Kyiv, 7 November 2023
At the annual Kyiv Pride Awards this afternoon the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) has been awarded the ‘International Ally’ award in recognition of the support and fundraising the Association has conducted since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine began 20 months ago.
Collecting the award on behalf of EPOA, board member Patrick Orth said:
The European Pride Organisers Association, representing Prides from every corner of Europe, has supported Pride in Ukraine since Kyiv Pride began a decade ago.
So it was without question or hesitation that we of course would step up and encourage our members to step up and support you in this time of greatest need.
We met the day after this latest invasion began, and started fundraising the next day. We created flags and banners to be waved at Prides across Europe. We helped represent you at Prides across Europe. We raised your issues in national parliaments and at the European Parliament. We raised – as of today – €109.000 to support you and help you rebuild once Ukraine wins this war.
So on behalf of EPOA and all our members, thank you for this award. You are the fiercest, bravest, most resilient activists I have ever met and I cannot wait to come back to Ukraine soon for a Pride on the streets, and maybe even a EuroPride.
Slava Ukraine!
Read more about our work to support our members Kharkiv Pride and Kyiv Pride here. Watch the video of the Award presentation (in English) on Youtube here.
Photo: Stein Runar Østigaard