Well, 2014 started off with a bang! Last Friday's Gay Gala will be followed with this weekend's Lahti Pride. And today I found out that one of those great things I expected to happen this year, happened. I got an e-mail from the secretary general of Seta today telling me I was one of the chosen ones for Seta's international Affairs committee. We have our first meeting of the year next Wednesday in Helsinki. So yay! Thanks for trusting me.
To go back to my last post, I realize that it might have sounded a little like I expected to be nominated and to win, which was not what I meant at all. It was more in regards to the TV and movie categories and the fact that Finnish TV doesn't have other shows or characters than the gay couple on Salatut Elämät, and that from the 4 nominated in the movie category, 2 of them were by LGBT people and about LGBT issues. I hadn't seen any of them, but I don't think the 2 Peter Franzen led movies were LGBT? I might be wrong though, I rarely watch Finnish TV or movies so I don't really know much about them.
There are plenty of LGBT people working in TV and movies and other arts related industries in Finland, and I felt like they should be celebrated instead of nominating all those straight made shows/movies. But, if we don't know about them, or their projects, it's difficult to nominate them. And there are plenty of locally important projects and people working in LGBT advocacy, but they are not as seen or heard as much as for example Tahdon 2013 campaign, which has succeeded really well in getting into people's hearts and heads and homes. Last year was clearly Tahdon 2013 campaigns, there's no doubt about it.
As an introvert I'm really out of my comfort zone in going to events by myself. I need someone to go with me and if these events weren't important places to be seen and to network in the LGBT community, and if I didn't know that there are going to be friendly faces there, I probably would have stayed at home last Friday and I wouldn't be going to Lahti Pride by myself! And the city of Lahti is totally foreign to me so this is doubly scary! I was gonna drive, but if the snow storm is gonna be bad on Saturday, I might just take the bus, even if it's super expensive. But this is FIRST. EVER. Lahti Pride and it's organized by a friend of mine, so it's important to participate. Hopefully I'll see you there!
Showing posts with label Lahti Pride. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lahti Pride. Show all posts
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Dare to dream!
No, really, I dare to you to dream and then make it a reality! Never in a million years did I think that I would get some of the biggest and hottest LGBT-names in Finland to come to my little shindig, but they did and it was amazing!
You know, there's always room for improvement and we definitely have that in regards to attendance but as far as the program part of Forssa Pride 3 goes, I can't complain. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I had no doubt that Rakel would deliver, she's a pro at this. She's funny, she's articulate and she was the perfect hostess for the event. I listened carefully when Leena won her Miss Gay Finland crown and her speech after winning was something I could identify with. She wants to have an impact on the same things I do. The one part that I wasn't familiar with was Aleks, but I was really impressed with him. Not a lot of 19-year olds have to do that much self reflection nor are they ready to take on the task of changing peoples perception or fight for human rights. Aleks was very mature and his attitude of "you have to take bad with the good" was really impressive. You can't take everything personally and that's something we should all remember. On top of them bringing their A-game, they were all really lovely people and weren't bothered with all the "Can I get a picture with you" questions they heard throughout the night. I think Aleks with his recent stint in the Celebrity Big Brother house was the biggest hit of the night.
The intellectual discussion was something that you don't really get in Forssa, at least not in public, and makes me think about all the things I'm missing. Also, makes me sad that not more people were interested in coming to hear them, because there was a lot of things that could have opened peoples eyes and really make them think about things and their own resources to impact a change, whether in their own lives, in Forssa or even more nationally. Listening to that discussion and also the questions that were posed, made me appreciate my own Gay Cafe group and the "more than a rainbow" group I go to at Pirkanmaan Seta.
On Sunday I heard people I don't personally know talking about Forssa Pride for the first time. I thought it was great, because I haven't heard anybody ever talking about anything LGBT related in Forssa before, and just few weeks ago I saw my first female couple holding hands in Forssa. What a sheltered life I've led so far!
I want to thank Green Whale for sponsoring this event and bar 54 for hosting us. I was also promised that there would be Forssa Pride 4, so I'll see you next Spring! Before that I'll be at Lahti Pride, Gay Cafe will be marching there and some of us were thinking about staying for the after party.
You know, there's always room for improvement and we definitely have that in regards to attendance but as far as the program part of Forssa Pride 3 goes, I can't complain. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I had no doubt that Rakel would deliver, she's a pro at this. She's funny, she's articulate and she was the perfect hostess for the event. I listened carefully when Leena won her Miss Gay Finland crown and her speech after winning was something I could identify with. She wants to have an impact on the same things I do. The one part that I wasn't familiar with was Aleks, but I was really impressed with him. Not a lot of 19-year olds have to do that much self reflection nor are they ready to take on the task of changing peoples perception or fight for human rights. Aleks was very mature and his attitude of "you have to take bad with the good" was really impressive. You can't take everything personally and that's something we should all remember. On top of them bringing their A-game, they were all really lovely people and weren't bothered with all the "Can I get a picture with you" questions they heard throughout the night. I think Aleks with his recent stint in the Celebrity Big Brother house was the biggest hit of the night.
Backstage beforehand.
Showtime!
Me with the stars of the night.
The intellectual discussion was something that you don't really get in Forssa, at least not in public, and makes me think about all the things I'm missing. Also, makes me sad that not more people were interested in coming to hear them, because there was a lot of things that could have opened peoples eyes and really make them think about things and their own resources to impact a change, whether in their own lives, in Forssa or even more nationally. Listening to that discussion and also the questions that were posed, made me appreciate my own Gay Cafe group and the "more than a rainbow" group I go to at Pirkanmaan Seta.
On Sunday I heard people I don't personally know talking about Forssa Pride for the first time. I thought it was great, because I haven't heard anybody ever talking about anything LGBT related in Forssa before, and just few weeks ago I saw my first female couple holding hands in Forssa. What a sheltered life I've led so far!
I want to thank Green Whale for sponsoring this event and bar 54 for hosting us. I was also promised that there would be Forssa Pride 4, so I'll see you next Spring! Before that I'll be at Lahti Pride, Gay Cafe will be marching there and some of us were thinking about staying for the after party.
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