The IDAHO Project: What is it?

17th May 2013 will mark the 9th year of existence of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, or as it's more commonly known, IDAHO. The date, 17th May, was chosen to mark and celebrate the day when homosexuality was officially recognized by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a sexual orientation and not a disease. On that day in 1990, being gay was removed from their International Classification of Diseases.

So yes, May might seem a long way away, but I'm not here to talk specifically about the day itself, but more particularly about the first worldwide event which will be taking place this year, and Freedom Requires Wings is a part of it.

If you run an association, NGO, or any sort of organisation which fights against homophobia or just for equality in general, then this post is for you. If you are part of one of those sorts of organisations, this post is for you. If you are a QUILTBAGger or -baguette, then this post is for you. If you hate homophobia and transphobia, then this post is for you.

This year, for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Glimpy, a LGBTQIA activism association from France, is organising the biggest event against homophobia ever organised; The IDAHO Project (also known internationally in non-English-speaking countries as IDAHO 2013).

The aim of the project is simple: to create the largest online video campaign against homophobia and transphobia the internet has ever seen. "Simple? How is that simple?" Well, basically everyone taking part should talk about it at least once on their Facebook wall, Tumblr blog, Twitter feed, whatever, and then invite their friends to join in.

If you're involved in the LGBT community, you can take part.

All you need is:

• to group together some people (no matter how many)
• to organise an event of any kind for IDAHO on the 17th May (candlelit vigil, memorial, etc.)
• to contact The IDAHO Project team directly (international@idaho2013.org)
• to film your event on the 17th May
• to send the raw footage to The IDAHO Project

Bake for 15 minutes then remove from the oven of love and acceptance. Serve whilst hot... You get the idea. It's easy to take part and you'll get something out of it too!

The IDAHO Project is supported by the president of the official IDAHO committee, Louis-Georges Tin who created the day back in 2004 which is now celebrated in over 70 countries. The aim of The IDAHO Project is to get the activists of these countries to work together by submitting the video of their event and reading a pre-written speech from the project's organisers, translated into your native language.

If you're interested, talk about it with your association and contact The IDAHO Project using these details:

Email: international@idaho2013.org
Skype: theirishpelican (International coordinator)
Site: www.theidahoproject.org