If you don’t tell your story, someone will tell it on behalf of you

 

On the last day of “New Media School” organized by Kaos GL, social policies and LGBTI publishing history in Turkey were discussed.

 

“Social policies towards LGBTI’s” session was conducted by Research Assistant Sedat Yagcioglu. With the participation of over 20 reporter candidate LGBTI activists from 14 different cities, a research workshop was conducted in which needs of LGBTI’s in social services and social policies field were discussed.

 

 

The participants determine the needs of LGBTI’s in different areas like education, working life, family, social life, sexual life etc. through collective thinking. Queer methodology was used in the session and the session started with personal life stories of the participants.

 

Information to be gathered at the end of the session will contribute to the development of social services models and social policies towards LGBTI’s.

 

 

At the second session of the last day, Ali Erol from Kaos GL Association made a presentation about the past and current situation of LGBTI publishing. Stating that Kaos GL Journal was started to be published in 1994, Ali Erol said:

 

“If you don’t tell your story for yourself, someone else will definitely tell that story on behalf of you. Even ones who don’t think your life is valuable would tell your story for you.

 

We started off to show that not only heterosexuals live in this world and to make our own sentences for ourselves. We will directly do something about our own problems instead of waiting for someone else to solve them. We found each other, gave up complaining and strengthened each other by starting to fight at one oint of the life. While we were strengthening the areas we breathe in, we contacted the lives of other oppressed, exploited people.”

 

Reminding that unlike other countries, LGBTI movement in Turkey has organized its own media, Erol said: “Kaos GL which began its publishing life in 1994 and kaosgl.org news site which tries to record even the slightest move have served as means for the words of the movement against homophobia and transphobia to get into circulation.”

 

Following the presentation of Erol, a forum was made with the school participants. LGBTI agendas in different cities and the most appropriate ways to transfer these agendas were discussed in the forum.

 

 

 

Translated by: Vahap Karakus