Speakers

Osmely José Piña is a medical doctor who graduated from Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela, and a founding member of the LGBTI movement Okay, no. He participates as a doctor in different community-based health programs with Fundación Primeros Auxilios LUZ (PALUZ) and Fundación Rehabilitarte (2020-2022); he works as a project manager for Asociación Acción Triángulo and Cinemateca Pedro Zerolo (2021-present).

Amélie Pasmanns (she/her) studied European Public Health and Health Education and Promotion at Maastricht University where she focused her research on gender inclusiveness and conducted research within the European Gender & Health Lab (EGHLab) on the experience of menstrual stigma for trans* and non-binary individuals

Ines Alaoui is the Global Health Policy Lead at Coalition PLUS, where she coordinates advocacy strategies for access to treatment and funding for the HIV response. Her work is rooted in community mobilization and the development of grassroots expertise to influence institutional decision-makers. Before joining Coalition PLUS, she held various advocacy roles at AIDES, focusing on drug pricing and access to therapeutic innovation. She holds a Master’s degree in Comparative Politics from SciencesPo Paris, where she focused her research on health coverage reforms in Morocco, her country of origin.

Matej Vrebac is working at Sarajevo Open Centre in position of the Programe Coordinator. His work portfolio also includes work on LGBTIQ health issues, primarily mental health and HIV issues. He has organized and led a long series of trainings and workshops on the topic of mental well-being for LGBTIQ+ community around Bosnia and Herzegovina. Together with other colleagues, he works to advocate for and create inclusive, professional and comprehensive care and protection of sexual, reproductive and mental health of LGBTIQ people.

Alessandra Widmer is the co-director of the Lesbian Organisation Switzerland (LOS), the national voice for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in Switzerland. LOS advocates for their visibility and equality, fighting against discrimination and striving for legal and social justice. In her role, Alessandra co-created and led a project that provides sexual health information for queer people with a vulva and is currently involved in a large collaborative initiative focused on improving mental health and resilience for LGBTIQA+ individuals in Switzerland. Additionally, she is active in feminist and queer movements in both culture and sports.

Andrés Marchant Mellado is a passionate physiotherapist aiming to specialize in Mental Health. Since graduating, he has focused on deepening his understanding of the human body movement and its connection to physiology. His postgraduate education and work have been dedicated to neurological and respiratory rehabilitation, treating patients with chronic diseases. He holds a master’s degree in Integrative Physiology and has recently participated in research projects addressing chronic pain and mental health. Throughout his career, he has been committed to focusing on the LGBTIQA+ community. Since leaving his home country, Chile, this commitment has grown stronger, driving him to consolidate his aspirations. He is now determined to explore the impact of body awareness on physical performance and mental health.

Christos Nousis is a Clinical Psychologist and  Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. He holds degrees in Psychology from the University of Ioannina and Cardiff Metropolitan University, along with an MSc in Mental Health Promotion from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Currently, he is a PhD candidate at the Medical School of Athens and a research associate at Eginition Psychiatric Hospital. Christos specializes in Clinical Psychopathology and neuropsychological assessments, particularly in Personality and Mood Disorders. A key focus of his clinical work has been supporting people living with HIV, sex workers, trans individuals, and LGBTI refugees through Positive Voice (Greek Association for People Living with HIV). He has provided psychological support, crisis intervention, and psychotherapy to individuals facing stigma, discrimination, and mental health challenges, contributing to a more inclusive and supportive mental health framework. He is an active member of multiple professional organizations, committed to advancing mental health research and inclusive psychological care.

Dr Harvey Kennedy-Pitt is a global public health consultant, health equity strategist, and scholar-advocate committed to advancing health equity for raciosexual and gender minorities worldwide. His career spans population health, strategic equality framework design, and global sexual health research, with a focus on dismantling systemic barriers to better health. Working at the intersection of research, policy, and practice, Harvey has led and managed diverse initiatives addressing LGBTQ+ health, HIV, and health equity at community, local government, and country level. He brings a wealth of experience in fostering sustainable, culturally responsive solutions for marginalized communities. A former charity CEO and an experienced consultant, Harvey collaborates with organizations worldwide to develop policy frameworks, conduct research, and design inclusive health interventions that centre community needs. As a passionate advocate for justice and equity, he remains dedicated to creating meaningful, lasting change.

Myriam Monheim, a Brussels activist and psychologist, has been consulting for nearly 20 years at Plan F, one of the first family planning centers actively open to LGBTI+ people. Since her studies, she has been involved in the field of sexual health and the fight against HIV and associated discrimination. She has worked with highly vulnerable groups: homeless people, street sex workers, people living with HIV, and LGBTI+ people of foreign origin. Since the beginning of her personal and professional involvement in the LGBTI+ sector, she has focused on highlighting the specific needs of racialized people, and lesbian and bisexual women who are often overlooked. She currently trains and supervises (future) psychomedicosocial professionals in the challenges of welcoming and inclusive care for minority groups, as well as in health promotion concepts.

Andreas Pfister (he/him), Prof. Dr, public health social scientist, is professor and co-head of the Institute of Public Health at the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, School of Health Sciences, situated in Winterthur (Switzerland). Since 2004 he has conducted research on LGBTQ+ populations in Switzerland. Together with Paula Krüger he led the first national LGBT Health Survey in Switzerland (2021) commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health. Since 2021 he has conducted a qualitative study on suicide attempts of LGBTQ+ youth in German- and French-speaking Switzerland and recently started a four years’ study on LGBTQ+ young adults’ pathways in and through healthcare in German-speaking Switzerland (LGBTQ+ YOUTHPATH), both financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

With a master in Gender Studies and Cultural Analysis from University of Zurich, Klara Kruse Rosset tries to implement queer & feminist theory in her activism for the LGBTIQ+ community in Switzerland. She has consulted hundreds of help seeking folks as a volunteer at the LGBTIQ+ Helpline, where she now coaches the Romandie Team. The Helpline is not only a peer-to-peer service but also hosts the national hate crime tool to support queers anonymously after they faced violence or discrimination. She also gives workshops in schools to sensibilize teens about LGBTIQ+ realities and is part of the team organizing the Pink Apple Queer Filmfestival. She has been working in awareness teams for years and currently works as a project manager for a democracy fostering NPO.

Alison May Berner (she/her/ella) is an NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Medical Oncology at Barts Cancer Institute, practicing clinically at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. She is the UK’s only oncologist to be dual trained gender identity medicine, which she practices at the Gender Identity Clinic London (Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust). She also leads the UK Cancer and Transition Service (UCATS), a world first national clinic to integrate local oncology and gender affirming care or transgender and gender diverse people in the UK. Having completed her PhD in the genomics of oligometastatic colorectal cancer at Barts Cancer Institute, her research now centres on reducing cancer care inequalities according to sex, gender and sexual orientation. She is a Trustee of the OUTpatients LGBTIAQ+ cancer charity and in October 2023, she became President of British Association Gender Identity Specialists. Passionate about education, she is also co-author of the Cancer in LGBTQ Populations chapter of the ESMO-ASCO global curriculum.

France Frigot is a research fellow at SESSTIM (Marseille, France), where she coordinates community-based research projects on the health of LGBTQI+ people. Since October 2024, she has led the LGBTI+ Health Promotion Research (R2PS) network, which brings together researchers, community health associations, and healthcare professionals based in France and Canada. Her mission: to foster the emergence of a participatory research and training program in health promotion around the issues and needs of sexual and gender minorities.

Anaïs Gautier has participated in several research projects on the health of people involved in sex work. She subsequently became involved in the field as a prevention facilitator at Checkpoint Paris, and then contributed to the development of community health programs and the promotion of the rights of PLHIV in Arcat. She is now working again at Checkpoint as Prevention Program Manager with the aim of continuing the fight against social and territorial health inequalities.

Lynda Sagrestano is an applied social, community, and health psychologist. Her research is oriented toward applying psychological theory and methods to better understand social justice issues and develop community-based interventions in collaboration with community-based organizations. Her work has primarily centered on gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and LGBTIQ+ mental health. She is currently a Senior Researcher at the Deutsches Jugendinstitut (German Youth Institute) in Munich, Germany.

Giu Schmid leads the trans department at Checkpoint Zurich and is completing their master’s in applied psychology. At Checkpoint Zurich, they provide psychosocial counselling to trans and nonbinary people, their families, and professionals on issues related to trans and gender identity. Giu brings a strong community-based perspective and in-depth knowledge of the psychosocial health of trans people. This strengthens the interdisciplinary collaboration at Checkpoint Zurich with medical professionals, psychotherapists, and the trans department, helping to keep Checkpoint’s services oriented to the needs of the community. Passionate about trans health, they are actively working to strengthen support structures and advocacy for the trans and nonbinary community across Switzerland.

