Çavaria
Çavaria is the Flemish advocate for gay, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI+ people) and the umbrella organization of LGBTI+ organizations.
Çavaria is committed to the well-being, equal rights and equal opportunities of LGBTI, transgender and intersex people*. Çavaria continues to build a supportive and inclusive society with a broad view of sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity and sex characteristics. Çavaria is a movement, an advocacy organisation and a centre of expertise.
The staff, together with hundreds of volunteers, is committed to the rights and well-being of LGBTI+ people. Five rainbow houses and more than 120 associations spread across Flanders and Brussels are affiliated. ZIZO is the magazine of çavaria, Lumi is the info line and listens to all questions about gender and sexual preference. KLIQ is the education and training center of çavaria that works on gender and sexual diversity.
Çavaria also works internationally. The organisation has concrete collaborations with and for foreign LGBTI+ activists and associations. In this way, çavaria not only offers direct support, but also feeds policy work with concrete experiences from the field and creates a link between the movement in Belgium and the local movement abroad.
Policy and lobbying work
Çavaria closely follows international developments in the field of sexual and gender diversity. We participate in various international networks: ILGA Europe (the European umbrella of LGBTI+ organisations), ILGA World (the global umbrella of LGBTI+ organisations) and the network of LGBTI+ organisations with a foreign operation.
Çavaria advocates for LGBTI+ inclusion with the actors of Belgian foreign policy, such as the competent ministries, development NGOs and embassies. This is because it is important that they take into account the challenges of LGBTI+ people in their work and focus on them specifically if necessary. Çavaria spreads its message independently and in collaboration with networks such as 11.11.11, the Federal Advisory Council on Gender and Development Cooperation and Perspective 2030.
Çavaria informs and trains stakeholders within Belgian foreign policy about the challenges and strengths of LGBTI+ people abroad. Çavaria raises awareness among its local supporters and the wider public through campaigns and its communication channels.
(*) There are many different terms to name your sexual and gender identity. Some people consciously choose not to use a label. Others choose a very specific label. It is important that you can decide this for yourself. You can find more information about terms at https://www.cavaria.be/woordenlijst.
