9h00 – Parallel sessions

 

LGBTIQ+ Health Data: How to Collect, How to Use (Part 2 - Room F1)

Inclusive Methodologies, Confidentiality, and Evidence-Based Practice

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Gathering sensitive information requires careful ethics, inclusive language, and robust consent. This session explores best practices for reaching diverse subgroups, managing privacy, and leveraging disaggregated data to improve interventions. By refining data collection and application, researchers can reveal hidden disparities and drive tailored solutions.

 

​Moderation : Lynda Sagrestano, Senior Researcher, Deutsches Jugendinstitut (German Youth Institute), Munich

 

​​Presentation 

 

​Liana Aphami, Researcher, University of Maastricht, Maastricht​

 

Discussion panel​

 

​Tabea Hässler, Senior Lecturer, University of Zurich/ Co-Founder Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel, Zurich

Alain Leobon, Chercheur Associé, UMR ESO, Nantes

Despina Michaelidou, Project Manager, AIDS Solidarity Movement, Nicosia

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Innovating to Better Address LGBTIQ+ Health Needs in Changing Contexts (2h - Room F2)

Adapting to Socio-Political Shifts and Leveraging New Technologies
 

Hostile policies, funding cuts, and emerging technologies all challenge LGBTIQ+ health work. This session features inventive responses—from telemedicine to social enterprise. Speakers explain how they pivot to remain effective despite limited resources, underscoring resilience, digital inclusion, and collaborative solutions that keep communities empowered.

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Moderation : Moujan Mirdamadi, Board Member, Spectrum, Prague

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Presentation of initiatives

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Dima Bilyarchyk, Co-Founder & CEO, Every Health, Berlin

Daniel Townsend, Founder, Loretta Health, Germany

Bart Anseeuw, Psychologist, Antwerp

 

Panel discussion

Leo Pavam, Head of Development & Outreach, The Love Tank, London

Thomas Kylo, Researcher, The Love Tank, London

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Mediation in Community Health (Part 2 - 2h - Room B1)

Professionalization, Community Anchoring, and Access to Care

 

This session highlights health mediation as a key tool for improving access to care for LGBTQI+ communities—particularly for trans people, migrants, sex workers, and those excluded from mainstream healthcare. From structured transition support pathways in Bordeaux, to digital outreach on dating apps in the Paris region, and legal clinics defending healthcare rights, these initiatives show how peer-led and community-based mediation can bridge gaps, facilitate inclusion, and transform care practices through cooperation, trust, and advocacy.

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Samuel Crougneau, Chargé de mission - Médiateur santé pair, Le Girofard - Centre LGBTI+ Bordeaux, Bordeaux

Anaïs Gautier, Head of Prevention Programs', Checkpoint, Paris

Leceo Havard, Ingénieur d'étude, SESSTIM, Marseille

Vaghinak Ter-Hovhannisyan, Lawyer, Pink Armenia, Yerevan

Moderation : Valentin Blaison, Responsable dépistage, Ex Aequo, Bruxelles

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Practical Implementation of Research: Translating Results into Action (9h00 - 1h - Room B2)

Bridging the Gap from Evidence to Real-World Change
 

Turning studies into improved care or policy is a common stumbling block. This session offers strategies for adapting research insights to diverse settings, presenting them to key decision-makers, and engaging communities in the process. Real-world successes underscore how data can spark reforms that are timely, relevant, and inclusive.

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Chris Noone, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Galway, Galway

Benjamin Hampel, Medical Chief/Researcher, Checkpoint Zurich/University of Zurich, Zurich

Kai Jonas, Chair in Applied Social Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht

Moderation : Mara Pieri, Researcher, Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Coimbra​

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Funding and Sustainability of LGBTIQ+ Health Research (10h00 - 1h - Room B2)

Navigating Political Climates, Ethical Partnerships, and Long-Term Support
 

Locating reliable funding for sensitive research can be fraught, especially under hostile regimes. Panelists address balancing sponsor requirements with ethical commitments, preventing pinkwashing, and diversifying resources to reduce vulnerability. Discussions also examine how organizations ensure continuity amid economic or political shifts.

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Andreas Pfister, Professor/Co-Head Institute of Public Health, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur

Catherine Meads, Professor of Health, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge

Gabriel Girard, Researcher, SESSTIM (AMU - Inserm - IRD), Marseille​​

Modération : Mihai Lixandru, Project Manager, ARAS, Bucharest

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11h00 - Break

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11h30  – Parallel sessions (1h15)

 

Chemsex, Care and Community (Part 2 - Room F1)

Peer-Based Responses to Complex Realities

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This session explores the evolving landscape of chemsex across Europe through community-driven and clinical lenses. Presentations highlight peer-led harm reduction strategies, the mental health impacts of drug use in sexualised contexts, emerging substances like MDPV, and the role of sexual rights in response models. Together, they outline the need for holistic, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive interventions rooted in community expertise and care.