Catherine Meads is a Professor of Health at Anglia Ruskin University and senior systematic reviewer. She completed her medical degree at the University of Leicester, and PhD and MPH at the University of Birmingham. She has been conducting research into sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTQ+) health since 1992 and has published a number of ground-breaking papers in this area. Recently she completed a review of education of health professionals in LGB&T health issues for Dr Michael Brady, National Advisor for LGBT Health at NHS England. She has delivered numerous public lectures, spoken at a Select Committee and All-Party Parliamentary Groups, taught undergraduate medical and nursing students and helped develop an e-learning package for GPs. She has been on several LGB&T conference steering committees and study advisory committees. She was a member of the UK Government Equalities Office LGBT Advisory Panel from 2018 to 2021.

Born in Spain, Vera Rodriguez began fighting for sex workers rights in 2011 after being discriminated in a hospital in Belgium because of her sex worker background. Last year, she joined the European Sex Workers Rights Alliance as a programme officer on Access to Health and HIV prevention and access to treatment is one of the main areas of her work right now. She is excited to learn from SCOPE members and experience and to bring her knowledge on sex workers rights, HIV prevention and access to health free of discrimination and stigma.

Nathan Bédon-Rouanet is a Brussels-based artist-researcher and activist for the autonomy of trans people. A Master 2 student at ENSAV La Cambre, he is currently preparing a dissertation on the social history of synthetic testosterone. At the same time, he founded the Union Testophile, an organization for self-support, harm reduction, and the co-construction of knowledge. He contributed to the collective publications "Rose Canine Griffe Chromée" published by a rouge and "Trans Pédé Gouines Club" #0.

HIV/Oncology Fellow at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, in his final year of specialist training in medical oncology at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori in Milan, Alberto Giovanni Leone is also the coordinator of the OncogenderTask Force of AIOM (Italian Association of Medical Oncology), a multidisciplinary research group focused on cancer care for transgender and gender diverse people. He is currently working on several national and European projects aimed at identifying and addressing the inequalities faced by trans people in the cancer care continuum.

Clark Pignedoli is a sociologist and has been working since 2021 in the field of HIV/AIDS research, at the intersection of academic and community-based environments. He is currently a research engineer within the project “Un faire qui ne peut pas se dire” (funded by ANRS MIE, 2023-2025), a participatory action-research project co-led by Gabriel Girard (SESSTIM) and Giovanna Rincon (Acceptess-T). This project aims to document the socio-historical context of community health mediation in HIV prevention for immigrant trans women in France. Over the past few years, he has deepened my understanding of trans and migrant communities in the context of HIV, by working at the intersection of sociology of health, sociology of gender, sociology of migrations, and public health, using a community-based and participatory approach. He has published articles in journals such as Social Science and Medicine and Revue française des affaires sociales), and chapters in collective books. He has gained an expertise in participant ethnography and in ethical approaches to various field sites and stakeholders (participants, associations, hospitals, external sex work venues, and archives). He is a volunteer of Acceptess-T and Aides37.

Dr Varney-Bennett is a public health clinician with several decades of experience working in local, regional, national and international public health. He is the regional director of public health for the South West of England, working across the federal Department of Health and Social Care, the regional National Health Service and Local Government public health teams to improve the health and wellbeing of the diverse communities of the region. Previous roles have included Director of Public Health for the city of Birmingham and National Lead for Adult Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England and Co-Chair of the Gay & Lesbian Association of Doctors and Dentists. He has long standing experience of work to reduce LGBT+ health inequalities in policy and delivery in local and national government and the voluntary and community sector, leading the work to develop federal and local reports on LGBT+ health inequalities and embed indicators for improvement into system strategies and policies.

Dr John Gilmore (he/they) is Assistant Professor and Head of General Nursing at University College Dublin, Ireland. John's work focuses on intersections of health and social justice, and is published widely in the areas of inclusion health, LGBTQIA+ health, nurse education and sexual health. John is a Fulbright HRB Health Impact Scholar and in 2023 he held visiting positions at the University of California San Francisco, and Columbia University New York where he explored various models of sexual and gender minority healthcare and approaches to LGBTQIA+ health research. John is also a visiting research fellow at the University of Huddersfield and External Examiner for the MSc in Nursing at the University of Edinburgh. In 2025 John received the Irish USA Alumni Association's Emerging Leader Award for his work in promoting LGBTQIA+ health research in Ireland and the USA.

Gabriel Girard is a sociologist and research fellow at the Institut de recherche sur la santé et la recherche médicale at SESSTIM (Marseille, France). His work focuses on collective mobilisation in the face of HIV/AIDS and health promotion among sexual and gender minorities. Together with François Berdougo and Elise Marsicano, he coordinated the special issue of the journal Santé publique on the health of sexual and gender minorities, published in 2023.

Maui Miranda is a human rights defender and LGBTI rights advocate. She is the Partnerships and Advocacy Officer and Vice Chair of the Trans Steering Committee of Filipino LGBT Europe, based in Amsterdam. She is a member of the Society of Trans Women of the Philippines (STRAP), Transgender Europe (TGEU), and the Netherlands Association for Feminist Anthropology and Gender Studies (LOVA). As a researcher, her work is situated at the intersection of gender, sexuality, and migration, exploring how a critical understanding of sexuality can lead to a more inclusive and accurate portrayal of gendered migration. Using an intersectional lens and guided by the principles of community engagement and participatory research methods, her research project examines the lived experiences of migrant transpinays (transgender women in the Philippines and its diasporic communities) in Europe, focusing on their gender identity formation and their (politics of) belonging.

Ismar Hačam is a German Literature graduate from Bosnia and Herzegovina, currently living in Berlin, Germany. Since 2017, he has organized and moderated numerous literary events focused on queer literatures and literatures from Southeastern Europe. Ismar joined AIDS Action Europe in 2022 as program assistant and he is in charge of administration, event organization, as well as activities related to prevention on gay apps and the European GBQMSM Networking Meeting.

Samuel Crougneau is a peer health mediator at Girofard - LGBTI+ Center in Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. He coordinates a health hotline system aimed at promoting access to care and rights for trans people. For several years, he has also been an activist within the ANCRES association, a trans community association of which he is co-founder, where he notably participates in the development of RDR resources related to the practices of injecting gender-affirming hormonal treatments. He also has a master's degree in Social Sciences at the University of Bordeaux where he conducts research on the self-medication practices of trans people, and seeks to promote the contributions of experiential and community knowledge within the academic field.

A sociologist by training, Leceo Havard is a researcher at the SESSTIM research laboratory (Marseille, France), in a team focused on the health of minority populations, with a community approach. He is currently working on a research project on community-based mental health mediation interventions in partnership with Acceptess-T in Paris, RITA in Grenoble, J’en Suis J’y Reste in Lille, and the LGBTQIA+ center in Marseille.

Maud Royer is president of the feminist association Toutes des Femmes, which advocates for the rights of trans people and women. She wrote the book Le Lobby transphobe, published by Textuel in 2024. She is an expert on advocacy for the rights of trans people and on the links between transgender identity and feminism.

Léo Manac’h holds a doctorate in anthropology (Ceped, U. Paris-Cité). His thesis focuses on what he calls “policies of discouragement.” Based on a thesis fieldwork devoted to the mobilization to defend the right to stay for healthcare in France, he analyzes how activists’ discouragement arises both from increasingly repressive migration policies and from the reproduction of internal power relations within mobilizations. He uses discouragement as a paradigm for analyzing contemporary struggles and the evolution of the exercise of power by the State. His postdoctoral research focuses on the health policies of the far right in France and the memories of lives haunted by AIDS.

​Project manager for Ex Æquo's activities in Wallonia, Mathieu Rouxhet runs regular screening sessions in 4 of the 7 Maisons Arc-en-ciel in Wallonia. He supervises the home delivery of harm reduction material (sex and drug-related) via the association's online shop, which registered almost 12,000 users in 2024. He also leads a working group responsible for organising social activities for the gay community in Brussels and Wallonia.

Jeremy Minet is a mental health and psychiatric nurse with a long-standing commitment to the rights and health of LGBTI people. He has been working at Ex Aequo since 2023, where he coordinates projects relating to chemsex, mental health and violence suffered by LGBTI people. He also runs the Chemsex Brussels professional network.

Margot Annequin is a postdoctoral fellow in social epidemiology within the Community Health Research team at the SESSTIM laboratory (Aix Marseille University - Inserm-IRD) in Marseille. She conducts research on the issue of social health inequalities in access to prevention and care in the field of HIV/AIDS. Her latest research focuses on the social situations of transgender women living with HIV in France, based on data from the ANRS-Trans&VIH survey, a community research project conducted in partnership with the ACCEPTESS-T and AIDES associations.

