The opening
ceremonies for the World Outgames in Montreal begin on
Saturday. But preliminary events, including a human rights
conference, have been under way in the city since
Wednesday.
From the moment
you land in Montreal's airport and pick up your
luggage in the rainbow-swathed baggage retrieval area,
you know the Outgames have arrived. The first few days
of this multicultural and multinational event featured
a human rights conference run in conjunction with the
International Lesbian and Gay Association.
The opening gala
was headlined by a speech by United Nations high
commissioner for human rights Louise Arbour. The next
morning opened with a series of speeches by Canadian
Olympic-medal swimmer Mark Tewksbury, Muslim-Canadian
author Irshad Manji, and others. The 1,500 attendees and
speakers came from over 110 countries, including far-flung
locations such as Sri Lanka, Uruguay, Cameroon,
South Africa, and Pakistan.
Organizers staged
the event in the historic Palais de Congress, with
sessions filling more than 25 rooms at a time. A final
Montreal resolution on LGBT civil rights will be
presented to the United Nations, the European Union,
and the Canadian parliament. (Michael Luongo,
Sirius/OutQ News)
