Today marks the 8th annual International Family Equality Day, and organizations and individuals in over 100 cities and 50 countries across the globe will be taking part!
This year’s theme is “United We Stand.” IFED-Board member Andrea Rivas (Argentina) explains, “It can be incredibly powerful when people are united in a cause. The upcoming celebration of this special day will send out a joyful message of encouragement.”
Visit the IFED website to see what’s going on in your area and how you can get involved—or just to read stories from around the world, contribute your own, and revel in the fact that LGBTQ families are indeed everywhere.
The day originated as an idea of Swiss LGBTQ advocate Maria von Känel in 2010. The first International Symposium of LGBTQ parenting organizations in 2011 established International Family Equality Day (IFED) as the first Sunday in May, and celebrated the first one in 2012. Additionally, last year, IFED became an NGO (non-governmental organization) as a way to sustain and grow its work.
Speaking of celebrations of LGBTQ families: Don’t forget that on Monday, June 3, here on the Internet, I will be hosting #LGBTQfamiliesday, the evolution of the Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day I began in 2006. Now, 14 years later, in partnership with Family Equality Council, we’ll be encouraging anyone who wants to support and celebrate LGBTQ families to tweet, post, and share on any type of social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, blogs, vlogs, etc.) with the hashtag #LGBTQfamiliesday. If you want to submit a post as in previous years, to be added to a master list for the day, you may do so as well; but we’re also trying to kick up the buzz to incorporate all kinds of social media sharing. Please mark the date and join us!