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Lesbian Organisation Rijeka - LORI is a Croatian civil society organization founded in 2000. as the first registered lesbian organization in the country.[1] Their main purpose is protecting the rights of LGBTIQ+ people and fighting against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, as well as any and all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Through their programs they mostly advocate and promote social justice, equality and solidarity.[2]

Being active in this field for over twenty years, they've led many projects with the long-term goal to improve the quality of life for all LGBTIQ+ people in Croatia and ensure their protection as well as improve their position in the social, legal and cultural context. They are a memeber of ILGA, IGLYO, EL*C - EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community and Queer Network Croatia, Women's Network Croatia and GOOD Initiative.

History

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Officially registered in 2000, LORI launched the first national campaign to promote LGBTIQ+ rights in 2002 called "Love is Love" with the goal to increase visibility of LGBTQ+ persons, fight prejudice and jumpstart societal change in this particular area of human rights.[3] HRT (Croatian Radiotelevision), the national broadcasting service, banned the video from appearing on screens.[4] Many other projects followed, such as "A Different Society is Possible: United for LGBT Equality" (2013.) which produced the Yogyakarta Principles Manual - International Legal Norms for Protection of the Human Rights of LGBTQ People[5] and "Respect Human Rights - Build Inclusive Society" (2015-2017) for the protection of LGBTQ+ rights.[6]

LORI is also the first LGBTIQ+ group that started working directly with schools and school officials to educate both the students and the staff on topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity in order to combat homophobia/biphobia/transphobia and prevent violence and bullying that stems from it. This program has been active since 2012 and also resulted in a published anti-bullying handbook for teachers and counselors.[7]

Since 2019, together with other project partners, LORI has led a university course at the Department of Cultural Studies in Rijeka titled Gender, Sexuality, Identities - from Opression to Equality. It was the first course in Croatia that was based on a service-learning approach and provides students the opportunity to learn about human rights issues, LGBTIQ+ topics, gender equality, gender-based violence, feminist and gender theory and then apply what they've learnt in practice through community work or collaboration with local civil society organizations.[8]

The organisation has also been participating in the European Testing Week since 2015, providing their offices as the place where LGBTIQ+ people can get tested for HIV and syphilis for free and recieve advice from licensed epidemiologists on sexual health as well as free contraception (condoms).[9]

Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture Smoqua

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In 2017 LORI, together with other partners, founded Smoqua - a festival of queer and feminist culture. With its combination of activism and art, the festival brings together artists and activists from over twenty countries with the common goal to question, rethink and deconstruct certain prejudices through workshops, panel discussions, art shows, plays, drag shows and many more.[10]

In 2016 Rijeka was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture[11] and from 2017 to 2020 Smoqua was organized as a part of this programme. The very first festival, which was also the first regional queer and feminist festival, was held under the theme Freedom - are we truly free?

The following festival editions were:

2nd Smoqua - Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture: Pride and Prejudice (2018)[12]
3rd Smoqua - Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture: Norm, Normality and Normativity (2019)[13]
4th Smoqua - Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture: We Are Here 2020[14]
5th Smoqua - Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture: Uncharted Territories (2021)[15]
6th Smoqua - Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture: Equity, Sisterhood, Solidarity (2022)[16]
7th Smoqua - Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture: Taking Spaces (2023)[17]
8th Smoqua - Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture: Resistance and Resilience (2024)[18]

Every edition of the Smoqua festival has so far been international.


References

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  1. ^ "Lesbian Organization Rijeka (LORI) & Zagreb Pride Organization". Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  2. ^ "About LORI". LORI. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  3. ^ LORI (February 2, 2014). "LORI VIdeo- Love is Love (banned by national HTV)" (video). youtube.com (in in croatian). LORI.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "A Kiss Between Two Men Proves to be Too Much for Croatian Eyes". www.index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Yogyakarta Principles Manual - International Legal Norms for Protection of the Human Rights of LGBTQ People". ravnopravnost.gov.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Previous Projects". LORI. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Lesbian Organization Rijeka (LORI) & Zagreb Pride Organization". Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Gender, Sexuality, Identities - From Opression to Equality". uniri.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  9. ^ "European Testing Week 2023". tjedan-testiranja.eu (in Croatian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture Smoqua". LORI. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  11. ^ "European Capital of Culture 2020". www.rijeka.hr. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Smoqua - Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture in Rijeka: Pride and Prejudice". LORI. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Smoqua 2019 – 3rd Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture in Rijeka". LORI. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  14. ^ "S(e)moqua 2020: We Are Here". LORI. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Smoqua - Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture: Uncharted territories". LORI. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Smoqua 2022 - Equity, Sisterhood, Solidarity". LORI. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Smoqua 2023 – Taking Up Space". LORI. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Smoqua 2024: Resistance and Resilience". LORI. Retrieved 25 October 2024.