Phé Hofmann (they or she) studied nursing science and has completed further education in palliative care, sex education, sexual counseling, and systemic counseling. Since 2022, they have been a psychosocial counselor at Checkpoint BLN. Here, they provide counseling on sexual health, HIV/STI testing, harm reduction, and related topics of psychosocial health. As a non-binary trans person, Phé offers peer-to-peer HIV/STI test counseling at Checkpoint BLN and, starting in the summer of 2025, will launch an eight-month group counseling series to promote the sexual health of trans and non-binary individuals. Additionally, they hold a teaching position in the nursing program at the Evangelische Hochschule Nürnberg, focusing on diversity in nursing, and offer nationwide training on sexual and gender identity in healthcare.

Isa Borrelli (they/them/he/him) is an author and political communication specialist focused on trans politics and language. They are part of the Research Center Politics and Theories of Sexuality Politesse, University of Study of Verona. Since 2015, they have been working as political communication strategist, studying and developing manifestos, policies, and comparative analyses, especially concerning marginalized communities, particularly the LGBT and trans* ones. Lecturer and author, they write for the newspaper “Domani” with a specific focus on anti-trans policies. In 2023, they won the Rainbow Awards for their work and communicative activism. In 2024, their first essay, “Gender is Over” was published for Feltrinelli. They are a militant trans/feminist activist who crosses grassroots movements and international organizations such as Non Una di Meno, Separate Trans Collective Dissident, and TGEU (Transgender Europe).

Gaé Colussi (they/them) is a queer activist and gender studies scholar whose interests focus on LGBTIQ+ issues in Switzerland, particularly in regard to health, activism and the responses from state institutions. In addition to their research work, they are actively engaged as an activist in several LGBTIQ+ organizations at both national and regional levels. Their current research focusses on LGBTIQ+ people in palliative and end-of-life care settings (TRUST-PALL project).

Louve Zimmermann coordinates the health mediation team at Acceptess-T, a community health association by and for trans people, fighting against HIV/AIDS and poverty, based in Paris. She also trains general practitioners and professionals in the medical-social field in the reception, support, and care of trans populations in poverty, and participates in the work of the French National Authority for Health (HAS) to write the first French recommendations on transition pathways. She also conducts community research and transmission workshops on trans history and health, and has been involved for around ten years in LGBTI archival and history projects such as the French-speaking network Big Tata.

Chris Noone is a lecturer in psychology at the University of Galway and a board director for the National LGBTQ+ Federation (NXF), which is Ireland's longest-running queer community organisation. He is also a founding member of the Professional Association for Trans Health in Ireland (PATHI). His research focuses on health inequalities and sexual health and has included studies on HIV testing, U=U messaging, PrEP, chemsex, mpox, and experiences of migration and international protection. He was a member of the Ireland's first National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy Committee. He is committed to learning about and developing critical approaches to healthcare and health research for LGBTQ+ communities with activists, researchers, and healthcare practitioners in Ireland and abroad.

Graham Nagle is a psychotherapist with extensive experience in mental health support and LGBTQIA+ advocacy. Specializing in integrative and GSRD (Gender, Sexuality, and Relationship Diversity) psychotherapy, he has worked across private practice, community organizations, and educational settings to provide inclusive, client-centered care. Currently, Graham facilitates psychotherapeutic groups for individuals experiencing compulsive sexual behaviour r at the Sexual Health Centre in Cork, Ireland. He also serves as an LGBTQIA+ Sexual Health Support Worker and Counsellor, delivering inclusive sexual health education, advocacy, and peer support initiatives.

Mara Pieri is a sociologist and associate researcher at the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra. She is currently leading two research projects on LGBTQ+ access to health and inclusive healthcare: "DIVERS - Diversity and Inclusion in Access to Healthcare" (2022-2028) and "PULSAR - The role of LGBTQ+ professionals for inclusive healthcare" (2025-2026). She has published on LGBTQ+ issues, sociology of health and crip studies, with a focus on chronic illness, (in)visibility and health inequalities. In 2023, she published the book ‘LGBTQ+ People with Chronic Illness. Chroniqueers in Southern Europe’ (Palgrave). The book won the Anne Bolin & Gil Herdt Book Prize Honourable Mention (HSAIG and American Anthropological Association). 

Guillermo Moran Perez has a degree in International Studies and finishing Law School, Masters in Foreign Policy and in Mediation and Conflict Resolution. Spanish living in Greece for the past 5 years, he built his experience in the humanitarian sector for the past 6 years. He is currently the coordinator of Refcheckpoint and of Positive Voice Housing (program for LGBTIQ+ refugees and/or People Living with HIV). He is also a caseworker coordinator and legal counsellor of Safe Place Greece, the main organisation working with LGBTIQ+ refugees and migrants in Greece.

Mathias Quéré is a historian. His research contributes to the transmission of a collective history and imaginaries for current queer struggles. He is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, where he is working on the history of the French homosexual movement in the 1970s and 1980s.

Dr Sinéad Kelleher is a postdoctoral researcher at Dublin City University assigned to the Wellcome Trust-funded project “Understanding and responding to intimate partner violence in the LGBTQ+ community: an implementation study”. She completed her PhD studies at University College Cork and has held lecturing positions in both University College Cork and Mary Immaculate College, Ireland. Sinéad’s research interests include human sexuality and sexual identity development, intersectionality and various forms of harm and discrimination. She is an editorial board member of the Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapies.

Tamara Perraud is a French transfeminist and non-binary activist, currently working for Acceptess-T, in Paris, as development and evaluation manager. They have been working on several projects such as Acceptess-T’s Observatory on transphobic violence and discriminations or the organisation’s housing program.

Seba (elle/iel) travaille dans le domaine de la protection sociale et de la réduction des risques, principalement dans la vie nocturne, et s'engage dans le travail de soutien communautaire et l'activisme à Londres. Elle travaille actuellement avec Safe Only CIC et FOLD London. Elle a notamment fait partie du comité directeur du tout premier réseau britannique de soutien entre pairs pour les professionnels du recrutement LGBTQIA+ et est intervenue sur l'inclusion et le bien-être des personnes transgenres à la Bayes Business School et chez KraftHeinz UK, entre autres.

As prevention programme coordinator, Steven Wen has been supporting Checkpoint Paris teams since 2021 in their efforts to reach out to and bring back into care the groups most affected by the HIV epidemic in France. In particular, he is involved in the Asile LGBT+ programme, which aims to improve the sexual health of LGBT+ asylum seekers housed in reception centres and emergency accommodation for asylum seekers (CADA/HUDA) in the Paris region.

Milos Peric is Program Coordinator u Asocijacija DUGA/Association RAINBOW and Co-Founder of CheckPoint Belgrade. He has thorough knowledge/skills/experience in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention, advocacy/lobbying, and project management. In the last 16 years, he has been actively involved as a project manager, (where he coordinated more than 10 projects among which there were several projects on the European level), and at the same time, he is a certified voluntary confidential counselling and testing (VCCT) counsellor/educator as well as Chemsex counselor and trainer of trainers. During the same period, he has organized and participated in many national and international conferences, training, and events in the field of HIV/AIDS and LGBTQI health and human rights. He was involved as the team leader during the National research on HIV prevalence among MSM and other target populations, organized and implemented by the National Institute for Public Health in Serbia in 2010, 2013, and 2021.

Mike has been active in the fight against HIV for 21 years with the association Ex Aequo, of which he was chairman for 5 years, during which time the association focused on the overall health of men who love men and are living with HIV. Mike has worked to decriminalise HIV transmission in Belgium and is a true public face of HIV in French-speaking Belgium, never hesitating to speak out on camera. He is also a founding member of the Grands Carmes LGBTI+ community centre and worked to make possible the Brussels MACS Health Checkpoint, of which he is the first chairman.

Nicolas Derche has been involved in the fight against HIV AIDS for over 20 years, first in hospitals and then in voluntary organisations as a social worker. He was successively head of department at Checkpoint Paris and Arcat before taking over as director of these 2 GROUPE SOS member associations in 2016.

An activist with Amnesty International since his youth, also in its LGBTI section, Pablo Sanz Moreno has been a volunteer with Ex-Aequo since 2020. He joined the board a year later and has been its chairman since June 2023.

Peter Štangelj travaille pour Legebitra depuis 2015, une organisation non gouvernementale LGBTQI+ de premier plan en Slovénie. Il se concentre principalement sur la prévention et le dépistage du VIH et des MST chez les HSH. En outre, il participe souvent à la promotion et à l'organisation d'événements de sensibilisation, tels que des tests dans des saunas, lors de fêtes LGBTI+ et dans d'autres villes de Slovénie. Grâce à ces événements, il a pu atteindre davantage de personnes exposées au risque d'infection par le VIH ou les MST et leur proposer des services de dépistage gratuits et confidentiels. Il a ainsi contribué à augmenter le nombre de clients qui accèdent aux programmes de dépistage de Legebitra et bénéficient d'un diagnostic et d'un traitement en temps utile.

