In recent years, a global anti-gender movement has developed aiming to transform issues linked to gender and sexuality diversity into forbidden speech and knowledge. To name a few examples: in Hungary, the government removed funding and accreditation from gender studies; in Poland, there are over 100 “LGBT-free zones”; in Brazil, the government wants to free the schools from the so-called “gender ideology”; in many African countries, American evangelical movements are lobbying to remove Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) from schools; in South Africa, there is fierce opposition against CSE, and many of the local anti-CSE-groups are getting funding and training for conservative US based organizations and think-tanks.
In this context, SAIH and the CMI-UiB Centre on Law & Social Transformation reunite Keval Harie (GALA Queer Archive South Africa), Tone Hellesund (UiB), Liv Mar Taule (Skeivt Arkiv) and a representative from Skeiv Verden Vest for an exciting panel discussion moderated by Liv Tønnessen (CMI). By that means, we aim to debate the importance of preserving queer knowledge – and the challenges for achieving this – counting on the experience of scholars, civil society organizations, and archives that document, preserve and disseminate queer history and culture.
Liv Tønnessen
Director of Center on Law and Social Transformation and Senior Researcher
Rights Activism under Political Uncertainty (RightAct)
Sep 2021 - Dec 2025
