Hi 🙋‍♂️, this is Hadi. My name is pronounced [Hādī] or Haaadiii. It is not Had-ji. (Don’t ask Alan how to say my name: he still calls me Hadiiiii. He also calls me “petit chouchou” when he’s happy, and “vatefairefoutre” when I laugh at #whathesays during Board meetings 🤣). I attend InterPride’s Board meetings because you elected me co-President during the AGM of 2020. That AGM was supposed to be in Oslo, but Covid happened, and we weren’t able to ✈️ to Norway. Jessie & I (👰🏻🤵🏼‍♂️) are still very sad about this ☹️ but Lars Arnesen seems over it now. 🇳🇴 I’m bummed the term of our co-President Linda is coming to an end. Linda is a force of nature, and a hilarious woman. She’s very conversational like her 🐈 Max who always jumps on calls with us and meows in the background. We have great calls (well, there’s much to do at InterPride 🤷🏼‍♂️), and it is great she’s staying around 🤩 When I was born in Beirut 1989, InterPride was already 7 years old. 🎂Back then in 🇱🇧, and still today, homosexuality is still susceptible of criminalization based on interpretations of law, on social attitudes, on your vulnerability, and on the corruption of authorities 🤑. Being of the belief that LGBT status should be decriminalized in 🇱🇧 — and elsewhere 😏 —, I was the drive behind initiating Beirut Pride in 2016. Limaza? (“Why” in Arabic, [limādhā]) Because we have to build the required political momentum for decriminalization. This commitment makes me talk to everybody: from the radical haters to the radical haters 🔁, including, without limitation, homophobes, religious leaders, political leaders, community leaders, self-proclaimed leaders, and of course the anonymous 👻. Too many leaders, so little leadership, but of course everybody knows it all. 🤪 #BeirutPride is the first Pride in the Arabic-speaking world, and from the looks of it, we unfortunately seem to be the only ones for a long while. To honor our trilingual reputation and widen our outreach, we diligently communicate in Arabic, French, and English. This connects with Lebanese immigrants and citizens of Arab countries, who come to 🇱🇧 to attend the activities of Beirut Pride. But lazy egos are not amused with the mobilization of Beirut Pride: it can exist, fine, but to a certain extend. It should not grow beyond what’s suitable for some, even if Beirut Pride has the impact of mobilizing an astronomical ecosystem that benefits LGBTIQ+ people, the country, the region. Challenged from within and without, attacks culminated in May 2018 when an anonymous group of people falsified the program of Beirut Pride, and created public outrage. 😱 #drama 🍿 The sensational program led to the crackdown on Beirut Pride 👮‍♂️, my arrest 🔒, and my ongoing prosecution 👨‍⚖️ for organizing events (Pride) that “incite debauchery” 🙊 #notavictim #notahero 🚨 These events conveyed a strong message: if we can afford to arrest the guy of Beirut Pride during Beirut Pride when the media is focusing on Beirut Pride, then everybody is up for elimination ✋ Obviously, that was not a very intelligent decision of the homophobes. But what can we say? They wanted to belong, and they eventually supported Beirut Pride and our progress for decriminalization - perhaps more than others, whom we thought would have our back and front and sides. How? By attacking us in May 2018, and most recently in June 2022, these homophobes drove intense traffic to our socials and website. Even those who didn’t care about us or bother with us saw us on TV, read us in the press, and heard us on the radio. And the best part: we didn’t have to reach out and/or defend our positions thanks to all the people who stepped up. 🧗‍♂️ It is a wrong strategic decision to attribute the betterment of sexual and gender realities to the sole responsibility of LGBT folks and NGOs. This is a collective, social responsibility, that exceeds the LGBT population, and loops in family, college, workplace, and faith — to name a few. In this sense, I authored the multi-sectoral LGBTIQ+ framework for Lebanon with its 10-year thematic plan that responds to LGBTIQ+ challenges sorted in categories. Pride is visibility, and visibility is key to deconstruct myths, lies, and prejudice that surround our multiple realities. To better serve, I honor intersectionality by acknowledging that identities and situations overlap. To ensure that progress somewhere doesn’t undermine/regress progress elsewhere, I deeply-listen to people👂, and I never put all my eggs in the same basket 🪺. I also reject identity politics 🙅‍♂️, which use in public governance reinforces stereotypes, widens social clivages, and weakens cohesion through polarization and extremism. The entire system of my country is based on identity-politics. It’s a disaster. Identity politics is instrumental to ensure that public policy acknowledges and serves populations grouped by characteristics and interests, and who have been unaccounted for. #humilitytolearn Even though I’m born into privilege and access 👼, things are very complicated. Complicated despite my high stamina, and my capacity to focus on work for 18 hours straight. I cannot imagine what people with other challenges and less privilege go through. To this end, I leverage my intellectual, social, political, and financial capital to support and enable those who want, so we all advance on the path of freedom, and improve our realities. I have contributed to elevating the topics of homosexuality and the decriminalization of LGBT status from satire and comedy shows to “serious” political and social shows 📺. I drafted 3 bills for the decriminalization, and lobbied political leaders in Lebanon and overseas 📜. I also wrote a bill about the national HIV response, which features 72 sections, including a large part about non-discrimination procedures. I’m also a postgraduate university lecturer in mass events and political communications (propaganda, mass effect) 👨‍🏫. I am awarded a Master degree that studies how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam coexisted under Muslim rule ✡️✝️☪️, and I wrote my thesis about homosexuality and Islamic jurisprudence 👨‍❤️‍👨. I’m also an award-winning curator 🏆, designing events and communications for the private and public sectors 🍾, while being a social butterfly 🦋, and championing privacy in my personal life 🕵️‍♂️. Get in touch if you want to know more about InterPride and Beirut Pride 💫