The U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City has launched a program dedicated to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community that includes photo exhibitions, film screenings, and discussion sessions.
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The “LGBT Pride Month,” to take place throughout June, officially kicked off during a ceremony on Friday at the American Center on the 8th floor of Diamond Plaza at 34 Le Duan Street, District 1.
Besides providing a better understanding of the LGBT community, the month also aims to call for equality among people with the hope that homosexual, bisexual and transsexual people can have the right to be loved and their parents will no longer be ridiculed.
“LGBT people, especially youth, need to know that they have allies, friends. Gay, straight, old, and young, we all must work together to promote acceptance and provide a safe place for LGBT youth,” U.S. Consul General Rena Bitter said in her opening speech at the event.
During the month, numerous activities devoted to the LGBT community including speaker programs, film screenings, photo shows and a social media campaign will jointly be conducted by the American Center and the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
In addition to displaying U.S. photographer Braden Summers’ “All Love is Equal” photography project which depicts same-sex couples in various countries around the world, the photo shows also feature works of Vietnamese photographer Le Van Phong who made a collection entitled “Duong tim hanh phuc” (The way to happiness) documenting portraits of the LGBT people.
“I spend two years making this collection which includes the portraits of 120 LGBT participants in HCMC and the capital city of Hanoi in the hope of raising awareness of this community and deliver a message against all forms of homophobia,” Phong shared.
The month-long program also sees the support of ICS Center, a HCMC-based organization aiming to empower the LGBT community to raise awareness, advocate and protect their rights, which will organize several talk shows and activities to support gay rights this month.
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Đăng ký: VietNam News
