[Sponsored] Human Dignity Festival is queering the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with its second annual human rights conference in Hong Kong, running from Friday until next Thursday.
The festival is held in collaboration with NGO Planet Ally, featuring seven international speakers and 70 NGOs to speak on LGBT+ issues and human rights.
Founded by Planet Ally’s Bess Hepworth, Human Dignity Festival was launched in 2017 as an ode to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its advocacy of LGBT+ rights. The event aims to inspire and empower local and global citizens to creatively collaborate on concrete ways to advance human rights and dignity. Its Leadership Forum, on the 17th and 18th, will coincide with Hong Kong Pride and features ground-breaking LGBT+ human rights advocates.
We are driven to find ways to leverage our privilege and influence in the pursuit of intersectional human rights, allyship and dignity, by challenging the inequalities in Hong Kong and globally. This is what Human Dignity Festival is all about – founder of Planet Ally and Human Dignity Festival Bess Hepworth.
“Human dignity is the right to live one’s truth and have the freedom to be who you are,” said Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, the world’s first openly gay prince, founder of the Lakshya Trust, and one of Human Dignity Festival’s speakers.
NGOs and individuals from around the Asia-Pacific region and the world will share research, experience and advocacy around the urgent need for recognition, protection and equal treatment of LGBTI people. The Forum will feature a youth summit, panel discussions and workshops, and participating in Planet Ally’s March of the Rainbow Penguins at the Hong Kong Pride March on behalf of the movement Free My Library, advocating against the Hong Kong libraries censoring of LGBTIQ themed books.
“When I set out to create Eaton more than five years ago, it was with a vision to form a company that would transcend the confines of traditional industries to become part of and gather a global movement. By hosting the Human Dignity Festival in conjunction with our own human/progress festival, we aspire to make the world a better place for everyone and everything,” Lo said.
Dates: November 16 to 22, 2018.
Venue: EatonHK, 380 Nathan Road, Jordan.
Entry: Student and Youth leaders (HK$370), Leadership Forum (HK$741). Tickets can be found here.
Visit the Human Rights Dignity Festival website for more information.
