It is with overwhelming pride that GALANG Philippines shares the news of its receipt of two awards: the Get Organized and Visible (GO Visible) Award from the European Parliament’s Intergroup for LGBT Rights and the first annual Quezon City LGBT RAINBOW Award. The GO Visible Award was presented at the ILGA Word Conference in Mexico City on October 29, 2014. The LGBT RAINBOW was awarded by the Quezon City Pride Council and the Quezon City Pride March Team on December 13, 2014.

The Quezon City Pride Council and the Quezon City Pride March Team lauded GALANG’s “commitment and effort in improving the lives of LBT persons in Quezon City throughout the years of its focused work.”

The Intergroup on LGBTI Rights is an informal forum for Members of the European Parliament that aims to advance and protect the fundamental rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. Its co-president, Ulrike Lunacek MEP, shared: “The GO Visible Awards honor those activists that have the courage and determination to, everyday again, work for a world that respects diversity.”

“They often work in hostile environments. This award should help them to make their work more sustainable, to be able to continue the fight for a better and more just world where LGBTI people should not need to be afraid anymore to live their lives openly, in freedom, dignity and respect.”

Recognition from these two prestigious organizations is both a local and global validation of GALANG’s work and an acknowledgement that its model is both replicable and sustainable. Executive Director, Anne Lim, is grateful for the acknowledgement as it amplifies the organization’s call to view sexuality through the lens of development.