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MONGOLIAN LGBT ACTIVISM CHRONOLOGY
March 1999 Tavilan (Destiny in Mongolian) is officially registered with the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs by a number of Mongolian and expatriate gay men. Stopped operating due to funding limitations in early 2001.
June 2000 The first talk is given on FM radio station in Darkhan city by Tavilan activists regarding LGBT rights in Mongolia.
July 2000 The first LGBT community needs assessment research is done in Ulaanbaatar by Tavilan members, leading to the establishment of the LGBT counseling hotline later in the year.
November 2000 The first LGBT counseling hotline is open with funding from the National AIDS Foundation (NAF) by Tavilan members. The hotline closes in February 2001 due to funding limitations.
March 2001 Remaining Tavilan activists form a support group under the NAF, later becoming a full-fledged NGO, Youth for Health, in late 2003.
October 2003 The first official LGBT parties are organized by Colorboy, a founding member of Tavilan.
November 2003 Youth for Health is officially registered as an NGO with the Ministry of Justice and Home affairs, with the mandate to work on men’s sexual health and prevention of HIV/AIDS. Its main focus is gay men and MSM.
January 2004 One of the remaining Tavilan members establishes the Mongolian Lesbian Information and Community Centre (MILC) as a project under the Mongolian Women’s Fund with funding from Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice (USA).
February 2004 Mongoldyke, the first Mongolian-English bilingual LGBT community portal in Mongolia is launched by the MILC at www.mongoldyke.org.mn. It was in existence until October 2007.
June 2004 The first LGBT thematic interview is held on 107.5 FM Radio Station by MILC staff.
June-July 2004 Police and intelligence hound the hotline of MILC under the pretext that the centre is propagating pornography, leading to its closure in September 2004.
2005 A support group under the NAF, together with the mandate to work on MSM sexual health, is registered as an NGO.
July 2006 Former Tavilan member and MILC founder Anaraa Nyamdorj speaks at the First OUTGAMES International LGBT Human Rights Conference in Montreal, Canada, representing the LGBT community of Mongolia with a focus on Mongolia’s LGBT human rights situation post-democratization.
September 2006 Youth for Health NGO in conjunction with the Mongolian Red Cross Society organizes the first training for media on how to report on LGBT issues.
January 2007 The first conference dedicated to human rights and HIV/AIDS is organized in Ulaanbaatar, with a specific focus on LGBT rights within the context of HIV/AIDS politics in Mongolia.
February 2007 The LGBT Centre NGO is initiated with the view of promoting LGBT rights in Mongolia and is denied registration. “The name “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender centre” has a meaning that conflicts with Mongolian customs and traditions and has the potential to set the wrong example for youth and adolescents.”
October 2008 The Coalition of Mongolian LGBT Activists presents the findings of its shadow report at the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee’s 42nd session in Geneva, highlighting the widespread human rights violations taking place against lesbian and bisexual women and transgendered persons in Mongolia.
November 2008 The first Gay Miss Mongolia is held among gay and bisexual men in Mongolia.
December 2008 “Support Centre”, a group under the NAF, is established to provide counseling and sexual health information to the MSM community in Mongolia.
April 2009 The LGBT Centre NGO again tries to officially register; the process is still ongoing, with founders experiencing many impediments.
June 2009 The first survey among media outlets is done by the LGBT Centre NGO with the view of obtaining the media’s perceptions of LGBT people in Mongolia.
July 2009 “Beyond the Blue Sky”, the first LGBT multimedia art exhibition, is created by Fulbright scholar Brandt Miller. |