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None on Record Celebrates IDAHO!

One day a year, LGBTI communities around the world come together to speak out against the harassment, violence and persecution we face in our daily lives. During the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), yearlong efforts to combat these issues take center stage. So far in 2013, None on Record has shared the stories of LGBT Africans in our Seeking Asylum series with more than 100,000 people and launched our Culture Makers series which features LGBT African artists, filmmakers and writers who are creating change in our communities. IDAHO allows us to share these stories, celebrate our lives, honor those who have fought for our rights and recognize the work we still have to do.

Introducing the Culture Makers Series

None on Record’s CULTURE MAKERS series features influential LGBT African filmmakers, photographers, poets, musicians and more. From documentary filmmaking to fashion, LGBT AFRICANS are making their mark worldwide – lending their unique voices and talent to impact our communities in innovative ways. Join None on Record in celebrating, documenting and sharing their work with our CULTURE MAKERS series.

Vote for Seeking Asylum in the PBS Online Film Festival

Two of the  Seeking Asylum films are featured in the PBS Online Film Festival. Watch the films below and and vote for your favorite to win the People’s Choice Award. Visit the festival site to vote.

Watch 2013 Festival | Asylum – Bisi on PBS. See more from PBS Online Film Festival.

Watch 2013 Festival | Asylum – Skye on PBS. See more from PBS Online Film Festival.

Join us February 20th for an OVEE chat (social screening) about Seeking Asylum

Join the producers of the Seeking Asylum series as they discuss the current state of LGBT rights in a variety of African countries like Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Uganda – through the stories of characters featured in their series.

The chat will take place here on Wednesday, February 20th at 2pm EST.

Call for Participation: LGBTI Multi-Media Training

In June 2012, we opened our Africa office in Nairobi, Kenya.  Our Kenya team focuses on training LGBTI activists and community members in digital media.

None on Record: Stories of Queer Africa is pleased to invite East African LGBTI organisations to apply to participate in a six-week multi-media training. The training will take place in mid-2013.

The purpose of the multi-media training is to equip LGBTI organisations with the technology, skills and experience necessary to document their work and the movement in their region, and to produce media for advocacy.

None on Record will conduct the training in the organisation’s place of work, in order to tailor the training to the situation on the ground. Together, NOR and the selected organisation will work on a project developed by group members.

NOR uses the citizen journalism approach to build on existing media skills and allow community members with no previous journalism or media experience to share their stories with a larger audience for the first time. The group will gain skills in audio, photo and/or video documentation, depending on their organisational needs. Participants will acquire technical skills through workshops, practical exercises and documentation in the field.

If you are an LGBTI African and live in one of the five East African countries (Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda) check out our call for proposals for activist training.

None on Record is Hiring!

In June 2012, we opened our Africa office in Nairobi, Kenya. All this growth means our team must expand. We want more people passionate about LGBTI issues in Africa to work with us. We’re looking for an Outreach and Communications Manager and interns in both Nairobi and New York. Check out the listings here and please share!

Seeking Asylum Exhibition at the Museum of Women’s Resistance

Black Women’s Blueprint has partnered with None on Record to host a Seeking Asylum exhibition at their Museum of Women’s Resistance in Brooklyn, NY. The exhibition that runs February 15th through March 15th is part of BWB’s Mother Tongue Monologues. It features film, photographs and audio from None on Record’s archive and a February 18th online panel discussion with None on Record Executive Director Selly Thiam, human rights activist Victor Mukasa, and members of the Coalition of African Lesbians. Space is limited, so get your tickets for the opening weekend receptions early!

Seeking Asylum on AfroPop

We are excited to announce the premiere of None On Record’s four-part documentary series Seeking Asylum on AfroPop.tv on January 15th. The series follows Bisi Alimi, Skye Tenevimbo, John Bosco Nymobi and Uche Nnabuife: four LGBTI Africans who leave their home country to claim asylum in the United Kingdom.

After fleeing Uganda’s police crackdown on gay men, John Bosco Nymobi arrived in London and was detained for four months in a UK detention center. He was  eventually deported back to Uganda only to be snatched up and interrogated by Ugandan police accusing him of recruiting boys into homosexuality.

After the president said that there were no gays in Nigeria, Bisi Alimi decided to come out on national television. He didn’t expect to be physically attacked. Bisi feared for his safety so his family gathered all their resources to send him to the United Kingdom.

When Skye Tenevimbo became an open critic of President Robert Mugabe’s homophobic stance while studying in England, her family was harassed at home in Zimbabwe. After she applied for asylum in England she was held illegally for 24 hours.

After Uche Nnabuife was caught kissing another boy he was beaten and tortured by neighbors whom he had known most of his life. As an adult, he illegally entered the UK and was eventually arrested. He now awaits judgment on his last appeal for asylum.

The series will launch on BlackPublicMedia.org and AfroPoP.tv on January 15th. A new video in the series will be released every week until February. Seeking Asylum has also been selected for the second annual PBS Online Film Festival and will be featured on PBS.org beginning March 4th.

London Calling!

 

Join Toshi Reagon, FRIDA Feminist Fund and None on Record for a show at the Servant Jazz Quarters in London. None on Record’s Seeking Asylum Documentary will premier at the July 9th show!

Seeking Asylum Stories

SKYE

 

JOHN