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#SaferToBeMe 

Book your place 

Welcome to our two-day #SaferToBeMe conference, as part of our week-long Summit held in iconic Newcastle and Gateshead, North East England. On this page, you can find out dates and times, book tickets for the conference, and find out more about our exciting range of speakers and sessions!

With a theme of Power, Politics and Populism, this conference will have two strands - issues facing LGBTQ+ populations in the United Kingdom and issues facing global LGBTQ+ populations. Importantly, this conference will unite us in solidarity and give you 'take home ideas' to tackle the rollback of rights.

Please note that our Main Hall talks will be beamed out live across the world - the tickets for this will be available at a later date.

Excited? We are too! We cannot wait to see you there at the U.K.'s first ever global LGBTQ+ rights Summit. Be part of the change we need to see.

Image by Keiteu Ko
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Photo Credits: Tyne Bridge - Keiteu Ko - Unsplash I Angel of the North sculpture - Sawt2th

#SaferToBeMe will be held in Gateshead, near Newcastle
North East England, Thursday 23rd - Friday 24th October

Book a place at the #SaferToBeMe Conference

Latest programme now available - scroll down

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The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt

As our final session of the two-day conference, we will be holding a candlelit vigil, as a reminder of those we have lost to violence and to AIDS, and those who we will continue to lose, due to governments rolling back LGBTQ+ funding and rights. 

Throughout both days, the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt will be displayed in the Main Hall of the conference as a stark reminder of the consequences of decisions made by populist leaders and authoritarian governments in withholding support for LGBTQ+ populations.

The general public are welcome to attend for this final hour to see the quilt and to take part in the candlelit vigil.

To attend the candle lit vigil and viewing of the Quilt you need either a conference ticket, which includes this event, or you can book a separate ticket: please sign up here for the candle lit vigil only ticket. own text and edit me. It's easy.

Important note about your conference booking:

All keynote talks and panel discussions are based in the Main Hall, which holds all 500 people and the stalls. However, after booking your ticket, you will also be contacted at a later date to pick your chosen breakout sessions before the conference begins. This is due to capacity issues at the venue as the smaller classroom sessions contain limited seating and so are based on a first-come, first-served basis. Please do read the talk summaries carefully in advance to prepare you for your choices. Each page for the breakout sessions will tell you if it is in a classroom or the Main Hall. They are also labelled session one, session two, and so on, so you can see where sessions will run simultaneously - so you must pick one from each session number.

 

If there are no available classroom breakout sessions left to book once you complete your form, don't worry, as we have curated an excellent stream of talks in the Main Hall throughout the day to speak to the themes of power, populism, and politics, so you do not miss out. The Main Hall sessions will also be beamed out live so you can watch them online - tickets for this feature of the conference will be announced soon.

Day 1:
Overview

23/10/25 

08:00 - 09:00

Reception and Main Hall

Registration and tea and coffee

Please arrive promptly and check out the stalls in the Main Hall

09:00 - 09:30

Main Hall

Keynote speaker: Power. Populism. Politics. A new world order?

Drew Dalton. ReportOUT

09:30 - 09:45

Main Hall

Keynote Speaker:

To be confirmed

09:45 - 10:00

Main Hall

Keynote Speaker:

To be confirmed

10:00 - 10:45

Main Hall and Classrooms

Breakout Sessions 1 (choose one)

Click for session 1 breakout sessions in classrooms and the Main Hall

10:45 - 11:15

Throughout Building

Break

Tea and coffee supplied

11:15 - 12:15

Main Hall

Panel discussion 1: How do we resist, and fight back against, the global anti-LGBTQ+ rights movement?

