Even though the Nordic countries are at the forefront of LGBTIQ rights in Europe and globally, LGBTIQ Roma are subject to a complex web of intersectional discrimination and marginalization. Little or no research has been carried out on this group in the Nordics, neither are we aware of any specific programmes or activities to support them. This project is a first step towards putting Roma LGBTIQ communities on the agenda in the Nordics. The project aims to provide information about Romani LGBTIQ minorities in the Nordics and the intersectional discrimination they face, including antigypsyist homophobia. The outcome of the project will be a publication with a series of public book launches/seminars in three Nordic capitals (Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo). The publication will bring the voices of Roma LGBTIQ persons and Roma activists promoting LGBTIQ rightsto the forefront.

The project will provide an overview of good practices from other European countries where Roma LGBTIQ rights movements have grown and visibilized the challenges that these communities face. The aim of the publication is to equip organisations, institutions and stakeholders with relevant knowledge and tools that will raise public awareness about specific forms of discrimination that Roma LGBTIQ people face in order to create an accepting environment that values diversity within LGBTIQ and Roma communities; to combat antigypsyist homophobia; and to support Roma LGBTIQ persons in pursuing their struggle for equality in Nordic societies. The book launches will bring together relevant stakeholders to ensure that the knowledge is communicated to places where it is needed.

This project builds on a collaboration between five organizations within the Nordic region that have been involved in the growing QTIBIPoC movement. The project’s purpose is to collaboratively create a practical toolkit in partnership with QTIBIPOCs – a resource designed by and for the community. This toolkit will partly serve as a transformative intervention for Nordic organizations, welfare systems, schools, and other institutions that engage with QTIBIPOCs. We also want the toolkit to serve as a resource for QTIBIPOC organizing and create opportunities for cross-border coalitions.

The toolkit will introduce readers to an intersectional understanding of systems of oppression and power, and develop a contextual and historical analysis of the Nordic region. Most importantly, the toolkit will draw its strength from real-life experiences, activist strategies, organizational skills, and movement expertise from across the region.

QTIBIPoC stands for Queer, Trans*, Inter* and Black, Indigenous, People of Colour.