Fridae

Over the days November 16-22, grassroots NGO Planet Ally will convene the second annual Human Dignity Festival (HDF) in Hong Kong. The premiere event, the Leadership Forum, will be held this weekend November 17-18, featuring several ground-breaking LGBTI human rights advocates running events over the two days to coincide with Hong Kong Pride.

Human Dignity Festival was launched in 2017 as an ode to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and LGBTI ‘allyship’. The Festival aims to inspire and empower local and global citizens to creatively collaborate on concrete ways to advance human rights and dignity. 

Working with local and international NGOs, this year in honour of celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, HDF is rallying 70 local NGOs to lead in the Forum. In honour of the 20th Anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the NGOs and individuals will gather 20 incredible human rights defenders to speak on issues of LGBTI and human rights.

Founder of Planet Ally and Human Dignity Festival, Bess Hepworth, notes: “We are driven to find ways to leverage our privilege and influence in the pursuit of intersectional human rights, allyship and dignity, by challenging the inequalities in Hong Kong and globally. This is what Human Dignity Festival is all about.”

The 2-day Leadership Forum will both raise awareness of LGBTI human rights issues in the Asia-Pacific region and highlight the ways in which NGOs and individuals can help. “Human dignity is the right to live one’s truth and have the freedom to be who you are,” said Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, the first openly gay prince in the world, founder of the Lakshya Trust, and one of Human Dignity Festival’s speakers.

NGOs and individuals from around the Asia-Pacific region and the world will share research, experience and advocacy about the urgent need for recognition, protection and equal treatment of LGBTI people. The Forum will feature a youth summit, panel discussions and workshops, and participating in Planet Ally's March of the Rainbow Penguins at the Hong Kong Pride March on behalf of the movement Free My Library, advocating against the Hong Kong libraries censoring of LGBTIQ themed books.

Representatives are gathering from all over the region and the world, representing everything from civil society, faith groups, academia, United Nations bodies and the private sector.