Diego Garcia Blum: Harvard University (USA)
Ben Pechey: Author, Presenter and Consultant (United Kingdom)
Andrea Rivas: AFDA (Argentina)
Gillian Russell: Beyond Reflections (United Kingdom)

12:15 - 13:00

Main Hall and Classrooms

Breakout Sessions 2 (choose one)

Click for session 2 breakout sessions in classrooms and the Main Hall

13:00 - 14:00

Outside Main Entrance

Lunch

Check indoor stalls and outside food stalls selling a variety of food types

14:00 - 15:00

Main Hall

Panel discussion 2: Who gives a ££££? The state of UK funding for international LGBTQI+ issues

Jason Ball: GiveOut
Alexia Page: GiveOut
(Other panellists to be announced)
Facilitator: to be announced



Panel sponsored by GiveOUT

15:00 - 16:00

Main Hall and Classrooms

Breakout Sessions 3 (choose one)

Click for session 3 breakout sessions in classrooms and the Main Hall

16:00 - 16:30

Main Hall

Keynote speaker: Two heads of the same serpent: global populism and fundamentalism. How to navigate the best path for human rights resistance

Peter Tatchell. Peter Tatchell Foundation (Global)

16:30 - 17:15

Main Hall

Panel discussion 3: Do we need to talk about Putin? Russian influence and the far right

Drew Dalton: ReportOUT (Global)
Peter Tatchell: Peter Tatchell Foundation (Global)
Anna-Maria Tesfaye: Coming Out LGBT Group (Russia)
Facilitator: Peter Darrant (Pride Media Centre and OUT North East, UK)

17:15 - 17:30

Main Hall

Day 1 Plenary - concluding remarks

Peter Darrant: Pride Media Centre and OUT North East (United Kingdom)

Day 2:
Overview

24/10/25 

08:00 - 09:00

Reception and Main Hall

Registration and tea and coffee

Please arrive promptly and check out the stalls in the Main Hall

09:00 - 09:05

Main Hall

Housekeeping and welcome address

Angela Brudenell: Pride Action North

09:05 - 09:30

Main Hall

Keynote Speaker:

To be announced

09:30 - 10:15

Main Hall

Panel discussion 4: Pride, Paychecks and Progress: Building a Safer World Through Economic Inclusion

Matt Dabrowski: OutBritain 
Peter Darrant: Pride Media Centre
Jennie Pitt: Newcastle Building Society
Facilitator: Daniel Peach


Panel sponsored by OutBritain

10:15 - 11:00

Main Hall and Classrooms

Breakout Sessions 4 (choose one)

Click for session 4 breakout sessions in classrooms and the Main Hall

11:00 - 11:30

Throughout Building

Break

Tea and coffee supplied

11:30 - 12:15

Main Hall and Classrooms

Breakout Sessions 5 (choose one)

Click for session 5 breakout sessions in classrooms and the Main Hall

12:15 - 13:00

Main Hall

Panel discussion 5: What difficulties do LGBTQI people claiming asylum face when they lose access to statutory funds?

Panellists to be confirmed

Panel sponsored by Micro Rainbow International

13:00 - 14:00

Outside Main Entrance

Lunch

Check indoor stalls and outside food stalls selling a variety of food types

14:00 - 14:45

Main Hall and Classrooms

Breakout Sessions 6 (choose one)

Click for session 6 breakout sessions in classrooms and the Main Hall

15:00 - 16:00

Main Hall

Panel discussion 6: To be confirmed

Panellists to be confirmed

16:00 - 17:00

Main Hall

Day 2 Plenary, UK AIDS Memorial Quilt and Candlelit Vigil

Stephen Corpe and Drew Dalton 
This section of the conference is also open to the wider public who have booked tickets for the candlelit vigil and viewing of the U.K. AIDS Memorial Quilt

Do not forget to attend the signing of the
'Newcastle Declaration', the world's first ever global LGBTQ+ solidarity statement. This will be held on the evening of Friday 24th October after day two of the conference. You can book a free ticket for this historic event as you book yourconference tickets. 

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Προσεχείς εκδηλώσεις

This conference is happening thanks to our wonderful partners and sponsors:

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