'Opening the gates' conference

The Mozaik Hub and the Balint JCC in cooperation with community organizations and programs organized a full day conference on LGBTQ inclusion in the Jewish community. The conference took place in Budapest on July 9th and was also part of the Budapest Pride Festival. The event was a significant stage of a thematic community forum that started in 2016 on LGBTQ integration.

The goal of the conference was to create a collective learning opportunity dedicated to the topic of LGBTQ integration and to foster dialog about a topic that is rarely discussed in community frameworks. Throughout the conference participants had the chance to:
- learn about the situation of LGBTQ people and communities in the Hungarian society and the Jewish community
- take a brief look at the possible interpretations of Jewish tradition
- get to know inclusive communities
- discover tools and best practices for communities to become inclusive
- meet local and international organizations working in the field of education, awareness raising and LGBTQ advocacy 

Participants of the conference could choose from a total of 12 sessions including panel discussions, lectures, workshops and personal stories. The highlight of the day was a panel discussion with formal and informal leaders of the community: Zoltan Radnoti (neolog rabbi), Ariel Pollak (reform rabbi) Henriett Kiss (vice-president of the Federation of Jewish Communities), Anita Bartha (Hebraist) and Gábor Balázs (Jewish educator and philosopher).  

The conference was attended by over a 100 people, the feedback received from participants was highly positive. Members of the LGBTQ community forum, who were the organizers of the conference, are continuing to work together after the event trying to create the conditions for a long-term platform and organization that will be active in the field of LGBTQ advocacy and education in the Jewish community.