Dr Rafik Taibjee is a Family physician from Devon, who has worked in big cities and now semi-rurally in England, and Senior Lecturer a the University of Exeter Medical School.  As a cis gay man, he has worked on equality within healthcare through his career of 25 years, chairing the UK Association of LGBT doctors and dentists, (GLADD), and trade union equality committee.  He works with the Healthcare regulators to ensure the provision of services meet the needs of LGBT Patients, and staff are supported, when inspecting healthcare organisations, and works within medical education to improve the training of doctors in LGBT health issues. He has in recent years been involved in designing the care pathway for Transgender patients for the NHS, and making services readily accessible.  He would describe himself as an activist working within somewhat constrained  organisations.

Stéphane Calmon has been an AIDES volunteer in France since 1999. Between 2001 and 2018, he held various elected positions within the association as regional president of AIDES in Ile de France and the Hauts de France and Normandy regions, as well as national administrator and vice-president. During his 24 years of involvement, he has represented AIDES as president of the Le 190 health centre in Paris, spokesperson for interLGBT and, since 2016, as user representative at the Montevideo medical institute specialising in chemsex/addictions in the Paris region and AIDES representative on the board of Ex Aequo. Stéphane is 50 years old and describes himself as a gay man living with HIV and an occasional user of psychoactive substances.

Initially a field worker for Swiss AIDS Relief and then project manager for ILGA World, Stephen accompanied the arrival of LGBTI rights at the UN Human Rights Council from 2003 to 2013. He co-created and supported initiatives such as the report on state homophobia and ILGA's world map on gay and lesbian rights. The network of communicators he built around the world for the global LGBTI federation formed the foundation of the continental federations, ILGA-Asia, Pan Africa ILGA and ILGA-LAC. Since 2017, he has been coordinator of the Belgian association Ex Aequo, which was set up in 1994 in the context of the fight against HIV. With his fellow activists, he is working on its transition to health promotion and the creation of the Maison Arc-en-Ciel de la Santé and the Brussels LGBTI Community Centre.

Valentin Blaison, who is in charge of screening activities, has helped Ex Aequo and its volunteers to integrate a medical service that foreshadows the sexual health services that will eventually be offered by the Maison Arc-en-Ciel de la Santé in Brussels. To this end, he has set up peer-helper/doctor pair consultations where the counselling interview is conducted by the volunteer. Valentin runs the MSM health needs training module for health professionals in collaboration with the associations Tels Quels, O Yes (FSF Go to Gynéco project) and Genres Pluriels (trans and intersex populations). It is a referent for the TTBM (Très très bon médecin) network. In 2024, its volunteers redirected nearly 871 users to 270 healthcare professionals who had themselves been recommended by other users for their gay-friendly approach.

Victor Abraham Lacô is a protean queer artist-architect whose research focuses on questions of gender, masculinities, eroticism, and romanticism, while theorizing his relationship to love, spatialities, and sexualities. After 5 years of study at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Lyon and La Cambre Horta in Brussels, he pursued a Master’s degree in Gender Studies at UCL. Today, he divides his time between his LGBTQIA+ community involvement as a trainer, facilitator, and speaker, the design of queer board games, and artistic residencies combining pornography, sociology, politics, performance, and poetry. Their dissertation “When men went out to fuck, from the ritualization of MSM flirting behavior to dematerialized hunting grounds in the era of Covid-19” was awarded the François Delor LGBTQIA+ dissertation prize in 2021. In 2020, they founded "Lacôtepétrie", an independent and self-managed micro-publishing of board games and queer prevention tools, with which they published "Le jeu des (cis) familles", to talk about homo/mono parenthood, and "Culedo: the game of all your fantasies", which deals with queer sexual health prevention, through humor and role-playing. Lacôtepétrie attempts to spread in a didactic way a mode of deconstruction of the dominant, hegemonic and heteronormative patterns of our society.

Benjamin Hampel is a medical doctor, specialized in internal medicine and infectious diseases. Besides his clinical work he has over 25 years of experience in voluntary community work in the areas of HIV and LGBTIQ+ health. Since 2018 he is the medical head of Checkpoint Zurich, Switzerland biggest center for queer health with over 50 000 consultations every year. Like his clinical work, his research is also focused on HIV prevention, people living with HIV, STIs and LGBTIQ+ health. He is the principal investigator of SwissPrEPared, a national, multicenter program and study, with the aim to improve the health care of people with a higher risk for HIV in Switzerland.

Will Nutland is a health and social justice campaigner, researcher and health promoter. He is an honorary assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where he teaches health promotion and applied communicable disease control. He is the co-founder of PrEPster and its not-for-profit parent company, The Love Tank CIC. In 2022, Will's activism, research and health promotion turned to the global monkeypox epidemic. He has recently been an advisor to the ECDC, WHO and UKHSA. He has been active in the global LGBTI+ health movement for over 25 years.

Sandrine Detandt is a clinical psychologist with a doctorate in psychology from the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where she is a professor in the Faculty of Psychological and Educational Sciences. A specialist in issues of subjectivity, sexuality and addiction, she is developing a critical transdisciplinary approach at the intersection of psychoanalysis, gender studies and mental health. She is also director of the Observatoire du sida et des sexualités (AIDS and sexuality observatory) and coordinates the interfaculty master's degree specialising in sexology and the clinic of sexuality at the ULB. Her current research focuses on contemporary forms of medicalisation of bodies and desires, particularly among LGBTQI+ people, chemsex practices, and the links between trauma, desire and enjoyment. She also works as a freelance clinician.

Yagos Koliopanos is a sociologist and research assistant at the Observatoire du sida et des sexualités (ULB). He specializes in the discourses of marginalized subjects through an intersectional lens. His research has focused on the entanglement of sexuality, gender, and age in the construction of socio-sexual stigmas. He dedicated his master's thesis to Grisélidis Réal, a Swiss writer and sex worker, and his doctoral dissertation to the public expression of trans sex workers in Greece. He is currently pursuing research on issues of HIV and aging in Belgium. His investigations, at the crossroads of ethnography, discourse analysis, and archival exploration, reveal the mechanisms of social exclusion as well as the strategies of visibility, resistance, and self-reconstruction developed by people with lived experience.

Maurizio Ferrara has worked as a psychologist at Infos Drogues et Addictions since 2001. He has a degree in Psychology and Educational Sciences, as well as in Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy. He also previously worked at Cetim (the HIV department of St Pierre's Hospital in Brussels), and over the years has developed a practice with MSM since the late 1990s. At present, he mainly offers support in achieving lasting abstinence for users wishing to stop using and/or changing their behavioural habits. Since 2019, thanks to a collaboration with Ex Aequo and Modus Vivendi, he has been providing support to many MSM chemsex users seeking psychological help.

Nina Cavarero studied health promotion and risk prevention at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Geneva, where she was able to set up an intervention based on behaviour change techniques applied to health. She now works for the Dialogai association as a community health project manager, where she seeks to gather data on the health of LGBTIQ+ people and to run interventions and projects based on their real needs. She has also been involved in a number of collaborative projects, such as the podcast project initiated by the aiRe d'ados scheme and the survey conducted by Amnesty and gfs Bern to assess the extent of discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people in Switzerland. She is also continuing her education with a DAS in Sports Psychology.

Yoram Krakowski is a campaigner against sexist, sexual and gender-based violence. He specialises in supporting victims of violence and discrimination, with a particular focus on issues of childhood sexual abuse and violence within the family, as well as the mechanisms of control. He has also been fighting for the rights of trans people and in anti-racist groups for over ten years. He works as a psychologist in Toulouse and is a trainer for social workers at the Conseil Départemental de la Haute Garonne and several feminist associations. He co-founded the ASQF, where he is responsible for various administrative departments, runs discussion groups and coordinates the training department.

Sophie Pires is a feminist dyke activist, a clinical psychologist practising in Toulouse and a member of the Board of the Association pour le Soin Queer et Féministe since 2021. ASQF works to make mental health accessible to people who are socially minoritised by fighting discrimination, particularly gender-based, sexist and sexual violence. The ASQF's training courses for professionals, discussion groups, events on situated care and militant actions are based on an intersectional feminism that takes account of systemic oppressions and their consequences at individual and collective level". Within the ASQF, she is coordinator of the national network of the ‘liste psy situé-es’, a trainer in welcoming queer people into care, and conceptualises and co-facilitates discussion groups combining mental health issues, discrimination and systemic violence: ‘Violences sexuelles dans l'enfance: en parler, se soutenir, se renforcer’, ‘isolement et discriminations: retrouver du pouvoir d'agir’ and ‘violences partenariales dans les relations LGBTQI+’.

Ryan Joseph Figueiredo is the Founder and Executive Director of Equal Asia Foundation, the only LGBTIQ+ think tank and innovations incubator in Asia dedicated to strategic foresight and future-proofing for vulnerable LGBTIQ+ communities. Under his leadership, Equal Asia Foundation has become a regional leader in intersectional advocacy and policy innovation, particularly focusing on issues that remain underexplored in LGBTIQ+ discourse—such as ageing, later life, and end-of-life care for LGBTIQ+ persons. With a career spanning more than two decades across development, academia, and private sector consulting, Ryan brings a multidisciplinary approach to advancing LGBTIQ+ rights. He has held strategic roles at KPMG and PwC, taught public policy and health systems at the University of Leicester, and led programming at global organizations including the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the APCOM Foundation. He holds academic credentials from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the University of Oxford.

