LGBT friendly
The City of Ljubljana actively follows the principles of equality, inclusivity and accessibility which are reflected in all our policies. Special attention is dedicated to all those who are particularly vulnerable due to their particular individual circumstances. These include all those who continue to suffer misunderstanding, prejudice or unfair treatment because of their sexual orientation or gender expression.
The main goal of our activities is to change broader social attitudes to the LGBT community. We would like society to become accessible to all – including to same-sex oriented and transgender people. We are attempting to reach this goal in two ways, by supporting NGOs that work in this field (via co-financing and supplying premises for programme implementation), and through diverse awareness-raising activities, programmes and public events.
Discrimination and stigmatisation due to sexual orientation remain a feature of the everyday lives of LGBT. Thus, as part of various co-financed programmes, Ljubljana enables personal counselling and information, lectures and workshops and forms of mutual support in diverse groups, in the health protection field also support in preventing HIV/AIDS. We also support various events – for example, the City is the Patron of the annual Gay Pride parade, and last year we were co-organisers of an international EGLSF conference. We assist NGOs through the possibility to use City premises and co-finance their public work.
The second specific goal is to raise public awareness of those expelled to the margins. Following the defeat of the Family Code in the referendum in 2012 we became more strongly engaged and decided to publish the Rainbow Ljubljana booklet, in which all information on the LGBT community in Ljubljana and Slovenia generally was collected, and we established the certificate LGBT friendly certificate, we set up an LGBT certificate website, and we regularly publish news about activities in this field. To mark major events – such as the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (17 May) and at the time of the Pride parade in June each year – the Rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBT community, flies from City Hall. In this way we seek to raise public awareness as broadly as possible and contribute to greater tolerance for others.
Both of these goals are also included in the Strategy for the Development of Social Care in the City of Ljubljana 2013–2020, where NGOs actively co-operated in preparation of the Strategy. In this Strategy, the City of Ljubljana committed to support new and existing social care programmes for LGBT, programmes for parents of LGBT individuals, educational programmes for destigmatisation of the LGBT in public institutes and programmes for raising awareness in schools.
In 2013 the City's Ljubljana Tourism public institute (in co-operation with NGOs) introduced a tab on its website for LGBT tourists, which showcases the LGBT scene in Ljubljana, LGBT-friendly venues and events (e.g. Pink week).www.visitljubljana.com/en/visitors/poigroup/entertainment/lgbtq-ljubljana
Our good practices have been received with enthusiasm beyond our national borders. The City is a member of the Rainbow Cities Network and we have presented our activities at various international conferences (EGLSF, WHO, Taiex, ESCWR).
The recipients of the LGBT friendly certificate:
- the City Administration of the City of Ljubljana
- Community Heath Centre Ljubljana
- Home Care Institute Ljubljana
- Public Housing Fund of the City of Ljubljana
- National Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Slovenia
- Ljubljana Castle
- Snaga d.o.o.
- Ljubljana Tourism
- Kinodvor
- Little Street – Centre for Children and Families in Ljubljana
- Mladinsko Theatre
- France Bevk Primary School
- Radio Kaos
- Public Holding Ljubljana
- International Centre of Graphic Arts
- National Hero Maks Pečar Primary School
- Advisory Centre for Children, Youth and Parents Ljubljana
- RRC Computer Services (RRC Računalniške storitve d.d.)
- H. C. Andersen Kindergarten
- Under the Castle Kindergarten (Vrtec Pod Gradom)
LGBT-friendly certificate
The aim is to create a climate that is favourable to all within the working environment and in organisations’ external relations. In the first phase, NGOs conducted research about the needs of LGBT employees and LGBT users and an educational module was prepared based on the results of research analysis. The educational module was drawn up in a way that it can be adapted to any individual organisation’s specific field of work. The educational module was approved by the Commission for the LGBT certificate, which was appointed in January 2014. It comprises six members (one City of Ljubljana representative, three NGO representatives and two experts).
The Certificate will be awarded to all public and private organisations that complete the education and share knowledge among their co-workers. The four-hour seminars or training sessions for management cover the following topics: fundamental human rights; the impact of heteronormativity on the lives of those who deviate from these norms; the specific needs of LGBT employees and service users (specific needs arising not from their own sexual orientation or gender identity, but from the still-prevailing homophobia); use of inclusive language that does not conflict with the sexual orientation of employees or service users and trying to formulate neutral sentences.
The first seminars were implemented for management staff from the City Administration and Ljubljana Health Centre. The education continued in various City public institutes, as well as at the National Institute for Public Health.
