Szimpozion Association

The Szimpozion Association (Hungarian: Szimpozion Egyesület), formally the Szimpozion Baráti Társaság Meleg, Leszbikus, Biszexuális és Transznemű Fiatalok Kulturális, Oktatási és Szabadidős Közhasznú Egyesülete, is a Hungarian LGBTQ youth organization based in Budapest. It grew out of the Flamingó Kör, a group formed in 1999, and was established in March 2002 by gay and bisexual young people; it was officially registered by the court in 2003. The name "szimpozion" derives from the Greek symposion, meaning a feast or drinking party after a meal, and refers to Plato's work. The association organizes the Szimpozion Club (formerly Pocok Klub), which has held biweekly Saturday social evenings since October 2002, and operates the melegvagyok.hu portal together with the related Meleg szemmel videoblog. It also runs the SzÉF sensitivity-training programme, offering interactive sessions about the lives of LGBTQ people for young people, parents, adults, teachers and workplace groups. With the Labrisz Lesbian Association it jointly organized the school project Melegség és megismerés (Homosexuality and Awareness). Its stated goals are to organize the community of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (MLBT) young people for their human development and well-being and their social participation, and to increase the tolerance of the heterosexual majority toward difference through educational materials, information, discussion evenings, the internet and the media. Since its founding, Virág Zsolt has been the organization's executive director. The association maintains a library of about 560 books, some 500 magazines and video cassettes and DVDs, and it launched the "Bújj elő" (Come Out) campaign in 2006, whose first pillar was the melegvagyok.hu portal.

The Szimpozion Association traces its origins to the Flamingó Kör, a group that came together in 1999. In March 2002, some members of that circle founded the association with the cooperation of gay and bisexual young people, and it was registered by the court in 2003. The name "szimpozion" comes from the Greek word symposion, meaning 'feast' — in the ancient world the drinking party that followed a meal — and the choice of name refers to Plato's work. Since October 2002 the association has organized the Szimpozion Club (earlier called Pocok Klub), holding biweekly Saturday evening gatherings that combine conversation and games, where visitors can build contacts with other gay people, meet public figures and celebrities, and learn about healthy lifestyles, safe dating and forming and maintaining partnerships. Invited guests have included clinical psychologist Bede Zsuzsanna, journalist Bolgár György, human ethologist Dr. Csányi Vilmos, network researcher Dr. Csermely Péter, physician and geneticist Dr. Czeizel Endre, theatre director Czeizel Gábor, editor-presenter D. Tóth Kriszta, historian Eszenyi Miklós, psychologist Fischer Eszter, actor Gálvölgyi János, poet Gerevich András, former prime minister Gyurcsány Ferenc, philosopher Heller Ágnes, actress Hernádi Judit, theatre director Karinthy Márton, writer and journalist Kozma György, actor Kulka János, stylist Lakatos Márk, political scientist Lakner Zoltán, former MEP Lévai Katalin, Swedish writer Håkan Lindquist, HIV/AIDS researcher Dr. Lisziewicz Julianna, linguist and poet Dr. Nádasdy Ádám, historian Ormos Mária, the singers Pa-Dö-Dő, singer Palya Bea, feminist theologian Perintfalvi Rita, philosopher Tamás Gáspár Miklós, director Till Attila, quiz host Vágó István and others, as well as gay organizations and AIDS associations (Atlasz Egyesület, Háttér Társaság, Labrisz Leszbikus Egyesület, Pluss Egyesület, Szivárvány Misszió Alapítvány) and gay communities. The association operates the melegvagyok.hu portal and the related Meleg szemmel videoblog. On 14 December 2006 it held a press conference to launch the "Bújj elő" (Come Out) campaign, whose first pillar was the melegvagyok.hu portal. The site collects coming-out stories in which gay people describe how they came out to heterosexual acquaintances, and in which heterosexual parents, children and acquaintances describe how they received the coming out. Its Meleg kisokos section explains key LGBTQ concepts, misconceptions about LGBTQ people, and biographies of famous LGBTQ people; the portal also reviews important LGBTQ books and films and carries LGBTQ news. The association's library collects books, periodicals and videos by gay authors or on gay themes, with lending available to Szimpozion Club visitors; it holds about 560 books, some 500 magazines (Mások, Boxer magazin, Na végre!) as well as video cassettes and DVDs. From 2000 the Melegség és megismerés (Homosexuality and Awareness) programme was run by the Labrisz Lesbian Association, and from 2007 it became a joint programme with Szimpozion. Labrisz began the programme in autumn 2000 with support from the European Union's PHARE Democracy Microproject, aiming to help create school environments where all kinds of difference are respected and where no one suffers abuse because of gay, lesbian or bisexual attraction. Volunteers held discussion sessions about the lives and problems of LGBTQ people in Hungarian secondary schools and higher-education institutions. The first related volume appeared in 2002 under the title Már nem tabu – Kézikönyv tanároknak a leszbikusokról, melegekről, biszexuálisokról és transzneműekről (No Longer Taboo – A Handbook for Teachers about Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals and Transgender People), containing educational materials, lesson plans and personal writings. In 2019 the educational aid Még mindig tabu? – LMBT személyek az iskolában (Still Taboo? – LGBT People in School) was published, addressing not only teachers but also students and parents; several events were organized by the two associations to present the second publication and the related sensitivity videos. The association also runs SzÉF (Szimpozion Érzékenyítő Foglalkozások), offering interactive, knowledge-building sessions about the lives of LGBTQ people for young people, parents, adults, teaching staff, workplace groups and civil organizations. Sessions are tailored to the given group and topics can be brought into focus on request; inquiries are handled by Virág Zsolt by e-mail or by telephone in the afternoons. The programme uses specially trained LGBTQ volunteers who talk through their own life stories about the situation of LGBTQ people, the difficulties an LGBTQ young person or adult must face, and what this means in everyday life. Since its founding, Virág Zsolt has been the organization's executive director (ügyvívő).

• 2019

  The educational aid Még mindig tabu? – LMBT személyek az iskolában is published.

• 2011

  The Meleg szemmel videoblog has been running since 2011.

• 2007

  The Melegség és megismerés school programme becomes a joint project of Labrisz and Szimpozion.

• 2006

  On 14 December, a press conference launches the "Bújj elő" (Come Out) campaign, with the melegvagyok.hu portal as its first pillar.

• 2003

  The association is officially registered by the court.

• 2002

  In March, gay and bisexual young people found the Szimpozion Association.

• 2002

  From October, the Szimpozion Club (formerly Pocok Klub) holds biweekly Saturday gatherings.

• 1999

  Flamingó Kör group forms, the predecessor circle of the association.

Community, cultural and educational organization for LGBTQ youth in Hungary, combining social club activities, online information and school-based sensitivity training.

• Szimpozion Club

  Biweekly Saturday social evenings since October 2002, formerly Pocok Klub.

• melegvagyok.hu portal

  Online portal launched as the first pillar of the 2006 Come Out campaign, collecting coming-out stories and LGBTQ information.

• Meleg szemmel videoblog

  Video blog running since 2011.

• SzÉF sensitivity-training sessions

  Interactive sessions about LGBTQ lives for youth, parents, adults, teachers, workplaces and civil organizations.

• LGBTQ library

  Library of about 560 books, some 500 magazines and video cassettes and DVDs, with lending for club visitors.

• Bújj elő (Come Out)
• Melegség és megismerés (Homosexuality and Awareness)

1. 1Főoldalmelegvagyok.hu
2. 2Szimpozion Associationwikidata.org
3. 3Szimpozion Egyesülethu.wikipedia.org