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Alejandro Sánchez Ocaña, Researcher and Peer in Chemsex Programmes, ONG Stop, Granada​​​​

Daniele Calzavara, Former Director, Milano Checkpoint, Milano

Maurizio Ferrara, Psychologue, Infor Drogues, Bruxelles

Moderation : Vincent Goetry, Expert, Ex Aequo, Bruxelles

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​​Peer Expertise in Developing Community Health Initiatives (Room F2)

Harnessing Lived Experience to Strengthen Services and Collaboration

 

Peer expertise brings authenticity and shared understanding to health programs. Here, participants learn how peer-driven efforts—whether individual mentoring or organization-to-organization exchanges—boost engagement and credibility. The session highlights training models, potential pitfalls (like burnout), and how peers co-create safer, more relevant care.

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Gerard Funes, Health project officer, Stop Sida (ONG Stop), Barcelona

Will Nutland, Founder and Co-director, The Love Tank, London

Isaac Salaün, Member, Hippocampes, France

Seba, Welfare & harm reduction, Safe Only CIC, London​​

Moderation : Mike Mayné, Board Member, Ex Aequo, Bruxelles

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Minority Stress and Care Practices (Room B1)

Reflections from LGBTQI+ Lived Experience

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This session explores minority stress as experienced both by LGBTQI+ individuals receiving mental health support and by LGBTQI+ professionals working within cis- and heteronormative care systems. Through an intersectional lens, it examines internalized shame, normative training discourses, and shared experiences between caregivers and those they support—inviting a deeper reflection on how healing and care are intertwined.

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Myriam Monheim, Psychologue, Plan F, Bruxelles

Noémie Girard, Psychologue, Plan F, Bruxelles

Moderation : Alessandra Widmer, Co-director, Lesbian Organisation Switzerland, Bern

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Anal health (Room B2)

Breaking Taboos, Promoting Access

 

Anal health is still heavily stigmatized, despite its importance for many LGBTQI+ people. This silence leads to gaps in care, avoidable health issues, and a lack of informed support—especially for sex workers, MSM, and trans people. This session explores how we can challenge taboos, share community knowledge, and push for respectful, inclusive healthcare.

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Laure Sevrin and Houda Zarioh, Alias, Bruxelles

Walter Margos, Proctologue, Bruxelles

Moderation : Olivier Dupray, Médecin, Maison Arc en Ciel de la Santé, Bruxelles

 

12h45 - Lunch

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14h15  – Mobilization of Intersectional Activism: Alliances Beyond LGBTIQ+ Actors - Plenary session in the auditorium

Building Coalitions with Other Social Justice Movements
 

Collaborative activism expands impact by merging LGBTIQ+ causes with feminism, anti-racism, disability rights, and beyond. Presenters highlight joint campaigns, potential tensions, and the power of unified messaging. Through shared goals and cross-movement solidarity, communities can drive policy reforms that benefit multiple marginalized groups.

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Mimi Aum Neko, Transfeminist activist, Acceptess-T, Paris

Harvey Kennedy-Pitt, Global Public Health Consultant, Unstukk, Manchester

Ryan Joseph Figueiredo, Founder and Executive Director, Equal Asia Foundation, Bangkok

Modération : Ahmet Sitki Demir, Campaign Management, Deutsche Aidshilfe, Berlin

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15h30  – Promoting LGBTIQ+ Health Research Networks - Plenary session in the auditorium

Building Observatories, Communities of Practice, and Collaborative Platforms
 

Well-structured networks bring researchers, activists, and service providers together for shared learning and advocacy. This session covers forming observatories, data hubs, or other alliances that strengthen collective capacity. By pooling resources and forging partnerships, participants can amplify LGBTIQ+ health research and drive broader systemic change.

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France Frigot, Chargée d'étude, SESSTIM, Marseilles

Tabea Hässler, Senior Lecturer, University of Zurich/ Co-Founder Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel, Zurich

John Gilmore, Assistant Professor, University College Dublin, Dublin

Mauro Cabral Grinspan, Project Coordinator, InterAction for Health and Human Rights, Bruxelles

Moderator : Stephen Barris, Director, Ex Aequo, Bruxelles

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16h45  – Closing of the conference - Auditorium

 

​17h00 - End of the day