We’ve seen before that LGBTI people in countries where it is either legally or culturally unacceptable to be who they are, have to climb mountains in order to make change.  We are in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan andspeaking with a young queer man and LGBTI activist, who is climbing mountains – both figuratively and literally – in order to advance LGBTI rights in his home country and across Eastern Europe.

His name is Dastan Kasmamytov. He is the first LGBTI person to come out publicly in Kyrgyzstan media and founder of the Pink Summits challenge (www.pinksummits.com).  Hear his coming out story, the shocking reaction he received to this, and what is driving him in seeking to climb each of the highest mountains across seven continents – including Australia.  This is an inspiring story of incredible resilience.

Broadcast: August 20, 2019