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Let’s bring Lesbian
Genius to the World

WHAT?

About EL*C

The Eurocentralasian Lesbian* Community – EL*C is a lesbian feminist and intersectional network. The EL*C started out of a self-organised space in 2016 and we grew to being a network of hundreds of individual and organization members. EL*C main goal is to advocate for the multitude of needs surrounding the rights, the visibility and the well-being of lesbians throughout Europe and Central Asia. As lesbians we recognize and address the necessity to create spaces where lesbians’ voices are heard, to include lesbian issues in all conversations and policies which shape our lives and to shine a light on lesbian visibility in impervious waters.

In 2016, more than 70 lesbian activists from all over Europe had the opportunity to come together and realise that, despite differences in political, legal and financial status within the European lesbian movements, there is a common and urgent need to focus on lesbians needs, struggles and oppression, to empower and to increase our visibility and broaden networks. Thus, the EL*C dream was born and expanded over the last 6 years, growing in numbers and in political force, encompassing over 70 NGOs and hundreds of individual members in Europe and Central Asia.

We have since organized 3 EL*C Conferences, numerous Genius Talks, LesBienalle of Lesbian Art and Culture, the International Lesbian Visibility Awards and Lesbian Visibility Week. More than just spaces to convene, these events have served as bonding agents for change, places where lesbian voices have made themselves heard and opportunities to network, bond and work together.

We have published our own research focused on lesbians and we are present at an institutional level with our advocacy to ensure that lesbian needs are visible, heard and considered when creating policies and laws.

Our Goals

Network

Establish the lesbian network as a representative, powerful and visible voice of the lesbian* movements in Europe and Central Asia 

Community

Enhance visibility, self-determination and autonomy of lesbians* in Europe and Central Asia, while reclaiming power within political, economic, social, cultural and media spheres

Society

Advocate, promote and improve protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of lesbians* Europe and Central Asia

WHY?

VISION

Our lesbian utopia is encased in many layers from the intimately personal to the intensely political. We strive for a world in which we lesbians live and love autonomously and self-determined, embedded in and uplifted by lesbian legacies, free and powerful in our actions and desires. We believe in a world where we lesbians are engaged and enamored with each other individually and collectively as companions and through practices of solidarity. A world where we thoughtfully and joyfully navigate our differences, polarities, contradictions and ironies. A world entangled and connected with the processes of the past-present-future and with our environments, a space where we regenerate and reconstruct our own dreams and universes. We are bold, rebellious, passionate, courageous, we are the lesbian genius.

MISSION

Bringing the lesbian genius to the world.

About the Term “Lesbian”

EL*C uses the word “lesbian” as a broad inclusive term, that includes all lesbian, bisexual and queer women (both cisgender and trans) and non-binary and intersex persons who feel connected to the lesbian identity and lesbian activism.

HOW?

ACTION
ADVOCACY
LESBIAN VISIBILITY
COMMUNITY
RESOURCES
& FUNDING
LOVE

WHO?

TEAM

Anastasiia Danilova
Program Director
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anastasia_danilova
Dragana Todorovic
Executive Dykerector
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dragana
Herta Toth
Grants and Sustainability Manager
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Open society Human rigth dept annual 2015 retreat, shot in Montauk NY on 04_22 and 04_23 2015
Izabela Djordjevic
Finance & Administrative Manager
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ELC_202305_HDPORTRAITS-2349
Silvia Casalino
Executive Dykerector
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silvia

BOARD MEMBERS

Steph Florquin
France/Belgium/Sweden
Read More
ELC_202305_HDPORTRAITS-2445

EL*C unites
Lesbian Genius
all over the world

EL*C Projects

Lesbiennale
Lesbian Awards
Lesbians4refugees

Supporters of the Lesbian Movement

Keep updated
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EL*C EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community
c/o HOSI Wien
Heumühlgasse 14/1
1040 Vienna; Austria

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The Lesbian Genius website is created and maintained with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community implementing the project, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

Copyright © Eurocentralasian Lesbian*Community 2023

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Since our formal beginnings in 2016, we at EL*C knew that our primary responsibility is to increase the visibility of the radical, inclusive, empowering #LesbianGenius which has been breathing life into the lesbian movement from its inception and to build on our lesbian ancestors’ groundbreaking and indispensable work. We look to Monique Wittig, Audre Lorde, Lepa Mladjenovic, to the outstanding lesbian organizations such as Labrisz Leszbikus Egyesületet and LOA (Athens Lesbian Group), and countless other lesbian geniuses that came before us and whose limitless legacy we stand on to elevate #lesbiangenius existing in the world. 

Our first conference was held in Vienna, where we decided that from then on, we will bravely go where international support is greatly needed. As such, our following conferences were held in Ukraine (2019) and Hungary (2022) with bigger and bolder action to be taken to ensure the safety and human rights of lesbians wherever they are under attack. 

When the war in Ukraine started, we took no moment to reconsider and alongside our member organization Insight Ukraine and member organizations in neighboring countries, we started providing needed support to the region and to lesbian refugees as soon as one week from the Russian invasion.  

