This year, Vilnius became not just a meeting place, but a space of strength. Hundreds of activists and allies from across Europe and Central Asia gathered at the end of October in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the annual ILGA-Europe conference — to rethink how to move forward in a world that is changing faster than laws and institutions can keep up. Under the theme Face Forward, participants discussed how to preserve clarity, solidarity, and energy in an era when democracy is crumbling even where it once seemed unshakable.
Together with Lithuanian partners — the Lithuanian Gay League and the Tolerant Youth Association — ILGA-Europe brought together LGBTIQ+ activists, researchers, political allies, and human rights defenders. The world they work in is rapidly shrinking the space for freedom: governments are rolling back rights, targeting independent media, and passing laws that threaten the existence of civil initiatives. Communities are being made scapegoats for hate, while traditional sources of support — from donors to institutional allies — are retreating or disappearing altogether.
“The world is changing — and we are changing with it,” participants said as they reflected on how to adapt strategies and stay grounded. The victories of recent years — in legislation, public visibility, and social acceptance — are now under threat. Old approaches no longer work, and now is the time to learn to look forward while keeping firm ground beneath our feet. The conference became a moment for reflection and brave decisions — a time not just to react but to build new strategies grounded in political clarity, mutual care, and collective courage.
Discussions revolved around two main tracks. The first, Facing Forward: Political clarity in uncertain times, focused on how to protect existing legal wins, how to defend rights and freedoms amid democratic decline, and how to respond to anti-rights rhetoric and hate speech by reclaiming the narrative. Participants spoke about how to support the most vulnerable communities — trans people, racialised activists, migrants and refugees — and how to find grounding when traditional allies turn away. It was a space for difficult conversations, honest analysis, and strategy-building — not just for survival, but for leadership.
The second track, What It Takes: Building the strength of our movement through challenges, focused on people, resources, and burnout. The movement depends, above all, on people — and they are the ones facing the greatest risks today. Funding is shrinking, international support is waning, and the personal cost of activism keeps rising. The task now is not just to endure but to redefine what it means to be a movement in such conditions. Participants discussed new funding models, solidarity practices, forms of collective care, and ways to build resilience when familiar support structures are collapsing. “What can we do to ensure no one is left behind?” became a guiding question throughout many sessions.
ILGA-Europe 2025 reminded everyone that activism is not only struggle — it is also breathing, care, and recovery. In a Europe where far-right parties are gaining ground, and where fear and aggression are spreading, this gathering was itself an act of resistance. “Our existence is already activism. Simply walking down the street holding hands is an act of courage,” one speaker said — and those words resonated across the room.
But as the discussions showed, the movement does not exist in isolation — it recognizes the interconnectedness of all struggles. “We cannot be anti-fascists if exclusion still lives within us. We cannot build equality if we do not share space and resources. We cannot speak of freedom if we do not listen to those facing the harshest discrimination,” repeated different speakers, voicing a collective truth: intersectionality is not a slogan, but a principle of survival.
Over three days in Vilnius, stories from across the continent made it clear: Europe is resisting. In Budapest, hundreds of thousands marched for Pride despite threats. In Kyiv and Kharkiv, Pride continues even during war. In the Czech Republic, forced sterilisation of trans people was abolished; in Lithuania, the “anti-propaganda” law was repealed. In Italy and Slovakia, thousands have taken to the streets to defend LGBTIQ+ rights. In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, activists are demanding decriminalisation and the right to live without fear. These are different points on the same map — united by a shared fight for freedom and dignity.
“This is not just a conference. It’s an act of defiance. When we come together, we affirm: we will not be silenced, we will not disappear. We are here. We face forward, said one of the speakers. – Face Forward proved to be not just a theme, but a state of being — a readiness to look to the future, even when it’s uncertain. A gaze where vulnerability meets strength, and fear turns into action.”
The ILGA-Europe 2025 conference showed that Europe’s LGBTIQ+ movement is alive, diverse, and determined. It debates, it searches, it grows — but above all, it endures. The world is changing, and the movement is changing with it. The future cannot be predicted, but it can be built. And that is the shared decision: to face forward — together.