After fulfilling all of the above criteria, the City of Ljubljana awards the organisation concerned a certificate in the form of a charter upon which the organisation's commitments are set out. The organisation also receives LGBT-friendly stickers to be placed in a visible spot at the entrance to its premises as well as LGBT-friendly posters to inform staff and service users that they are in an LGBT-friendly environment. All new certificate holders also attend an annual reception with the Mayor.
In the next step, the organisation’s leadership must ensure that the ideas of an equal approach to all and guaranteeing basic human rights are observed among its staff and towards external partners. In acquiring the certificate, the recipients commit that their organisation will assure: a) better understanding of the basic human rights of LGBT people; b) an inclusive environment for LGBT staff; c) raised awareness among its staff in the providing an offer and services for LGBT users, and d) increased sensitivity to detecting violations in the rights of LGBT people in the working and users’ environment. In the case that an organisation fails to keep up its commitments, staff and service users have recourse to the Commission for the LGBT Certificate, and can make their opinion clear to the organisation concerned through established complaints procedures.
Rainbow cities network
The City of Ljubljana was the 19th member of the Rainbow Cities network, an informal network. The network aims to exchange good practice and experience with LGBT policies.
The representatives from Rainbow Cities meet annually in one of the member cities (in 2014 in Vienna, in 2015 in Geneva, in 2016 in Amsterdam) and the next meeting will be in November 2017 in Ljubljana. Otherwise they exchange ideas at the network's online forum.
Supporting NGOs
In the last 30 years the City has established good partnerships with various LGBT organisations. Thereby, the City offers them spatial and financial support. NGOs have options to carry out programmes on City premises, which are free-of-charge or they pay reduced fees.
LGBT organisations can obtain funding through annual public tenders issued by various City of Ljubljana departments for their programmes and projects in education and training, sports, culture etc. LGBT are paid special attention in two tender fields, in social care programmes to support and empower LGBT people (counselling, self-help groups etc) and in awareness-raising programmes about responsible sexual behaviour.
The City of Ljubljana also supports various projects and events (e.g. a football tournament against discrimination) and it is a patron of various LGBT events (e.g. EGLSF conference, Gay Pride parade). The Mayor also makes a speech at the Pride parade.
In 2013 the international general assembly and conference of the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF) took place in Ljubljana. The event was organised by the EGLSF with the support of Slovenian LGBT NGOs and under the patronage of the City of Ljubljana. At the Building Bridges Conference, which is organised every five years, we showcased our co-operation with LGBT NGOs at a workshop. The conference participants were welcomed by Mayor Zoran Janković at the City Museum of Ljubljana and the rainbow flag flew from City Hall that day. Ljubljana Castle, a City public institute, hosted the EGLSF General Assembly on 8 and 9 March.
NGOs contacts and LGBT programs
Društvo DIH - Enakopravni pod mavrico
Society DIH - Equal under the rainbow
Slomškova ulica 25, 1000 Ljubljana
+386 (0)41 562 375
info@dih.si
www.dih.si
Rainbow counseling centre (social care p.)
• For LGBTIQ+ persons and their parents: personal counseling, telephone counseling, online counseling
• Workshops for professional workers and future professional workers
Be reasonable, and put a condom on your head! (awarness raising p. about responsible sexual behaviour)
• a preventative project, providing information about safe sex, sexually transmitted infections and carrying out campaigns about HIV/AIDS virus infection and sexually transmitted infections among groups of men who have sex with men (MSM) and young people.
Active under the rainbow (local youth p.)
• supportive social activities for young LGBTQ+ and their friends
• providing safe places for LGBTQ+
Društvo kulturno, informacijsko in svetovalno središče Legebitra
(Legebitra Cultural, Information and Counseling centre society)
Trubarjeva 76a, 1000 Ljubljana
+386 (0)1 430 51 44
info@legebitra.si
www.legebitra.si
Counseling and self help for same-sex oriented people (social care p.)
• providing information at info point (personal, via telephone or online) – one time users
• information-counseling discussion – one time users
• individual project plan
• support group – LGBT youth
• support group – parents
• networking with institutions and local authorities
Support program for older LGBT (social care p.)
• peer counseling and support group
• establishing network of important people
• training on integrating LGBT older adults
• professional consultation about LGBT older adults
EURO HIV EDAT (awarness raising p. about responsible sexual behaviour)
• improving implementation of CPTSS service by monitoring and evaluating CPTSS service
• performance of entire campaign on World AIDS Day
• improvement of approaches to integration of MSM in health care system when one is infected with HIV or other STD
• education for employees and volunteers who work in society in HIV/AIDS prevention area
Youth informational center Legebitra (local youth p.)
• Informational point
Educational program Legebitra (local youth p.)
• Workshops on human rights
The Living Library (local youth p.)
Through innovative methods of dialogue, the Living Library is used to raise awareness and educate people about values and human rights as well as to encourage discussions about prejudice and stereotypes in society.
