Dear LBTQ Ethiopians,
Welcome to Queer Ethiopia!
We started Queer Ethiopia a little over a year ago as as a way to engage more Ethiopian LBTQ women online and to create a sense of community within the LBTQ population in our country. While we had high hopes for its success in regards to engaging queer Ethiopians in a meaningful way, its real impact has surpassed our expectations. We have received emails, messages via Messenger, a few comments on our blog from you about how you found our articles and stories helpful and affirming. And for that we would like to thank you.
The encouraging interest and conversations we have generated within both the digital and physical LBTQ communities in the past year has enabled us to articulate the need for a more engaging space that will benefit the LBTQ community in Ethiopia as well as those in the diaspora. The collaborative online needs assessment survey we conducted further indicated the need for more engagement on issues such as faith and sexuality, connecting with other queer Ethiopians, self acceptance, positive stories about LBTQs and mental health.
Based on the feedback we received, we are excited to share that we are starting several new activities. A podcast, an online magazine, online cultural and arts events, a panel discussions and online counseling services will be launched over the next few months.
Our monthly podcast Ethioqueer will be launched at the end of January and will deal with a diversity of topics that address the lives of LBTQ Ethiopians in Ethiopia and in the diaspora. Our quarterly online magazine will explore various queer issues in depth. Our online arts and culture events will include open mics, performances, movies, and poetry. We will also be offering online counseling for the community by providing avenues for free online counseling where LBTQs can send questions to queer friendly counselors.
We have also increased our social media presence and you can find us at: https://www.facebook.com/QueerEthiopia , https://twitter.com/QueerEthiopia and https://www.instagram.com/queerethiopia/.
With these expanded platforms and resources, we hope to continue to create a larger, a more active, a more inclusive and an empowered LBTQ community.
Thank you for your support thus far and we hope you will continue to be involved.
Best wishes,
Queer Ethiopia Team
