Post submitted by Caleb Orozco, Executive Director, UNIBAM, Belize

Next month, I will be in Washington, D.C. to attend HRC’s second Global Innovative Advocacy Summit. I will be one of 30 established and emerging LGBTQ advocates -- from 28 countries on five continents -- who will be participating in the Summit to exchange ideas and practices for advancing LGBTQ equality.

As the executive director of the leading LGBTQ policy organization in Belize, a small country in Central America, and co-chair of the organizing committee for the Summit, I know the importance of convenings like these to global advocates. I am proud that HRC is hosting this summit and I am even prouder to have helped design a program that promises to have a real impact on continued global equality work.

This year’s Summit will be modeled on last year’s successful inaugural Summit that brought together 26 innovators. At this year’s Summit, we will have discussions featuring innovators on LBT women’s issues, strategic litigation and workplace inclusion. There will also be conversations bringing together innovators and HRC staff around sharing LGBTQ stories that support advocacy work. HRC leaders will also share how the organization was launched and grew into the influential organization it is today with a membership of almost two million.

In a dynamic environment like this, innovators can showcase projects and approaches that improve the lives of LGBTQ people in their countries and communities. I expect that this will re-energize innovators to take the lessons home and apply them to refine and advance their own advocacy.

Be sure to follow the activities of the Summit online by following #HRCGlobalSummit. Read more about last year’s Global Summit here and about HRC Global’s work here.