Cape Town Hosts Historic ILGA World Conference on LGBTI People's Human Rights

Cape Town, South Africa – The global LGBTI community has concluded a landmark event, the ILGA World Conference, held in Cape Town, South Africa, and hosted by local organisations Iranti and Gender DynamiX. This 31st edition of the conference, the largest in the organisation’s history, welcomed over 1,450 delegates from more than 100 countries under the theme “Kwa Umoja We Rise”, a Swahili phrase celebrating unity and collective progress.

A Historic Return to Africa

This event marked the first time in 25 years that the ILGA World Conference returned to African soil, underscoring a renewed commitment to inclusion, alliances across movements, and solidarity on both the continent and the global stage.

For five days, the conference brought together LGBTI human rights defenders, development experts, policymakers, government representatives, researchers, journalists, funders, and allies. The gathering served as a response to the global anti-rights pushback, showcasing the strength of collective action.

Key Highlights

• International Pride Awards: The event featured the inaugural International Pride Awards, a collaboration between UNDP and ILGA World.
• Strategic Summit for Inclusive Democracies: This summit addressed intersectional approaches to democracy and equality.
• IDAHOBIT Theme Announcement: The 2025 theme for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT) was announced as “The Power of Communities”, emphasising collective strength in overcoming challenges.
• Leadership Elections:
  • Kimberly Frost (United States) and Yuri Guaiana (Italy) were elected as co-Secretaries General.
  • Chairs for ILGA World’s Steering Committees were also elected, representing bisexual, intersex, trans, women’s, and youth communities.

Reflections from Leadership

Julia Ehrt, Executive Director of ILGA World, remarked:

Liberty Matthyse of Gender DynamiX and Jade Jacobs-Wort of Iranti stated:

Looking Ahead

As the conference concluded, ILGA World announced that its next global gathering would take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, continuing its mission to foster collaboration and amplify LGBTI voices worldwide.

About the Hosts

• ILGA World: A federation of over 2,000 organisations from 170+ countries, campaigning for the rights of LGBTI people. Visit ilga.org.
• Iranti: A Johannesburg-based organisation advocating for LBQTI rights across Africa. Learn more at iranti.org.za.
• Gender DynamiX: Africa’s first public benefit organisation focusing solely on transgender and gender-diverse communities. Visit genderdynamix.org.za.

Press Release Submitted By

Company Name: ILGA WorldContact Person: Julia EhrtWebsite: ilga.org

Total Words: 415

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