One day training on LGBTI rights held in Vlora

26 March 2015 – PINK Embassy / LGBT Pro Albania held at the Municipality of Vlora a one day training on “LGBTI rights and offering friendly services”. The training was attended by specialists and staff of Vlora municipality, Regional Directorate of Public Health, State Police, civil society, Regional Directorate of National Employment Services and students from the University of Vlora, majoring in languages and literature.

The training served to discuss in detail concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity, the historical patologisation of non-heterosexual identities and causes of discrimination, while in the second part were discussed at length social and cultural difficulties of accepting this sexual diversity. Above all the training served to clarify that while offering non-discriminatory and inclusive services is a legal and professional duty, offering friendly services, taking positive and supportive measures and changing institutional mentality on these social groups demands specific political, institutional and professional engagement.

The training was held in the framework of cooperation between PINK Embassy with the Municipality of Vlora in the framework of the initiative “Improving the lives of LGBTI people at community level”. PINK is holding trainings and awareness events with local governments and other institutions of public administrations in the cities of Tirana, Durres, Elbasan, Shkodra, Korca and Vlora.

In the coming months PINK Embassy in cooperation with different institutions in Vlora will organize awareness activities, including here open lectures, discussions, exhibitions etc on this topic especially with youth, in order to fight prejudice and discrimination of people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.