Dear members, friends and trusted partners,

It's the end of a very long year of 2020. Last year, we vowed to build alliances and strengthen the movement in different ways. While the global crisis of COVID19 this year directly threatened the well-being and important works of many of our members, groups and individuals that have been working very hard to advance LGBTI rights around Asia, it revealed to us multiplicity of challenges of the moment, and of the future.

Along with the direct impact of pandemic, countermeasures by governments around Asia in one way or another influenced the livelihood and access to essential goods and services of LGBTI communities and individuals. In solidarity with our fellow community members, ILGA Asia sent emergency aids to 18 groups in 10 different countries. With the help of our members, more than 1,500 LGBTI individuals have been reached directly as of today, including many living in remote areas, trans people, and young people and adolescents.

The space for civil society has been further shrinking in the past year with the spread of the pandemic. However, we did not stop fighting. Working with local communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, we supported 7 training workshops on the human rights mechanisms for LGBTI activists and high-school students. We continued to help various Asian countries to submit their report to the UN Treaty Bodies and other mechanisms. At a time when the international space seems to be out of reach, we, as a community, remain hopeful that our continuous engagement with the international community will again bear fruits.

During the last months of 2020, our team was vigorously working with 20 community researchers and numerous members and stakeholders across Asia to organize a series of interviews and consultations to learn about their situation and aspirations for the immediate future. Without being able to visit each of them, or to bring everyone together in one space, as we would have done in a different scenario, we are extremely thankful for all the voices contributing to this process, despite the many logistical challenges, the language barrier, and of course the constantly changing status of COVID-19. It has been an intimate experience, the most it could be at the moment, for us at ILGA Asia, to understand the needs of diverse communities living around Asia, and to strive for higher standards to meet the expectations of our members.

We would not have come this far without all of our board members who had passionately volunteered their precious time, energy and expertise to keep ILGA Asia an ever growing organisation. We are also immensely thankful to all of our amazing staff and interns. Thank you for your commitment and dedication; thank you for your compassion, collaboration, and courage.

We would also like to send our support, love and best wishes to the LGBTI human rights defenders, organisations and communities who have worked relentlessly for a better future.

Watch our spaces and follow our posts on social media platforms. Together we can, and we will do the impossible. We wish you all the best, have a joyful and hopeful new year. May it bring with it more progress and solidarity for everyone!