Solidarity fund

Through the Solidarity fund West Pride invites international guests to the festival. Those invited are LGBTQI-people who cannot live open in their home countries because of oppression and discrimination. 

One of West Prides key values is openness. The festival is a place where everyone should feel safe, where LGBTQI-people are able to take place in the public room and live openly. Unfortunately, the possibility to live openly is not the same in all places in the world. In many countries there is a strong resistance against LGBTQI-people, sometimes the resistance is enforced by law and can in worst case scenarios lead to death sentences or lifelong prison penalties. 

THE PURPOSE OF THE SOLIDARITY FUND 

The purpose of West Prides Solidarity fund is to invite people who cannot live openly to the festival. We want to offer them a possibility to be in a place and in a community where they can be open with their sexuality/gender identity/gender expression and not be worried about violence or oppression. We want to give them an experience where they can feel joy and proudness over who they are. 

Previous year money from the Solidarity fund have been used to invite guests from Uganda, among others. 

West Pride support Ukraine

When Russia entered Ukraine and the war broke out at the end of February 2022, West Pride chose to act and take a stand. West Pride have donated 20 000 SEK from our Solidarity Fund to support our sibling-activists in Ukraine. The donation goes through EPOA (European Pride Organizers Association) and 100 % of the money goes directly to Kyiv Pride and Kharkiv Pride.

Read more about the donation here.