Location: Georgia

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Convening Activists and Strengthening Movements

This February, the Astraea Foundation held a 2024 Activist Convening: Central Asia & the South Caucasus in Tbilisi, Georgia for over 60 LGBTQI+ grantee partners and activists. Participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan gathered for this multi-day event, fostering an activist-centered-and-driven experience in a safe, caring, inclusive, and accessible space with live interpretation and translation.

Convening Activists and Strengthening Movements

Funding global grassroots movements is just one aspect of the fight for freedom. The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice regularly brings grantee partners together to build community, decrease burnout, and support leadership longevity. When activists and organizers have time to reflect, collaborate, and share strategies, our movements are stronger. Activist Convenings are uniquely co-designed with grantee partners and local LGBTQI+ organizers so they can share experiences, grow with one another, heal in community, and foster joy.

“It gives me power and inspiration [being] here, and I’m very grateful and happy to see how different movements, for example, transgender movements and feminism movements, are coming together and work in cohesion and coherence with each other.” – Trans activist on the Activist Convening in Tblisi

This February, the Astraea Foundation held a 2024 Activist Convening: Central Asia & the South Caucasus in Tbilisi, Georgia for over 60 LGBTQI+ grantee partners and activists. Participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan gathered for this multi-day event, fostering an activist-centered-and-driven experience in a safe, caring, inclusive, and accessible space with live interpretation and translation.

A heartfelt thanks goes to our partners, Association for Progressive Communications and Women’s Fund in Georgia, for their support and leadership in bringing this convening to life, as well as the activist advisory board, team of facilitators, language and healing justice practitioners, participants, and supporters who help make transformative events like this possible.

The Astraea Foundation looks forward to future participatory, activist-led convenings in service of queer healing, strategy sharing, and our collective liberation. 

(Graphic by Salome Zhvania)

Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG)

Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG) is an LBT-led feminist group working to ensure the full involvement equal participation in social, political, cultural and economic life for all women in Georgia.

Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG) is an LBT-led feminist group working to ensure the full involvement and equal participation in social, political, cultural and economic life for all women in Georgia. Their work utilizes a three-pronged strategy to achieve their goals: empower and build leadership of women, advocate for inclusive policies and popularize feminist values to instill societal respect for women on the margins, particularly LBT women. As a result of their recent successful advocacy using Universal Periodic Review mechanism to create pressure on their government, the country is now taking concrete steps to address anti-LBTQ violence and mandate officer training nationally.

Check out our 2018 International Wom*n’s Day video featuring Maya Tabidze of WISG: