MORNING PROGRAM

9:30 - 10:00

Warm-up Time

If you are present in person on July 22nd, you can enjoy your morning coffee and network in the Conference auditorium. If you join us online, you get your laptop, tablet or smartphone on stand-by and find a comfortable place to sit. But in both cases you have a look again at the program, the speakers and get ready for an awesome Conference day! Our international guests and supporting partners will greet you during this warm-up time and wish you a very good morning.

10:00 - 10:15

Message of the Co-Founders

Pavel and Ludo together with the Supporting Partners are welcoming all participants to their  8th International East meets West Conference and introduce in their original way, the theme of the Conference: ‘Picking up the Thread!’

• Pavel Šubrt and Ludo Swinnen, Co-founders of East meets West, Austria

Official Opening

Welcoming the participants of the 8th International East meets West Conference

• Supporting partners and the local officials, Slovakia

10:15 - 11:15

A Look from the East and a Look from the West

Now organising this session for the 8th time, we want to respect the traditional set-up. We look at our extensive, ever growing EmW network and talk to LGBTIQ representatives from near by and far away countries, places we all know but of which we ignore the status is of their LGBTIQ community. Often it is a real eye-opener, sometimes you will be touched by their very personal testimonials, but it will never leave you untouched.

• Tania Kasian, Communications Manager at FULCRUM, Ukraine

• Dr. Tabea Hässler, University of Zurich, Department of Psychology and Founder of the Swiss, LGBTIQ+ Panel, Switzerland

• Yves Aerts, Executive Director of çavaria, Belgium

• Rongfeng Duan, Lead of TRUESELF in Shanghai region, China

• Johny Ho, Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Projects at TRUESELF, China

11:45 - 12:30

An East meets West Reality Check on Slovakia   

This year, East meets West is guest in Slovakia, a country that is not often in the press and less known than the Czech Republic. This “little brother” of the former Czechoslovakia has grown gradually in a strong democratic EU country. And what about the attitude towards their LGBTIQ community? East meets West is happy as guest in Slovakia and wants to give the leading local LGBTIQ organisation the opportunity to offer you a unique reality check on the LGBTIQ status in their country, the existing situation and their big hopes for the future.  

• Michaela Dénešová, Finance Director at Inakost / Dúhový Pride, Slovakia

• Robert Furiel, Director of PRIDE Košice, Slovakia

• Marek Novotný, Chairperson at Diversity PRO, Slovakia

12:30 - 13:00

War in Ukraine: Why companies must double their LGBTIQ equality efforts in Eastern Europe and beyond

Putin’s brutal aggression against Ukraine is a historic turning-point. Very soon, there may be a new iron curtain. This major shift has huge consequences for the world and for all Central and Eastern Europeans – not least for the most vulnerable ones, such as the LGBTIQ community in the region. Until recently, beyond strong human rights arguments, ever more research has supported the business and economic case for advancing LGBTIQ equality. But does this hold for globally operating companies in the face of the war in Ukraine and its immense impacts on strategies, investments, budgets, supply chains, D&I and social responsibility? And what role should these companies be playing now?

A fast-emerging new business and market landscape will lead to firms changing course in Central and Eastern Europe. And, as Jens Schadendorf argues, it must also lead to revised strategies to protect and enable LGBTIQ people in the region - not only because it is the right thing to to do but also because it is in their own strong economic interest.

• Jens Schadendorf, Author and Economist, Germany

AFTERNOON PROGRAM

14:00 - 14:45

LGBTIQ NGOs in Exile - Bending but Never Cracking! 

Being LGBTIQ in the CIS region (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) was never easy. Russia has been positioned as the defender of the 'traditional values', where there is no place for the LGBTIQ community as they are contrary to human nature. In Belarus, if you do not talk about it, it does not exist. Ukraine developed the last years a more positive attitude to being LGBTIQ but this came to a halt earlier this year. Most LGBTIQ NGO’s in the region were forced to leave their countries because working there has become quite dangerous. They spread over Europe and started with a lot of energy to rebuild their networks. To get a better understanding of what this entails and which challenges they face, East meets West invited LGBTIQ organisations who are doing just that – running their network while in exile. 

• Nick Antipov, Co-founder of MAKEOUT, Belarus

• Aleksandr Voronov, Executive director of ComingOut LGBT Group, Russia

• Moderator: Elham Mohtashamzadeh, Researcher at Central European University (CEU), Austria

15:00 - 16:00

CSR and the Challenged Journey to ESG

Honestly, we always feel a little uncomfortable when confronted with new abstract abbreviations Though we all know by now well what CSR stands for, it remains important to demonstrate it also today on real examples from the corporate world around us And how about ESG? We at East meets West see it as the evolution of CSR, covering the Environmental, Social and Governance criteria that allow to measure the maturity of a company’s policies and practices More specifically, the “ pillar within ESG focuses on corporate policies around diversity inclusion and human rights in particular But recently we have witnessed a growing, sometimes even hostile, opposition from rightwing populists and industry sceptics, prompting business leaders to think twice about beginning the ESG journey Enough material for an interesting discussion!

• Javier Leonor, Global Pride Lead at Accenture, Netherlands

• Emre Celik, DEIfluencer & EMEA Employee Relations and Investigations Partner at Google, Germany

• Julia Valsky, Co-founder and CEO of Inclusion Indicator, Austria

• Ronald Wiesinger, Director and Co-lead EMBRACE at Raiffeisen Bank International, Austria

• Moderator: Tina Ličková, Senior digital researcher and product strategist, Austria

16:15 - 17:15

Catching up with the Growing LGBTIQ Travel

Next to the large geopolitical changes we face in Europe, the LGBTIQ community cannot afford to slow down. On the contrary, new ideas and initiatives have to be developed to make the community stronger and increase on impact. Therefore, East meets West, having also a clear LGBTIQ business focus, wants to push in the CEE region the growth of LGBTIQ tourism business initiatives. With this session we want to offer a practical guideline, a checklist for those who want to engage in LGBTIQ tourism. Fortunately, we can use the valuable experiences from those East meets West partners who already created successful LGBTIQ tourism business endeavours. Profit from this learning session and get-up-and–go in the exciting LGBTIQ tourism world!

• Clark Massad, Vice President – Global Partnerships at IGLTA, France

• Darrell Schuurman, CEO at CGLCC - Canada's LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, Canada

• Tobias Holfelt, Founder of SGLCC and CEO at OutPerform LGBT Invest, Sweden

• Giuseppe Giulio, Account Executive at GAY.IT, Italy

• Moderator: Alexandra Miller, Fundraising & Corporate Partnerships at Dúhový Pride, Slovakia

17:15 +

The East meets West Awards, Closing Words and Celebration!

We from East meets West meet people, NGO’s and businesses that are just too good in what they do. We honour here for the 3rd time these already 3 categories and give the winners a pat on the shoulder, an encouragement together with an original East meets West 2022 Award Trophy.

East meets West invites all who joined the Conference in person to celebrate the unique experience of the 8th International East meets West Conference. A great rooftop party surrounded by the world of Zaha Hadid, the first female holder of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, world-known for her modernist take on the traditional and old and offer you the space to continue to network and perhaps make concrete plans for “picking up the thread”! For those of you present in Bratislava, the drinks will not be virtual but cold and sparkling fresh!