Christophe Catin joined Dialogai in 2005 as a singer, and has since given his voice to the causes that still drive the association today. With his inquisitive nature, he discovered all the facets of Dialogai as he progressed from volunteer to Chairman of the association. In 2017, given the opportunity to combine activism and professional work, he put his administrative skills to work for Dialogai. His playground became Checkpoint Genève, Dialogai's community health centre. As a member of the management team, he is keen to ensure that all members of the LGBTIQ+ community are welcomed and benefit from appropriate services, particularly at Checkpoint Genève, which has historically focused on MSM.

Mimi Aum Neko is president of trans-migrant-sexworker led organisation, ACCEPPTESS-T. She is a political refugee in France, based currently in Paris. She graduated with bachelor in sociology from Université Paris Diderot (Paris 7) and master degree in gender studies from l'EHESS.

Morgane Vanehuin is an archivist at AIDES, the leading French association in the fight against HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis. Morgane holds a Master's degree in Archives, as well as a Master's in Cultural Project Management. Her personal and professional career has included a variety of experiences in the public sector and in voluntary self-help organisations. Since joining AIDES in 2021, Morgane has been working to adapt archival methodology to the realities of running an association committed to a community-based approach to health.

Kylo Thomas (he/they) is a scholar-activist, abolitionist, and agitator based at The Love Tank CIC, where he coordinates Medicine Without Doctors, a Wellcome-funded research programme. He previously co-led the UK’s first London-centric Transgender Needs Assessment and coordinated Doing Disability Futures, a British Academy-funded project exploring the lives of queer disabled migrants and people of colour. Kylo holds a PhD in Science and Technology Studies from University College London, where he is now an Honorary Research Fellow. His current research investigates how AI-driven data gaps in binary medical models affect trans health. He’s contributed to Transcribed: An Anthology of Trans Writing and is currently writing for The Queer Science and Technology Studies Handbook and The Handbook of Science Communication and Social Justice. Kylo is also a rhyme writer and associate artist with Anthroɐlay Theatre, blending abolitionist politics with radical trans care, anger, and joy.

Moujan Mirdamadi (she/they) is a scholar of philosophy and mental health, investigating cross-cultural variations and socio-political impacts on mental (ill)health, with a particular focus on Iranian context. She is also a board member of Spectrum, an eco-queer feminist NGO run by Iranians in diaspora, offering educational and mental health services to Farsi-speaking queer community. Moujan is trained in Mind-Body Medicine and has been a facilitator for mind-body skills groups offered to the queer community in Iran and Afghanistan, aiming towards resilience-building and collective healing, with a particular focus on sexual and reproductive rights and health.

Sandra Van den Eynde has been working for Sensoa, the Flemish center for expertise on sexual health promotion, for 25 years. In this time she developed numerous campaigns for STI prevention and helped to develop the current Belgian HIV Plan for which she has taken on a coordinating role of the Monitoring Committee. Sandra is head of the department in Sensoa that performs outreach activities towards men having sex with men, people living with HIV, people from African communities and people with a migrant background in vulnerable situation. Working so closely with several audiences has made Sandra gain many insights in the needs people have for taking care of their sexual health. Advocating for better access to information and services is therefor another key engagement Sandra has taken on for improving sexual health promotion in Flanders and Belgium.

Florian Vock (he/him) is deputy managing director and head of prevention at the Swiss AIDS Federation. The Swiss AIDS Federation is the umbrella organisation of over 50 organisations working in the field of sexual health. His team runs numerous projects, programmes and campaigns, by and for key populations. Florian holds master's degrees in sociology and public health, with a focus on substance use among LGBTQ youth. He is a board member of the gay umbrella organisation Pink Cross and is involved in collectives for queer cultural spaces.

Inês Correia (she/her) is a community health nurse with experience on HIV and STI prevention, testing, and care. Since 2014, she has been working with GAT – Group of Activists in Treatment, delivering health services tailored to the needs of key populations. She previously coordinated the Fast Track Cities initiative in Almada city and currently serves as Health Co-Coordinator at GAT. Inês is also a nurse at GAT Intendente, a low-threshold community-based service for migrants, trans and non-binary people, and sex workers. 

Nina Eder (she/they)  comes from Austria, where she studied social work and started a Masters in Gender Studies. During her time in Austria, Nina was primarily involved in addiction support. The desire to work in a queer environment and contribute to the community led to the role at Checkpoint Berlin. There, the focus is on supporting people living with HIV who, for various reasons, do not have access to adequate health insurance. Nina’s aim is to help these people gain access to public health insurance and to ensure that they receive comprehensive medical care.

Daniel Townsend is a co-founder and CEO of Loretta Health, a mission-driven digital health startup reimagining chronic disease prevention for LGBTQIA+ communities and other underserved populations. At Loretta, he leads company strategy, product direction, and partnerships—driving innovation at the intersection of health equity, behavioural science, and data-driven care. Built from a deep understanding of systemic gaps in healthcare, Loretta delivers culturally responsive, personalized support through a digital platform that combines evidence-based recommendations with its users' lived realities. Under his leadership, the company is building a new care model that integrates behavioural, social, and environmental factors to improve long-term health outcomes—starting with the LGBTQIA+ community.

Alejandro Sánchez-Ocaña (he) is a researcher and activist specialised in behavioral science, LGBTQ+ affirmative psychology, and sexual health. As a psychologist and sexologist by training, his work focuses on chemsex, substance use, and harm reduction within LGBTQ+ communities, as well as promoting inclusive and community-based health approaches. Currently, he is in charge of the Spanish national research on mental health and HIV. Besides, he is an activist in the ChemSex Support Commission of NGO Stop, where he collaborates in the empowerment of people who engage in chemsex, in order to achieve political and social activism. He is also the secretary of the Spanish Network of Initiatives in Sexology, whose aim is building networks among sexual health professionals and achieving a position for sexology as a science.

Arianna Rogialli, Policy Officer at Correlation - European Harm Reduction Network, brings a diverse background encompassing various aspects of health and social justice to their role. With a particular emphasis on harm reduction, their background and interests also include SRHR (sexual and reproductive health and rights) and trans-inclusive healthcare. A Medical Anthropologist, Arianna is committed to contributing positively to the intersection of health, justice, and inclusivity within the realm of harm reduction.

Robert Kocur (he/him) is the MAUREEN Programme Coordinator at The Love Tank, where he has been working since 2023. As a queer migrant himself, he is dedicated to creating spaces where queer migrants and queer people of colour can connect, thrive, and build community in London. Through knowledge-generation dinners, he gathers insights into the needs of these communities, which then shape a diverse range of events and projects. Rob has organized numerous initiatives, including the monthly Queer Film Club, Trans Voice Academy, Queer Game Club, Queer Yoga, and Queer Foraging. He also co-produced a groundbreaking series for queer migrant men, exploring identity through art, which was later exhibited at Queer Britain, the UK’s first LGBT+ museum. Beyond his work at The Love Tank, Rob is a Polish drag queen and the founder of SLAV 4 U, a popular Polish drag show and party in London that celebrates Polish pop culture and queer joy.

Asad Zafar (they/them) is a queer non-binary Pakistani Muslim health promoter and social justice activist.  Their existence is activism and identity is political. With their lived experience & intersecting identities, Asad coordinates outreach activity for The Love Tank, a community interest company promoting the health and wellbeing needs and addressing health inequity and inequality amongst underserved communities in London.

Céline Mahieu is a Doctor of Sociology and Professor at the School of Public Health of the Free University of Brussels. She heads the Centre de recherche en Approches sociales de la santé (CRISS) and the Unité de Recherche en Soins Primaires at ULB. She directs or co-directs a number of research projects, action-research projects and theses on social-health collaboration and the role of vulnerable groups. She is the initiator and academic director of the Equity Health lab, a partnership between the academic and voluntary sectors focusing on the acquisition of professional and vocational skills for vulnerable groups. At the École de santé publique, she teaches Socio-economic Factors in Health (Social Inequalities in Health), Qualitative Methods (elementary and advanced levels) and Public Action in Health. 

Tabea Hässler is a senior lecturer at the University of Zurich and the founder of the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel together with Léïla Eisner. Tabea’s researchers examines the impact of inequalities on the sense of belonging, well-being, and health of LGBTIQ+ people and other marginalized communities, as well as their pursuit of greater social equity. Drawing on international research experiences and collaborations with scholars worldwide, Tabea is dedicated to advancing social inclusion, health, and social justice both within academia and in broader society. Currently, Tabea is developing a Global LGBTIQ+ Health project aimed at bringing together scholars, practitioners, and activists from around the world to support LGBTIQ+ people globally. Tabea emphasizes the importance of addressing systemic barriers, not only in the realm of science but also throughout society, and aims to share research findings with a wide audience.

