By: Emily Scagel/TRT Assistant Editor–
Thirty years ago, Pride coordinators created InterPride to increase outreach and effect positive change through networking, collaboration and education within Pride groups. Since then, InterPride has held Annual World Conferences to accomplish this mission. Boston Pride, the host committee for the 2012 InterPride Annual General Meeting, AGM, wanted to bring this year’s conference back to where it began—Boston. This move, according to Sylvain Bruni, Interpride 2012 co-chair and Boston Pride board member, is a testament to the achievements of the past three decades.
Anna Dubrowski, InterPride 2012 co-chair and Boston Pride committee member, added that the four-day event had representation from 17 countries and over 80 organizations, including over 100 new delegates.
“[We were] all working toward making our Prides more successful and opening the door for more people to step up and be brave enough to start their own Pride,” said Dubrowski.
Delegates from across the world, including Spain, Iceland, Greece, Canada, the UK, France and Germany, gathered to learn, celebrate and network throughout event. Bruni stated that the conference was a huge success.
“Attendance was at an all-time high, the educational program included more workshops, panels and discussion sessions than at any previous AGM, and the feedback we received was extremely positive,” said Bruni.
Success, in Bruni’s words, was due to the hard work of the host committee and the open and collaborative planning process.
“Rather than planning the conference in a vacuum separate from InterPride, we decided early on to look outwards and to work closely with the InterPride leadership and member organizations,” explained Bruni.
Pride organizers were surveyed from around the world about their interests, what topics they wanted the conference to address and what they wanted to accomplish and learn. From that, Bruni said, they were able to “tailor the conference content to what attendees really wanted to get out of the event.”
John Trobaugh, a first time delegate from Worcester Pride was interested in this new experience.
“I was not sure what to expect at first,” said Trobaugh, but “I really enjoyed the InterPride Boston conference. One of my goals as a new co-chair was to connect with our immediate neighboring community. What I got was much more! We will need to budget for InterPride every year.” Trobaugh added that he learned much to bring back to his organization.
According to Bruni, the conference exists to assess what work has been accomplished over the past year and lay out the groundwork for the upcoming year. In addition, it offers a venue for education and networking.
“There is so much to learn from one another and the conference is one of the best ways for all to meet and network. We can all talk to folks from various parts of the world and learn how they have solved their Pride organizing problems, how they motivate their community to be active, how they manage their volunteers, how they get sponsors, etc.,” explained Bruni. “It’s really about sharing best practices so we can all be more efficient and serve our respective communities better.”
In addition, Bruni stated that this AGM had a degree of professionalism that the host committee infused in the conference, leading to many unique firsts.
“For the first time, there were many parallel tracks in the educational program, the large majority of sessions were taught and presented by professionals rather than Pride organizers, a professional registration system was used that automated information collected, the conference had its own app for iPhone and Android phones, an outreach campaign was put in place to get students and Pride organizers from hostile environments to attend and a pre-conference was offered,” said Bruni. “Since Boston is known as the ‘City of Firsts,’ it was only befitting that Boston Pride would push the envelope and take the conference to a whole new level.”
Dubrowski added that there were also unique events and attendees. She explained that this was the first time the conference had brought youth groups, and the first time a sitting Governor, Deval Patrick (D-Mass), had attended an AGM to address delegates. Dubrowski said that “the cameras were nonstop, and by the time he left, he had inspired everyone to tears!”
Patrick sent a strong welcome to the delegates, something that some may not experience in their homeland.
“Governor Patrick told delegates that ‘although [they] might not be welcome in [their] own State Houses or supported by [their] governments, [they] will always be welcome in the Massachusetts State House, and always supported by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Bruni.
The 30th Anniversary Gala Dinner at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum honored InterPride founders and was another Boston first, stated Dubrowski.
According to Bruni, “they expressed, like no-one else could have, how much progress the Pride movement and InterPride made over the last 30 years … They told us that we should be very proud of the work we do, and that we should continue pushing for even greater visibility and equality, all over the world, so that 30 years from now, even more people around the world can benefit from Prides. This meant a lot to everyone in the room and I think it pumped us up for another 30 years of Pride work!”
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive for Boston Pride, said Bruni.
“We were told that ‘Boston placed the bar really high for future conference organizers,’ which really made us proud.”
Dubrowski agreed that feedback has been tremendous.
“The Mayor’s office, as well as the tourism office have sent over congratulations, but my best note of thanks came from the three founders [of InterPride] who attended,” she said. “They were so proud to have met all the people they inspire to keep their mission moving forward.”
More information about InterPride can be found at www.interpride.org. The 2013 AGM will be held October 10-13 in Montréal. [Interpride 2012 photos can be seen on page 10 of the November 1, 2012 issue of The Rainbow Times].
