Date: Sat, 15 Jul 1995 02:19:02 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: Moderator of conference "iglhrc.ern" From: International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission Subject: MISC NEWS: Outloud and Souza Award The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission June 28, 1995 Contact: Julie Dorf +1-415-255-8680 Courageous International Activists Honored with Award San Francisco -- Activists from Thailand, Brazil and Tasmania received the 1995 Felipa de Souza Awards from the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) on June 22, 1995 at a lively event in Rio de Janeiro attended by 200 activists from around the world during the 1995 ILGA conference. The annual award honors three individuals or organizations who haveQdespite risking personal safety, economic hardship or personal freedomQfought for the human rights and freedoms of sexual minorities in their countries. The award is named after Felipa de Souza, a Brazilian woman who was tortured and convicted by the Portuguese Inquisition in 1591 for having sexual relationships with other women. This yearUs award winners are: Luiz Mott, Brazil An anthropologist and long-time activist, Luiz Mott founded Grupo Gay de Bahia in 1980. His tireless organizing, research and documentation has been instrumental in bringing visibility to homophobic attitudes and violence in Brazil. He has helped numerous other lesbian, gay and AIDS groups get their start in the country. Luiz is currently the Secretary of Human Rights for the Brazilian Gay, Lesbian and Transvestite Association. He has lectured extensively and is widely published on the topics of historical and contemporary homosexuality in Brazil. In his research, Luiz discovered Felipa de Souza, the Brazilian woman convicted and tortured by the Portuguese Inquisition in 1591 for having sexual relationships with other women. The Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group (TGLRG), Australia The TGLRG was formed in 1988 and has been involved in lobbying, public advocacy, community education, media work and direct action primarily on a local, grassroots level in Tasmania, an island off of the Australian mainland. Last year, their campaign to overturn TasmaniaUs anti-gay laws took them to the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva. Rodney Croom, campaign manager and Nick Toonen, plaintiff in the case are leading activists in TGLRG and were instrumental in filing the complaint with the UN, which resulted in a written decision at the highest level of international law acknowledging that laws against private consensual homosexual sex violate basic human rights. After the UN Human Rights Committee's decision, the Australian Parliament passed legislation enshrining the right to sexual privacy. Anjaree, Thailand Anjaree is a lesbian rights organization in Thailand which has existed since 1986, and organized the first Asian Lesbian Network (ALN) conference in 1990 in Bangkok. Other lesbian activists in Asia cite Anjaree as being inspiration to their organizing efforts in the region and particularly credit Anjaree as being instrumental in the formation of ALN. Anjaree has over 250 members throughout Thailand, publishes a newsletter for private circulation and holds regular meetings 2-3 times per month in Bangkok as well as other meetings in other parts of Thailand for their nation-wide membership. Anjaree is also involved in lesbian visibility efforts for the UN World Conference on Women coming up in Beijing in September. Award winners are available for interview by telephone and copies of their acceptance speeches are available from IGLHRC. 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA Tel. 1-415-255-8680 Fax 1-415-255-8662 email IGLHRC@igc.apc.org The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission June 28, 1995 Attn: Arts & Entertainment Editors Music Editors OUT LOUD Benefits Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Around the World U2, The Indigo Girls, and Throwing Muses are among the artists contributing on the compilation CD, OUT LOUD, an album in support of the human rights and freedom of lesbian and gay people. Released on the label Knitting Factory Works, the CD will be released September 20, 1995 with record release parties in New York City and San Francisco. The OUT LOUD compilation CD brings together an eclectic mix of major label artists and up and coming artists stepping forward with powerful recordings about freedom, dignity, and honesty - all to benefit the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). With seventeen tracks (thirteen previously unreleased) OUT LOUD is a necessity for all fans interested in collecting recordings from artists like U2 and Throwing Muses, among others, that can only be found on this benefit CD. Highlights include Kristin Hersh's haunting vocals floating over hard driving accompaniment on Throwing Muses previously unreleased live remix version of Finished, a rare find as it has never been released in the US in any version. With striking harmonies and profound lyrics, Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers add a fierce intro to their live acoustic version of This Train Revised. U2 joins the benefit compilation with a brilliant, previously unreleased remix version of Cole Porter's standard Night And Day, with a new techno backbeat that moves the song from its Red Hot & Blue origins to the dance floor. British icons Everything But The Girl (I Don't Understand Anything) and Billy Bragg (Sexuality) contribute previously released songs that take on new life and power in the context of this compilation. The entire album is solid with provocative, political, and entertaining compositions from The Gretchen Phillips Experience, Melissa Ferrick, Disappear Fear, the Mekons, Voice Farm, BETTY, The Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, Y'ALL, The Jazz Passengers, Girls in the Nose, Daniel Cartier and the Judybats. Proceeds from OUT LOUD directly benefit the work of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). IGLHRC, founded in 1991, advocates for a world in which the most fundamental rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered people, and people with AIDS and HIV will be respected. Part of this mission is to redefine the global battle for human rights to include the rights of these people. As the music industry often serves as a prominent voice for social issues, OUT LOUD was naturally a project for siblings Julie and Michael Dorf to join efforts on. Julie, the executive director of the IGLHRC, and Michael, owner of the Knitting Factory label and club, teamed up in June of 1994 to produce the Out Loud benefit concert series, held at the Knitting Factory, to benefit IGLHRC during the 25th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. The OUT LOUD CD evolved from this concert series and is the latest Dorf project supporting social issues through the music industry. For more information or to request pre-release cassettes for review and/or album cover artwork, contact Russ Gage at 415-255-8680. 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA Tel. 1-415-255-8680 Fax 1-415-255-8662 email IGLHRC@igc.apc.org