There is no task too small or too big for lesbians and therefore for EL*C to turn a blind eye to and we take pride in sharing in the long tradition of lesbian first responders in times of crisis across Europe and Central Asia.  

At EL*C, we have noticed and experienced firsthand how lesbians have fallen between the cracks when it comes to legislation, research and public discourse, which leads to a lack of understanding for our unique experiences and challenges. The intersection between gender identity, expression and romantic/sexual orientation is key to understanding the struggles that lesbians go through, which are only multiplied by our diverse identities (race, ethnicity, disability, neurodivergence, age, social status, migration background, religion etc.).  

This is why it is imperative that EL*C advocates for the rights of lesbians in all places where it is needed from political institutions such as the European Parliament and the Council of Europe to the streets of countries with authoritarian governments. Our diligent advocacy team works tirelessly to follow the laws, proposed directives and strategies which impact lesbians in our region, and we contribute and advocate for change even where it seems impossible. 

Our impressive results are due not only to our hard work convincing relevant actors, but also because we produce our own research on lesbians to supplement the invisibility of our experiences from academia. We also do advocacy work with and offer our expertise to universities and research centers to include lesbian perspectives in their research.  

Our goal is to lesbianize the world and we’re not that far from it because lesbians contribute to culture and society in all aspects, however our contributions are often overlooked not because they aren’t relevant but because lesbian erasure is pervasive and normalized. As even a viral TikTok song says “historians will call them close friends, roommates, colleagues, anything but lovers”, at EL*C we want to change that, we want to know and visibilize not only all the incredible lesbian history we have, but also the astounding lesbian present in which we are living which exudes the possibility of a fiercer lesbian tomorrow. 

We do this not only through our thematic events dedicated to lesbian visibility such as the Lesbian Awards or the Lesbiennale, but through every fiber of our existence, we want people to know that we are lesbians who come from a long line of lesbians before them, who live in community with powerful, shy, talented, soft, intelligent, raging, outstanding, kind, diverse lesbians. At EL*C we create opportunities for lesbian visibility and prize it above all else. 

In this sense, we understand geopolitical contexts where it is not safe to be out, and we will fight with every ounce of our power to include those who still need to hide their identities and their full selves for safety. We strive for a world where everyone feels comfortable and safe to be their authentic selves, as we work guided by the words of the black lesbian mother, warrior, poet Audre Lorde: “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are different from my own.” 

From our inception, EL*C has always been a communal desire, dream and reality. Community is at the core of everything we do, it permeates every aspect of our organization, shaping our vision, guiding our decisions, and fueling our collective efforts. 

Community is the heartbeat that drives our initiatives forward, instilling a sense of purpose and belonging in all those involved. It is the diverse tapestry of lesbians, organizations, and allies who come together, united by the power of collective wisdom and strength. In this dynamic ecosystem, community members serve as both the catalysts and the beneficiaries of change. We actively seek input, feedback and collaboration from diverse voices in our network of members to craft solutions which benefit the lesbian community we serve. 

Community is not merely a concept or an abstract idea to us: it is a living, breathing entity that shapes and sustains our work. We nurture and invest in this community, providing resources, support, and platforms for lesbians to come together, express themselves, and thrive at their fullest potential.  

Lesbians have been at the helm of transformative social and political movements, oftentimes coming with the vision and power needed to address problems, initiate progress, and transform reality.

In a world ruled by historically embedded multiple systems of oppression, exclusion and marginalization, a world that denies our human rights, our relationships and families, our pasts and our futures, Lesbian Genius needs to be nurtured in order to maximize the impact lesbians have in their communities.

The lesbian revolution can only be achieved by supporting our diverse community with all the resources we have at hand from information sharing and comprehensive tutorials to material support through regranting. Lesbian lead and lesbian focused NGOs are underfunded, and EL*C aims to help ameliorate the situation by regranting a part of the resources to which we have access to our member organizations to thrive in producing knowledge, helping their community, reaching new levels in their activism and advocacy.

Coming in 2023 we will be offering grants to member organizations of the EL*C.

More information is coming soon.

Love is the radical political act and attitude that pumps blood into the heart of revolution and it is the foundation of every EL*C action and thought process. We see love unbound by the shackles of cis-hetero-normativity, radical in its transformative force and quintessential for activism. Love extends far beyond romantic notions, embracing a broader intersectional understanding of solidarity, empathy and justice.  

It is through our love for the lesbian that we are able to acknowledge the interconnectedness of systemic oppressions and the narrow confines of the dominant norm. We actively reject these shackles to embrace a love that is transformational, inclusive and intersectional. We understand that the lesbian movement is intrinsically intertwined with other struggles such as those against racism, ableism, sexism, transmisogyny, classism, climate change, ageism and we recognize radical love as the unifying force and tool against the status quo. 

Love is lived experience, it shows up in acts of care, support and allyship within the lesbian community and beyond. It manifests in the creation of safe spaces, the amplification of marginalized voices, and the nurturing of connections that foster empowerment and belonging. Love serves as the foundation for activism, fueling the pursuit of justice and the dismantling of oppressive systems. By recognizing love as a political act, we at EL*C celebrate the power of human connection and work towards materializing the lesbian revolution. 

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