Cara-Friend Study Trip to Athens

The staff of Cara-Friend recently took part in a European LGBTQI+ conference in Athens, Greece. Organised by the local branch of AEGEE- Europe, the European Students’ Forum, the event ran from March 17th-20th. Participants, in addition to Cara-Friend from Northern Ireland, attended from across Europe, including LGBTQI+ organisations from Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, and the Netherlands.

Speaking about the trip, Youth Development Manager, Declan Meehan said: “Participating in the AEGEE-Europe LGBTQI+ conference in Athens gave us a great opportunity to learn more about the experiences of LGBTQI+ communities across Europe. It also allowed us to make connections with other similar organisations that can be utilised in the future. Sharing our experiences of running our LGBTQI+-specific youth service in Northern Ireland was also valuable for other participants. We met with a youth organisation in Athens, called Colour Youth, and this was a great chance to share learning and advice with one another.”

During the course of the conference the participants took part in a number of workshops, dealing with issues such as homophobia, equality and privilege.