World Wide Wave

It would be almost impossible to be unaware of the unrest currently engulfing Hong Kong. In the streets, an extraordinary movement – a people movement – is fighting for what they see as their democratic future. Their mantra is “Be Water” – turn up, be noticed then disappear without a trace. What is significant about this movement is that it is virtually leaderless.

Where there is no leader, the role of spokesperson often falls to any person with a profile.  Enter openly lesbian, Denise Ho – Canto-pop artist, Umbrella movement veteran and LGBT activist. Denise brought her experience, stories and her passion for her native Hong Kong to Australia. And we had a chance to speak with her about the current situation and what it means for the LGBTI community.

Broadcast: September 10, 2019

Listen to the week’s World Wide Wrap where we round up all that was in international LGBTIQ+ news for the week ending September 15, 2019.

World Wide Waves aims to promote awareness of international LGBT issues. Our program provides in-depth analysis and interviews. We focus on the challenges facing the global LGBT community as well as some of our successes.

We take pride in interviewing a wide range of international LGBT people and supporters including politicians, activists, academics, parents, authors, students, professionals and more.

It’s the one-year anniversary since India decriminalised homosexuality…for the second time. Rather than a law passing the Parliament though, it took a Supreme Court ruling to make it happen.  Jump forward to today, and the Indian Parliament is now discussing a new bill for the LGBTI community – the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill.  But the title of the Bill hides some concerns from the LGBTI community.

There is no person better qualified to speak about this topic than tonight’s guest – Apsara Reddy,  the first transgender politician in the Indian National Congress party.  We find out in full and frank terms what she thinks of the bill, how much life has changed for the rainbow community since the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Plus we discover Apsara’s surprisingly close link to Melbourne’s LGBTI community.

(www.facebook.com/talktoapsara/

Broadcast: September 3, 2019

Listen to the week’s World Wide Wrap where we round up all that was in international LGBTIQ+ news for the week ending September 8, 2019.

World Wide Waves aims to promote awareness of international LGBT issues. Our program provides in-depth analysis and interviews. We focus on the challenges facing the global LGBT community as well as some of our successes.

We take pride in interviewing a wide range of international LGBT people and supporters including politicians, activists, academics, parents, authors, students, professionals and more.

We recently covered the Presidential election in Tunisia where and openly gay lawyer is running to lead the country BUT being opposed by a collective of LGBTI groups.  But what is happening culturally in Tunisia that leads to such a split?  We spoke with Amine from Mawjoudine Tunisia (https://www.facebook.com/mawjoudin.tn) – a non-government organisation working towards equality, human rights, bodily and sexual rights for the LGBTQI+ community and other marginalized groups in Tunisia.

Amine has some surprising ideas – like how homophobia can be used to make change and who really has the power to bring change for the LGBTI community…and it’s not the President.  Plus we’ve got the latest on the election results for President.

Broadcast: August 27, 2019

Listen to the week’s World Wide Wrap where we round up all that was in international LGBTIQ+ news for the week ending September 1, 2019.

World Wide Waves aims to promote awareness of international LGBT issues. Our program provides in-depth analysis and interviews. We focus on the challenges facing the global LGBT community as well as some of our successes.

We take pride in interviewing a wide range of international LGBT people and supporters including politicians, activists, academics, parents, authors, students, professionals and more.

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

Listen to the week’s World Wide Wrap where we round up all that was in international LGBTIQ+ news for the week ending August 25, 2019.

World Wide Waves aims to promote awareness of international LGBT issues. Our program provides in-depth analysis and interviews. We focus on the challenges facing the global LGBT community as well as some of our successes.

We take pride in interviewing a wide range of international LGBT people and supporters including politicians, activists, academics, parents, authors, students, professionals and more.

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Tunisia is not known at all for its progressive LGBTI rights agenda.  In fact, they still retain and enforce age-old ‘sodomy’ laws, jailing LGBTI people for sexual relations.  Enter a white knight – an openly gay human rights lawyer sticking his neck out and running for President of Tunisia.  But is he a white knight?  Some in the LGBTI community don’t think so and, in fact, are openly campaigning against him.

Here we speak to both sides of the story:

* Mounir Baatour – the first openly gay Tunisian Presidential candidate

* And a representative Mawjoudine Tunisia – one of the LGBTI groups driving a petition against Mounir.

And what Mounir thinks of these LGBTI groups campaigning against him, left us almost speechless!

Broadcast: August 13, 2019

Listen to the week’s World Wide Wrap where we round up all that was in international LGBTIQ+ news for the week ending August 18, 2019.

World Wide Waves aims to promote awareness of international LGBT issues. Our program provides in-depth analysis and interviews. We focus on the challenges facing the global LGBT community as well as some of our successes.

We take pride in interviewing a wide range of international LGBT people and supporters including politicians, activists, academics, parents, authors, students, professionals and more.