Mihai Lixandru is an activist involved in the fight against HIV for over 20 years.  For the past 18 years he has been working for ARAS – Romanian Association Against-AIDS, the largest organization working in HIV in Romania. He developed in 2017 the first Checkpoint, in Bucharest, for gay, bisexual, queer and other men that have sex with men and trans persons and since then he replicated the model in other 3 cities of Romania. In 2023, under Mihai's coordination, ARAS has opened the first PrEP clinic in Romania (PrEPpoint ARAS Bucharest), which served as a model for a similar clinic in Cluj (PrEPpoint ARAS Cluj). He is now the coordinator of the Checkpoint-PrEPpoint ARAS Network, to date still the only services available specifically to GBQMSM and transgender people in Romania.

Involved in the fight against HIV, hepatitis and STIs throughout the 21st century, Franck Barbier became involved through inter-association therapeutic advocacy with TRT-5, and access to therapeutic information (Remaides magazine). Currently in charge of prevention and support programmes at AIDES, the team supports the association's network of mobilisation points in the deployment of Prep, screening, RDR and sexual health centres.

Jenna, Nici and Sara work for Safer Sex Berlin, a grassroots initiative fighting for accessible, affirming, and stigma-free sexual healthcare for women and genderqueer people in Germany. Germany’s sexual healthcare system operates on a rigid binary: either you are classified as “high risk” (MSM or sex workers) and granted access to targeted services, or you fall outside these categories and are effectively shut out. This oversimplified framework fails to reflect a diverse spectrum of identities and experiences, where today sexual orientations, gender identities, and relationship structures don’t fit neatly into boxes. This model leaves many disempowered—without the tools to practice safer sex, understand their actual risks, or access the preventive interventions that work best for them.

Laure Sevrin holds a master's degree in international relations from ULB, and is particularly committed to defending human rights, women's rights and minorities. Her dissertation focused on the media representation of European women who left for the jihad, a subject at the crossroads of gender, conflict and media accounts. Passionate about social issues, she is currently communications officer for Alias, a non-profit organisation in Brussels, where she works to raise the profile and awareness of issues relating to the health and well-being of male and trans* prostitutes/sex workers, with a view to promoting health and opening up rights.

Alain Léobon is developing interdisciplinary research combining geography, sociology and public health. A research fellow at the CNRS (from 1984 to 2024) and associate professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal (from 2004 to 2020), he is currently a research associate at the CNRS's Espaces et Sociétés joint research unit and a scientific collaborator at the Observatoire du sida et des sexualités. He initiated the Net Gay Barometer survey, a five-yearly survey launched in 2004. Initially looking at the lifestyles, Internet use and sexual health of MSM, the latest editions of the now ‘LGBTQIA+ Barometer’ (offered in France and Belgium) have been extended to include people of gender diversity and FSF. Alain has worked with scientific and associative partners in France, Quebec and Belgium to adapt the survey to local contexts and promote the transfer of knowledge to community players. He has also published work on the geography of LGBTQIA+ places in France and Quebec, analysing their evolution since the 1970s and their role in the construction of identities and sociabilities. His work contributes to a better understanding of vulnerabilities and resiliencies within LGBTQI+ communities, focusing on a syndemic and intersectional approach to health.

Eliane Nininahazwe grew up in Burundi during a turbulent period of civil war. She was diagnosed with HIV in 2003. In 2011 she became a Dutch citizen. Since 2015, the year she shared her HIV status with the world, her passion has been to make a positive change in the lives of people living with HIV (PLWHIV), especially those with a migrant background. As an HIV activist, she dreams of a world where PLWHIV are healthy citizens free from stigma. Fighting inequalities together, she strives to achieve universal access to health services and empower people living with HIV to express their needs, break taboos and create a HIV stigma free society.

Medical doctor specialised in emergency medicine and public health, Leonardo Pavam is Head of Development and Outreach at The Love Tank. Trained at FAMERP in Brazil, he also holds a Master’s in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and a business degree through Insper. At The Love Tank, Leonardo leads all outreach initiatives, including a pioneering peer mobilisers programme focused on harm reduction in sexualised drug use. He works alongside with trans communities, GBMSM of colour, people who use drugs, and queer migrants to co-create interventions rooted in trust, care, and lived experience. Leonardo brings both clinical insight, organisational strategy and grassroots knowledge to his work, shaping services that centre joy, safety, and agency in queer health.

Despina Michaelidou (she/they), is a queer, intersectional feminist from Cyprus, with BA in Sociology and an MA in Gender Studies. They have around 20 years of experience in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and LGBTQI+ rights, as a trainer, advocate, community organiser, project manager etc, through organisations such as accept – LGBT Cyprus (co-founder), Cyprus Family Planning Association (CFPA), IGLYO and YouAct (European level), and Soulforce - Equality Ride project (USA). For the past 10 years, Despina has also been into arts—especially as a life drawing model and performer — to challenge societal norms around the (nude) fat body, gender, sexuality, (dis)abilities, and queerness. She currently works as Project Manager at AIDS Solidarity Movement – Cyprus (Movement), a partner in the project ‘Safeguarding LGBTQI+ People Right to Health (Safe-R)’, which is led by CFPA. 

Michal Albert Pawlega currently serves as Prevention, Testing, and Linkage Manager at AHF Europe, the European branch of the AIDS Health Foundation. He’s a sexual health expert, sexologist, and CBT psychotherapist in training, focusing on the health of vulnerable populations. With over two decades of experience in the civil society and research sectors, Michal has engaged in various roles within LGBTQI+, HIV, and human rights organizations. His work has been recognized with the Red Ribbon Award, and he has been featured on the Forbes 100 and the SexEd list of influential figures in sexual education in Poland. He has led projects driven by human rights and people-centered approaches, empowering marginalized communities, including individuals misusing psychoactive substances, migrants, members of the LGBTI community, people experiencing mental health disorders, and people living with HIV. As the author of more than 20 publications on HIV prevention and care, he actively contributes to the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS), the European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG), the Polish Sexological Society (PTS), the Polish Scientific AIDS Society (PTN AIDS), and the Polish Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy (PACBT/PTTPB).

Liana Aphami, born in Cyprus, holds a BSc in Biomedical Science from the University of Brighton and an MSc in Health Education and Promotion from Maastricht University. She currently works as a Junior Researcher and Data Coordinator at Maastricht University, contributing to the European Men-who-have-sex-with-men and Trans People Internet Survey (EMIS-2024). Her work focuses on sexual health disparities among MSM and trans populations, with an emphasis on risk and precautionary behaviours.

Sandro Niederer (he/they) works at the Swiss AIDS Federation as the project manager for sexual health for trans People. He has a background in cell biology and sex work and specializes in community-lead project management. Sandro is the co-founder of the Trans Safety Emergency Fund, a Swiss-based organization dedicated to providing emergency financial support to trans people in need.

Remi Cappanera (he/him) is a general practitioner in Paris and clinical sector head of a departmental sexual health center (Essonne). This center is composed of a STI Center and a family planning. He participates in the recentralized state missions (National sexual health strategy : PrEP, PET, STI screening, gynecological monitoring, care of victims of sexual violence, hormones and support for sex worker). He is in charge of departmental consultations supporting trans adults and minors in Essonne. Dr Cappanera is an active member of ReST, trans health network, which brings together trans people, association representatives and healthcare professionals. He's a teaching physician in hormone prescription. He's also a member of the Public Sexual Health Network (RSSP). On the academic level, Dr Cappanera was a universitary teacher in the department of family medicine at Creteil Faculty for 3 years and co-directed thesis work on supporting trans people in general medicine.

Gerard Funés is a political scientist from the University of Barcelona and Health Technician at the NGO Stop, dedicated to the community-based response to sex work. He has been a member of the ChemSex Support volunteer commission since 2020, where he has conducted intake sessions for new users, trained volunteers, and led awareness campaigns, including the organization of the ChemSex Conferences by Stop and the delivery of harm reduction workshops. He has provided training to healthcare professionals, public servants from the Government of Catalonia, law enforcement bodies, and technical staff from other organizations. He served on the NGO board as secretary (2020–2023) and has represented his organization in advocacy spaces such as the Barcelona LGTBI+ Municipal Council and the Public Health Agency of Barcelona (ASPB).

Cynthia Thöni (she/her), is a clinical psychologist based in Switzerland. She conducted research at the University of Zurich within the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel, with a particular focus on mental health, stigmatization and identity of bisexual and pansexual individuals in Switzerland. The research emphasises the complexities of navigating queer identities in a context where members of queer minority groups often face invalidation and pressure to conform to societal norms. Cynthia has since transitioned into clinical practice, first working with youth in crisis intervention and later expanding her focus to psychotherapy. Her work bridges research and clinical care, integrating evidence-based insights from research with a clinical understanding of the experiences that shape the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals. Deeply committed to visibility and creating a sense of belonging within the community, Cynthia also contributes to public conversations through talks and panel discussions on the psychological challenges faced by queer communities.

