Opening of the Reykjavík Pride Rainbow Conference

Hörður Torfason will formally open the conference.

Moderators are Arna Magnea Danks and
Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson

INFORMATION

ÖBÍ

What challenges and opportunities do queer disabled people face? How do queerness and disability intersect – and how can these communities support one another?

This open discussion offers space to highlight the diverse voices and lived experiences of queer disabled people, and to explore issues of accessibility, visibility, and solidarity.

We invite you to a conversation that opens the door to greater understanding and empathy – within the community and between groups.

INFORMATION

Panel Members:

• Unnur Þöll Benedeiktsdóttir
• Ólafur Aðalsteinsson
• Sóley Ósk Jónsdóttir
• Ólafur Helgi Móberg Ólason (Starina)

Lady Phyll – UK Black Pride

Lady Phyll, founder and CEO of UK Black Pride, is hosting a keynote at the Rainbow Conference.

Join her for a powerful talk where she reflects on the work that has shaped UK Black Pride over nearly two decades — and the work that still lies ahead. From building spaces for black queer people to challenging exclusion and racism within the LGBTQ+ communit.



Lady Phyll calls on all of us to take responsibility: How can we ensure that queer communities are not just diverse in name — but truly welcoming and inclusive?

INFORMATION

Is solidarity our strongest weapon?

Interweaving feminist and queer struggles – past and present.

Feminist and queer movements have long been intertwined throughout history. Today, LGBTQ+ people, women, and other marginalized groups are under attack on multiple fronts. Solidarity is a powerful tool in the fight against backlash, but how do we ensure visibility and participation for all groups? What are the opportunities — and what are the challenges?

INFORMATION

Panel moderator:

• Sindri Sparkle

Panel Members:

United in Resistance

Organizing Pride in Riga, Sofia, and Budapest amid government opposition and attacks on human rights.

As part of the Rainbow Conference, we welcome Pride organizers from Riga, Sofia, and Budapest—three cities where LGBTQ+ communities continue to resist, celebrate, and march despite facing government opposition, decreasing funding, and declining support.

Join us for a conversation on Pride as protest, cross-border solidarity, and how queer communities continue to build strength under increasingly difficult conditions.

INFORMATION

Panel moderator:

• Þorbjörg Þorvaldsdóttir
  Communications manager of the National Queer Organization of Iceland

Panel members:

• Anastasija Laizāne
  from Riga, Latvia
• Denitsa Lyubenova
  from Sofia, Bulgaria 
• Eszter Polgari
  from Budapest, Hungary

How do the traumas we experience shape the self and our queer community?

No one goes through life without facing trauma or painful experiences. LGBTQ+ people often encounter unique forms of trauma and hardship that others in society may not relate to or experience in the same way.

In this conversation, psychologist Aldís Þorbjörg from Líf og sál and therapist Sigga Birna, head of counseling at Samtökin ‘78, along with others, will explore how trauma impacts queer individuals and the community as a whole.

How has the lived experience of queer people over time affected relationships within the community? Has it influenced how we treat different groups or individuals within the LGBTQ+ spectrum? How does it shape our sense of belonging? And how do the effects of trauma manifest in queer lives?

INFORMATION

Presenters:

• Sigríður Birna Valsdóttir
• Aldís Þorbjörg Ólafsdóttir
• Margrét Níls
• Guðbjörg Ottósdóttir
  

GENERATIONS IN CONVERSATION

The Elders Group (60+) invites you to a special generational dialogue at the Rainbow Conference. The oldest members of Samtökin ’78 have been meeting regularly over the past year to reflect on the past and discuss the future. Much more unites generations than divides them so we must talk to one another to keep the thread between us strong and unbroken.

INFORMATION

Panel members:

• Ragnhildur Sverrisdóttir
• Sveinn Kjartansson
• Birna Hrönn Glimmer Björnsdóttir
• Hannes Sasi Pálsson

One Story, One Step – What Now?

What happens when the church and queer people approach each other with respect, active listening, and even hope? What has changed – and what still needs to change?

Following the project One Story, One Step, which gave space to queer voices within the church, we continue the conversation. We reflect on what the project brought forward, where it led us, and where we hope to go from here.

INFORMATION

Panel members:

• Inga Auðbjörg Straumland
• Helga Bragadóttir
• Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir
• Bjarndís Helga Tómasdóttir

A Voice Between Borders: Intersex Struggles from Russia to Europe

Irene Kuzemko is a Russian-Ukrainian intersex activist and one of the co-founders of Intersex Russia. She currently lives in Germany and cannot return to Russia due to her public statements opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

INFORMATION

Presenters:

• Irene Kuzemko
• Kitty Anderson

Fertility and the Future: A Conversation with Trans Voices

Trans Iceland, in collaboration with Sunna Fertility and the trans health team at the Landsspitali Hospital, will host an educational event and open discussion on trans people and fertility. The event will offer a space for open conversation focusing on how hormone treatment affects fertility, while also addressing common myths and misconceptions.

INFORMATION

Panel Members:

• Alexander Björn Gunnarsson
• Jóhann Kristian Jóhannsson
• Kristbjörg Heiður Olsen
• Unnsteinn Jóhannsson

Sen Raj with Amnesty International: Justice, Emotion and Global Queer Struggles

LGBTQ+ people are living in increasingly precarious conditions as governments censor our lives as an “agenda” or “ideology.” We are witnessing legal rights for bodily autonomy, sexual expression, and movement subject to violent retrenchment as authoritarianisms escalate globally. Drawing on Sen new book, The Emotions of LGBT Rights and Reforms: Repairing Law, Sen will explore how emotions like anxiety, pain, shame, fear, and resentment are shaping political conflicts between and around LGBTQ+ rights and how we might feel with these emotions to imagine new possibilities for legal and social repair.

Sen will consider how we might confront persisting public tensions over issues like sex education in schools, religious freedom, free speech, and legal gender recognition. This is important if we hope to cultivate greater solidarity, dialogue, community, and justice.

INFORMATION

Presenters:

• Sen Raj
• Arndís Anna Kristínardóttir Gunnarsdóttir