A DIFFERENCE IN A MINUTE: LGBTQIA+ Rights Through Poetry

Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, #may17IDAHOT. If you ever wondered why homophobia exists, and wish to change this way of thinking, then read on.

Amnesty International is a global movement, a London-based NGO that is focused on human rights. If you wish to support or are interested in this, read on to find out more about what you can do 🙂

The challenge – What can you do?

At Amnesty International UK, ‘Words that Burn’ is a challenge for you to try and make a difference through poetry. And the current theme is LGBTI (or LGBTQIA+) Rights.
How you can take on this challenge is by writing your own poem about LGBTQIA+ rights, that you can perform in a minute or less.
The poem can be about your personal experience of / view on LGBTQIA+ rights OR it can be an ‘appeal poem’ for Sakris Kupila, a campaigning activist who aims to reform Finland’s transgender recognition laws. You can write this poem to support him and help him get what he deserves, which is legal recognition in Finland.
The deadline for poetry submissions is Friday, 29th of July, 2018.
You can submit your poem in written form, as an audio clip, or as a video clip that is 1 minute long or less than that. A number of the submissions will be chosen to be displayed at the Amnesty International UK website, and they will notify you if your poem has been selected.
Also, if your poem is for Sakris, then the written text/audio/video will be sent to him and also to the Finnish Prime Minister.
You can register and submit your poem here. (Better read carefully through the requirements for submission and follow through with the registration, especially for those who are under the age of 18).