Adam Bruton (he/him) is a Policy Advisor in the SOGIESC Unit at the Council of Europe. After completing his LLM in EU Law at the College of Europe, Bruges, Adam worked in Brussels at an immigration law firm before taking on a policy role covering fundamental rights, the rule of law and criminal and civil justice at a Permanent Representation to the EU. Taking a keen interest in LGBTI rights in Europe, Adam took on his current position at the Council of Europe.

Milo Vieira is co-director of Girofard, the LGBTI+ centre in Bordeaux - Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Initially involved as a volunteer, he has contributed to the development of inclusive sports in Bordeaux, through initiatives such as GiroSport and the Cannelions. Drawing on his professional and community experience, Milo has acquired solid skills in social support, health promotion and project management, which he is now putting to good use for the LGBTQIAP+ community. He is actively involved in creating and implementing innovative schemes designed to meet the specific needs of LGBTQIAP+ people, while ensuring that the results achieved are shared. Milo also works to strengthen cooperation between regional structures, with a view to sharing knowledge and practices.

Mauro Cabral Grinspan coordinates the global project on intersex depathologization at InterAction for Health and Human Rights. He also serves as scientific collaborator at the Free University of Brussels and participate in editorial initiatives in the fields of intersex studies, anti-gender studies, and sexual reproductive health and rights. Argentinian currently living in Brussels, he has been involved in human rights advocacy since the mid ‘90s; his work included co-founding GATE in 2009 and serving as its Executive Director between 2017 and 2022 and participating in the elaboration of the Yogyakarta Principles (2006) and the Yogyakarta Principles Plus 10 (2017). He also co-authored the Argentinian Bill on the Comprehensive Protection of Sex Characteristics, edited the book Interdicciones. Escrituras de la Intersexualidad en Castellano, and published many specialized and divulgatory articles. A historian by training and passion, his current research work is focused on mobilization of the past in the context of the right to truth as applied to human rights violations against intersex people in healthcare settings.

Vincent Reillon is an Advocacy Officer at Forbidden Colours and an independent consultant and author specializing in LGBTIQ+ inclusion. He works at the intersection of policy, human rights, and public communication, leading high-level advocacy efforts to advance LGBTIQ+ rights in Europe. He has run campaigns against 'anti-LGBT propaganda' laws in Europe. He is a former diplomat for France at the Council of the EU and policy expert at the European Parliament.

Ahmet Sitki Demir is a Berlin-based non-binary and queer Muslim actHIVist, urbanist, cultural worker, and curator. Ahmet’s work is characterized by an intersectional diversity-critical and discrimination-sensitive approach. They currently work for the German AIDS service organization "Deutsche Aidshilfe" as deputy manager of the countrywide GBTIQ+ health prevention campaign “IWWIT – ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU” (I know what I do). For more than fifteen years, Ahmet has been dealing with discourses around postcolonial theory, social access & barriers, and intersectional feminism, focusing on the interweaving of gender, sexual orientation, and poverty. Translating and transferring cultural codes from one group to another and making multiple affiliations understandable has always been the basic groundwork for them. In projects like “Thinking from the outskirts of the city” in Berlin and “LastHomo?!” in Vienna, Ahmet intervened and collaborated within queer/migrant urban fields and cultures.

Jonathan Gregory has a master’s degree in Adult Education and the privilege of managing the campaign "IWWIT - ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU" for the Deutsche Aidshilfe since 2023. This campaign is financed by the German Ministry for Health and is focusing on HIV and STI Prevention for gay, bisexual and queer men, as well as men who have sex with men since 2008. In 2009, he started working as a volunteer at the Berliner Aidshilfe. He was giving HIV Awareness and Prevention Workshops for students. He had the opportunity to work for other queer NGOs in the field of HIV-Prevention and Harm Reduction in Berlin. This was a good way to professionalize his activism and further strengthen the communities and networks in Germany.

Kai J. Jonas, Prof. Dr., currently holds the Chair of Applied Social Psychology at Maastricht University and is adjunct professor at the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at Chinese University Hong Kong. His research focuses on HIV prevention, all aspects of the HIV care cascade, substance use and mental health among key populations such as MSM, trans* individuals or migrants. Looking back at early community driven PrEP research (EU-Flash PrEP, 2014) and continuous knowledge transfer work in the Global South, he is currently the PI for PROTECT, investigating interest and intention to use long-acting PrEP in 21 European countries, and co-PI of EMIS, the European Men-who-have-sex-with-men and Trans People Internet Survey (EMIS-2024). Together with COC Amsterdam, he co-funded and runs the AmsterdamPinkPanel, a unique LGBTQI+ community research panel in the Netherlands.

Olivier Dupray is a General Practitioner at the Maison Arc-en-Ciel de la Santé, Brussels LGBTI medical center, with an aim to improve quality and access to global health for everyone. He also works in digital health as well as taking part in the medical direction board of a family planning and sexual health center in the southern part of France (Mouvement Français pour le Planning Familial, Pau). He’s been working for 10 years to fight against domestic violence with a specialization in sexual health in order to develop an integrative and positive point of view in the society. He trains the health professionals and social workers in this specific subject. He also holds experience in medicine of sports and ethnomedicine.

Emma Sarter (she/her) is a social psychologist specialised in discrimination against LGBTI+ people who defended her PhD thesis at UCLouvain (Belgium) in 2024. Emma collaborated with Genres Pluriels, an association working for the rights and visibility of trans and intersex people, and wrote her PhD thesis on attitudes toward trans people and opposition to trans rights. The role that arguments embedded in the sex/gender binary play in discrimination against trans people is an important part of her work. Emma is now a researcher at Unia, a Belgian equality body fighting against discrimination and for chances equality.

Dima Bilyarchyk (he/him) is the co-founder of Every Health, building Europe’s first virtual clinic dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. Originally from Ukraine and shaped by the Berlin startup scene, he brings years of experience in using technology to modernize outdated structures. Every Health offers fully remote care pathways, from at-home diagnostic kits to virtual consultations, prescriptions, and medication delivery, in close collaboration with doctors, pharmacies, and labs. The service launched with a focus on bacterial STI prevention (DoxyPEP) and is now expanding to include PrEP, HRT, and broader queer-related care. Dima is passionate about breaking down barriers to care and reimagining services that truly center LGBTQ+ communities.

Rafał Majka, PhD in culture studies, is a university researcher working in HIV/AIDS and sexual health studies, LGBTQ+ migration and refugee studies and anthropology of organizing. He also works as a sexual health counsellor in voluntary counselling and testing spots in the south of Poland; a member of Kraków-based Association for Preventive Healthcare "Jeden Świat", he coordinates rapid testing events for HIV, HCV and syphilis in spaces frequented by key populations and general population.

Maka Gogia is an HIV Activist with extensive working experience in Public health, HIV, Hepatitis C, B and HIV prevention programs management. Besides the program management she is a technical advisor, trainer and consultant of HIV/HCV community organizations. During the last 15 years she is engaged in advocating better accessibility to HIV, HCV, TB and STI treatment and prevention services for key affected population. Maka is steering committee member of Combination Prevention and Quality of Life of PLHIV at European AIDs Treatment Group (EATG), as well Steering committee member of European HIV testing week, focal point of Correlation Network and Global Fund EECA constituency member, CAP member at Medicines Patent Pool, Member of AIDS Action Europe (AAE) and Regional Collaborating Committee on Accelerated Response to Tuberculosis, HIV and Viral Hepatitis (RCC-THV) at World Health Organization.

Bart Anseeuw is a psychologist from Belgium. He has experience in research and clinical work and attained degrees in theoretical and experimental psychology, clinical psychology and finally AI. He has a private practice where he works mainly with MSM who participate in chemsex and experience problems because of that. He manages the website chemsextherapist.com with free resources on the topic of chemsex and gives workshops on the topic of chemsex to other caregivers.

Vaghinak Ter-Hovhannisyan is a passionate human rights activist, lawyer, and researcher with a deep commitment to driving positive change and fostering equality and democracy in Armenia. Working with Pink Armenia and various other CSOs, he specializes in advocating for the rights of LGBTIQ+ people, people living with HIV, people who use drugs, and palliative care patients. With almost a decade of experience, his work has focused on advancing legal and policy reforms, promoting human rights protections, and fostering inclusivity within healthcare and social systems in Armenia. He has collaborated with regional and international organizations, including WHO and UNAIDS, to conduct in-depth legal analyses and research. His research portfolio also addresses barriers to accessing healthcare services, discrimination, hate speech, gender inequality, GBV, and patients' rights. Vaghinak is a ECL Youth Ambassador for cancer prevention, member of the IAS, several regional and national organizations, and the monitoring groups of the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs of Armenia.

