
18h00 - End of the day
19h00 - Réception at Brussels Town Hall, Grand Place.