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Five
Reasons the 2006 Outgames Will Succeed
At the end of August Joseph McCombs had the opportunity
to visit Montréal, site of the 2006 Outgames. While
there, he saw five elements of the city that convinced
him that the 1st World Outgames will be a
smashing success. Story |
Montreal Chronicles 1
The "In" Place to be in 2006
 A
colourful and boisterous crowd of 60,000 festive gays
and lesbians from around the world, and their straight
friends, has assembled in Montréal’s Olympic Stadium.
Exactly 30 years to the day after the Closing Ceremonies
of the 1976 Olympics, all of Montréal is poised to
welcome the world with open arms to yet another major
sporting event: The international LGBT community’s 1st
World Outgames. This is the image that pops to mind for
Lucie Duguay, Co-President of the 1st
World Outgames, when she is asked to imagine the 2006
event. Read the Chronicles
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On Your Marks. Get Set. GO!
 The
1st World Outgames Montréal 2006 ARE COMING
TO NORTH AMERICA in 2006 with Montréal as proud host to
the world. It promises to be the largest sports and
cultural event the city has seen since the 1976 Olympic
Games! The 1st World Outgames will be held
from 29 July to 5 August 2006, during the most beautiful
time of the year in Montréal, with average summer
temperatures of 26°C. The International Conference for
the Advancement of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgender Rights entitled “The Right to Be Different”
will be held from 26 to 29 July
2006, just 3 days before the
opening of the 1st World Outgames.
More than 16,000 participants from more than 100
countries, along with 250,000 visitors, will populate
the city. Embracing our international reputation as the
City of Sports and Festivals, Montrealers of all
persuasions, gay and non-gay, will be the welcoming
hosts for what is destined to be an unforgettable event
and an international success.
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An International Rendez-Vous with Sports
and Culture Like No Other!
A WORD
FROM THE CO-PRESIDENTS
The vision of the Rendez-Vous Montréal 2006 Organising
Committee is to orchestrate a magnificent gathering of
gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders (GLBT) and
heterosexuals to celebrate sports and culture together
in North America's City of Festivals.
The 1st World Outgames will make an important
contribution to the advancement of the rights and
freedoms of gay communities worldwide. In addition to
the sport and cultural activities offered, there will
also be an International Conference on GLBT rights,
which will be held three days before the opening of the
Outgames. This “Rendez-Vous” in 2006 will show how a
truly enlightened society respects all its members.
Our goal is nothing short of capturing the hearts and
minds of the world by presenting an event filled with
creativity and originality that celebrates personal and
collective achievement. This event will leave an
important legacy and serve as a source of inspiration
for all the Outgames to come.
We are firmly committed to delivering an event where
sport will be practiced without discrimination of any
kind, where the presence of the gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgender communities is celebrated through sport
and culture, and where participants will have an
experience of a lifetime in a city renowned for its
world-class hospitality.
See you in Montréal in 2006 for an unforgettable
experience!
MARK TEWKSBURY
Co-President
LUCIE DUGUAY
Co-President
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The Latest From Montreal
Launch of the Preliminary Programme for the International
Conference on LGBT human rights!
Montréal, 18 January 2006 – The organisers of
the
International Conference on LGBT Human Rights,
presented from 26 to 29 July 2006 by the 1st World Outgames,
have made an important step forward today with the launch of the
Preliminary Programme for the event. The launch marks the
beginning of an international recruitment campaign to reach
individuals and organisations in more than one hundred
countries. Already, more than 70 countries are represented. Over
the four days of the Conference, some 2,000 delegates will
discuss the future of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
human rights worldwide. The programme will offer five plenary
sessions with many prestigious speakers, plus more than 200
workshops. Almost 800 people have already proposed workshops
related to the main Conference themes: The essential rights,
global issues, diversity with the LGBT community, participation
in society and creating social change.
One of the primary goals of the Conference is to bring the issue
of LGBT rights as human rights to the forefront and to
demonstrate to national governments that they must take the
question of LGBT human rights seriously.
“The Conference will help us to reach our ultimate goal,
that of legal and social justice of the kind already enjoyed by
more and more LGBT people living in Australia, New Zealand,
Canada, South Africa, most Western European countries and in
some parts of the United States, compared with those who live in
African, Asian, Eastern European and Latin American countries,”
said Ms. Joke Swiebel, Co-President of the International
Scientific Committee for the Conference.
The Declaration of Montréal will be adopted and presented to
delegates at the close of the Conference proceedings. It will
then be presented to United Nations authorities and to national
governments to mobilise unequivocal support for the respect of
LGBT rights. This will be the legacy of the Conference, one that
will be enriched by the participation of a large number of
individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures.
To appeal to the varied interests and concerns of all delegates,
the Conference will have special sessions on specific topics.
Workers Out! will examine the LGBT community within the
workplace, while Out for Business! will target chambers of
commerce and business people in the international LGBT
community.
Workers Out!: Making a difference
Workers Out! is being organised by Canadian and Québec labour
organisations: la Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN),
la Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Canadian Labour
Congress (CTC/CLC) and the Fédération des travailleurs et
travailleuses du Québec (FTQ). Workers Out! concentrates on
developing an international strategic plan to help our unions
worldwide in taking up the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender (LGBT) rights in the workplace and in the
broader society.
Out for Business!
Developing its international network, which already had a solid
base in Canada, the United States and in Europe, the CCGQ has
formed a Steering Committee composed of representatives from 11
organisations in six countries. Out for Business! will
definitely be a not-to-be-missed occasion where more than 300
professionals and business people will discuss important issues
for the LGBT community worldwide.
The International Conference
poised for success
The International Conference on LGBT Human Rights will bring to
Montréal legal scholars, opinion leaders, academics,
researchers, specialists and human rights defenders from around
the world. With almost 800 delegates already registered, the
Conference is sure to be a major success in July 2006.
Objectives for the Conference, in terms of amplitude and
attendance, will be attained or even surpassed.
“We are proud to have the support of many internationally
respected partners in the organisation of the Conference,”
added Ms. Louise Roy, CEO of Montréal 2006, “In fact, we can
now count on the support of 31 organisations!”
“In presenting this ambitious project, the 1st World
Outgames organisers have demonstrated their determination and
their vision in linking the LGBT sports movement with the global
fight for LGBT rights as human rights. This was a courageous
decision – one that we feel was, without question, the correct
one. What the Outgames and the Conference have in common is
defending the human right of every LGBT person in the world to
participate fully, openly and equally in every part of life,
without hiding their sexual orientation or gender identity,
including in every sport, at every level, from their
neighbourhood to the Olympic Games, and at every age, be it 18
or 88,” concluded Mr. Robert Wintemute, Co-President of the
International Scientific Committee.
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