Daniele Calzavara is a 37-year-old queer person who has lived with hiv since 2011 and is an activist and community health worker. After 6 years of directing Milano checkpoint, Dani is in a time of great change in his life and the field of his work is becoming chemsex outreach, with field research and engagement of vulnerable queer people who do not have access to (or trust in) health care.

Fau Rosati (he/they) is a psychologist, researcher in trans and queer studies, and transfeminist activist. They currently work at the Department of Developmental and Social Psychology at Sapienza University of Rome and collaborate with various organizations and collectives on trans health. Their research and clinical practice focus on mental health, particularly the impact of stigma on marginalized communities, with an emphasis on trans and nonbinary populations.

Mihai Lixandru is an activist involved in the fight against HIV for over 20 years.  For the past 18 years he has been working for ARAS – Romanian Association Against-AIDS, the largest organization working in HIV in Romania. He developed in 2017 the first Checkpoint, in Bucharest, for gay, bisexual, queer and other men that have sex with men and trans persons and since then he replicated the model in other 3 cities of Romania. In 2023, under Mihai's coordination, ARAS has opened the first PrEP clinic in Romania (PrEPpoint ARAS Bucharest), which served as a model for a similar clinic in Cluj (PrEPpoint ARAS Cluj). He is now the coordinator of the Checkpoint-PrEPpoint ARAS Network, to date still the only services available specifically to GBQMSM and transgender people in Romania.

Jaron Soh (he/him) is the co-founder and CEO of Voda, the award-winning mental health app dedicated to providing culturally competent support tailored specifically to the LGBTQIA+ community. With a strong background in entrepreneurship and LGBTQIA+ advocacy, Jaron has successfully raised venture funding and built partnerships with leading LGBTQIA+ organisations and healthcare institutions. His work emphasises the intersection of technology, clinical psychology, and social justice, particularly addressing challenges such as queer shame, gender dysphoria, and barriers to healthcare access. Voda currently serves 35,000+ LGBTQIA+ people globally, and also built the world's largest free mental health resource by and for the trans community. Jaron is committed to advancing research-driven, inclusive mental health solutions.

Vincent Goetry has a doctorate in psychology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and is a peer helper and experience expert at the Université de Mons. An activist with Ex Aequo since 2021, he has been involved in screening for HIV and sexually transmitted infections and sending out material to reduce the risks of transmitting these infections. Since 2024, he has been actively involved in the association's chemsex programme as part of a post-master's degree in systemic psychotherapies at the Université Catholique de Louvain en Woluwe. His work experience includes co-hosting the weekly “Let's talk about chemsex” discussion group, managing the chemsex WhatsApp line for listening to, supporting and accompanying people who want to reduce or stop their chemsex practices, and carrying out motivational interviews and follow-up to help people achieve their goals.

Feminist activist since the 1970s, Rosa Almirall became a gynecologist to fight for women’s right to make choices about their bodies and lives. For 25 years, she directed public sexual and reproductive health services in Catalonia, helping shape women’s health programs with a gender perspective. In 2012, she launched Trànsit, the first public transgender health service in Barcelona based in a primary care center, offering person-centered, informed-consent, and self-determination-based care for both binary and nonbinary people. With support from the Catalan trans activist community, she helped end the psychiatric “Gender Identity Disorder” model in 2017. That same year, Trànsit became the official public health entry point for trans people in Catalonia, expanding into a decentralized, multidisciplinary service. She has received several national and international awards. Since then, it has served over 8,000 people across eight cities. Since 2021, she has led the NGO Kasa Trans*, training and advising health professionals in trans-affirmative care.

Dinah Bons (Dinah de Riquet-Bons) is a prominent trans health advocate, political leader, and creative force. With 15 years of experience working in general hospitals and acute psychiatric crisis units, she brings deep frontline knowledge to her activism. Dinah has been a tireless voice in the HIV field, serving on Amsterdam’s H-TEAM and as a community delegate to UNAIDS. She founded and directed Amsterdam’s Trans United Clinic, one of the first trans-led clinics providing gender-affirming healthcare and HIV prevention. Alongside her healthcare work, Dinah pursued legal studies at Vrije Universiteit and the University of Amsterdam, combining medical and legal expertise to advocate for inclusive policies. As a politician, she champions the rights of marginalized communities. In the arts, she is an actress and the Head of Creative Strategy for the renowned theater collective Female Economy, using storytelling to drive social change.

Marianne Blidon (she/her) is a feminist geographer and an associate professor at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, affiliated with the Institut de Démographie (IDUP). She is a pioneer in France in the field of the geography of sexualities, having defended the first French doctoral thesis on this subject in 2007. Her research focuses on feminist and queer geographies, spatial inequalities, and the intersection of gender, sexuality, and space, particularly in the context of migration and urban studies. She also contributed as editor-in-chief to the creation of the journal Genre, sexualité et société. She has been involved in several international research projects, including the EU-funded RESIST project (2022–2026), which examines effects and resistances to anti-gender discourses, politics and mobilisations across Europe.

Anna Ponjoan Thans (she/her) is a doctor in biology and currently a researcher fellow at the Primary Healthcare Research Institute (IDIAPJGol) and the Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI), Dr. Trueta University Hospital. Her research focuses on primary healthcare in sexual dissidences and she is interested in participatory and feminist research. She is the principal investigator of the L-Health project, an European project which aims to promote excellence primary care services towards LesBians*. Moreover, she is coordinating the IRIS project, a study funded by the Spanish Government which aims to compare the cardiovascular health between LGTBQ+ people and the general population.

Noémie Girard (any pronouns) is a psychologist, psychotherapist and queer psychoanalyst. His field of research, especially PhD, concerns the in-depth understanding of the choice of being a psychologist, understood as a profession of care and considered through the prism of gender theories. She works in a family planning with the LGBTQIA+ public and in particular trans and non-binary people as well as in private consultation.

​Houda Zarioh holds a master degree in criminology from ULB with a focus on the relationship to sexuality among women from North African immigrant background and the mechanisms of transmission of cultural, social and religious norms from mother to daughter. She is committed to defending human rights, women’s rights and minorities and currently works as a social worker for Alias, a non-profit organisation in Brussels that provides psycho-medico-social support for men and trans* people involved in prostitution/sex work in Brussels.

Aron le Fevre is the Executive Director of the Global Equality Caucus. The Global Equality Caucus is an international network of parliamentarians and elected representatives dedicated to tackling discrimination against LGBT+ people. The GEC is the only international network of elected representatives focused exclusively on achieving LGBT+ equality. We work together with NGOs, businesses and governments to promote and drive through measures on anti-discrimination and legal equality. Aron himself, is a passionate and multilingual champion of Human Rights, with a profound understanding of international politics and a solid knowledge of Inclusion and equality with a special focus on the LGBTI+ Community and on Democratic Institutions.

​Aurore Dufrasne (she) is a psychologist from the Genres Pluriels association, also a psychotherapist, sex therapist, trainer, and coordinator of the  Belgian Trans* and Inter* Psycho-medico-social network. She has worked for 12 years with her colleagues to improve access to health care for transgender and intersex people and their families. One of its means of doing this is to support a great deal of research on transidentities and intersex, at the academic level among others. Aurore is board member of the first LGBTQIA+ clinic in Belgium, Rainbow House of Health or MACS.

Charlotte Pezeril is an anthropologist and researcher at the AIDS and Sexuality Observatory at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Since 2008, her research has focused on the dynamics of stigmatisation and discrimination against people living with HIV in Belgium, including the criminalisation of HIV transmission. Her research is part of an intersectional perspective that aims to cross-reference inequalities based on health status (particularly HIV/AIDS) with gender relations, sexuality and post-colonial relations. She is also a lecturer at the ULB, teaching in the Masters specialising in sexology and the clinic of sexuality.

​Maxence Paquot (he) has been a trainer, grant administrator and director of the Genres Pluriels association since 2022. He is also administrator of the Centre Communautaire LGBTQIA+ des Grands Carmes and delegate for the day-to-day management of the new Maison Médicale Arc-en-ciel de la Santé in Brussels. He uses the knowledge he has acquired in his profession, as well as his experience as a transgender man, to guarantee and improve the rights of transgender and intersex people in Belgium. He passes on his knowledge in professional training courses for local authorities, the police, schools, businesses and others.

​Walter Margos graduated in medicine in 2010 and has been a gastroenterologist since 2016. He first practised for six years at the Jolimont Hospitals. Since 2022, he has worked full-time at the UCL Namur University Hospital on the Godinne site. As part of his clinical work in proctology, he works with the infectious diseases team to screen at-risk patients for anal dysplasia. These patients are followed up in the infectiology consultation, then referred to proctology for a clinical examination and cytological smear. This approach enables early detection of precancerous lesions of the anus (commonly known as condylomas), which require medical treatment and sometimes surgical resection.