Društvo Študentski kulturni center
(Society Student culture centre)
Stari trg 21, 1000 Ljubljana
+386 (0)1 430 35 30
info@skuc.org
www.skuc.org
kulturnicenterq@gmail.com
040 520 008
Self acceptance in distress (social care p.)
• conversations, debates, workshops, educations, round tables, LGBT - themed movie night - conversations
• social events and socialising in safe space
• informations about safe sex among LGBTIQ people, mental and phyisical health…
• preventive measures against sexual risk behaviour and sexually transmitted infections
• informations and preventive measures against homofobic, transfobic and other kind of violence in private and public spheres
• anonymous testing for sexually transmitted infections for men who have sex with men
• development of LGBTIQ – specific social work
Selfhelp HIV+ (awarness raising p. about responsible sexual behaviour)
• selfhelp group for HIV infected MSM
Chemsex: reducing drug-related risk among MSM (awarness raising p. about responsible sexual behaviour)
• group conversations
• individual interviews
• anonymous questionnaires
• individual counseling
• promoting the program on MSM - populated club events
Lesbian (LGBT) library (local youth p.)
Covers fiction, LGBT theory, periodicals, and audiovisual collection, human rights documents and a media and documentary archive on gender and sexuality.
Zavod za podporo in zavezništvo transspolnih oseb Transfeministična Iniciativa TransAkcija
(Institution for support and alliance of transgender people Transfeministic iniciative TransAkcija)
Česnikova ulica 16, 1000 Ljubljana
+386 (0)41 934 235
transakcijaslo@gmail.com
www.transakcija.si
TransAkcija – transfeministic program for support, empowerment and alliance of transgender people (social care p.)
• support group for transgender people
• individual counseling
• training for organisations and institutions
• awareness campaign
• social/educational events
• round tables and lectures
Parada ponosa
Gay Pride Parade Society
Vegova 8, 1000 Ljubljana
+386 (0)40 594 875
www.ljubljanapride.org
Organisation of the Pride parade (local youth p.)
As part of Ljubljana Pride events, from Saturday to Saturday there are a range of diverse events (round tables, film screenings, lectures, workshops etc), culminating in a procession through the streets of Ljubljana.
Awareness raising
During the drawing-up of our Social Care Strategy for the 2013 to 2020 period, LGBT organisations pointed out the need for larger-scale programmes through which it would be possible to have an impact on changing wider social attitudes towards homosexuality.
On the basis of the general social climate and after discussions with NGOs, we have ascertained that it is necessary to raise public awareness about those pushed to the margins. LGBT people are confronted by dilemmas, problems and discrimination which heterosexual people sometimes fail to even notice as a result of their standpoint and take their own views for granted (e. g. talking about partners or children). Thus in the intervening period, we as a local community have been expressly engaged and gone a step further than required by legislation – firstly, we published the Rainbow Ljubljana booklet, which covers LGBT organisations and activities in Ljubljana and Slovenia generally, and then introduced the LGBT-friendly certificate, which is an attempt to work primarily towards awareness-raising among workers and service users.
The Rainbow Ljubljana booklet showcases the active and productive LGBT community in Ljubljana and introduces the various activities (sports, health, culture, social aspects etc) of the LGBT community in Ljubljana with all the contact details for LGBT organisations and their programmes. Ten profiled people also share their views on Ljubljana.
International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT)
Every year we mark the International day against Homophobia, Transfobia and Biphobia with news on the website and with rainbow flag in front of the City hall.
In 2015 we organised a round table on the everyday lives of LGBT people and the problems they face. (www.ljubljana.si/en/municipality/news/96345/detail.html)
In 2016 we published an international photographic exhibition of the Rainbow Cities Network on our website. (www.ljubljana.si/en/municipality/news/103987/detail.html)
International cooperation
Our activities have been noticed both at home and abroad. Therefore, we presented our activities at the annual conference of the WHO Healthy Cities Network in Athens and at an annual EGLSF conference held last year in Ljubljana. Concerning the latter, we were also encouraged to join the Rainbow Cities Network, where you can exchange good practices and experience in this area with other cities. Therefore, in November last year, we took part for the first time in a meeting of representatives of the Rainbow Cities Network, which was held in Vienna. Our activities were very well received, especially the LGBT-friendly certificate, which was one of the good practices showcased on the Italian Rainbow Cities Network website.
The European Commission has also invited us to present our activities in this field to participants from local and regional authorities from the Western Balkans and Turkey at a seminar on gender equality and human rights for LGBT people.
We are especially pleased that LGBT tourists have accepted Ljubljana as being LGBT friendly. This is also reflected in organising Pink Week in Ljubljana (a four-day tourist event intended for LGBT).