What we do

Information about our activities and goals.

Rainbow Cities Network

Humanity is diverse, complex, and colorful. Our identity, culture, and expressions are intricately entwined into our being. This diversity should be a cause of pride and love and not a reason to hide or be scared.

But the LGBTI around the world still face stigma, discrimination, exclusion, and in extreme cases violence.

Rainbow Cities Network and its member cities work to guarantee a person’s sexual rights with the help of innovative public policies in their respective cities enhancing the LGBTI people to enjoy their sexual identity and exercise control over their own bodies.

Our contribution

Through the exchange of best practices among the members, RCN publishes a one-pager document every year that displays the 3 most successful programs run by cities that other cities can reproduce as well as ask for details in our annual meeting. (one-pagers)

You can read the extended version of each city’s LGBTI policy

Our mission

Our mission is to connect civil officials from local administrations, policymakers, and experts worldwide in order to facilitate an exchange of best practices that lead to improvement of existing LGBTI policies.

More than ever, cities have emerged as key players in the fight to ensure respect for the human rights of LGBTI people and, in many respects, on the front line of this issue. Many of them have, for many years, taken a stand against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, and have introduced policies in that regard.

Engaged officials of city administrations are critical to facing the extent challenges that the LGBTI still faces to be included in every level in our societies. Therefore, Rainbow Cities Network’s mission will be achieved by a set of means to co-develop caring LGBTI cities:

Conducting LGBTI diplomacy

Based on agreed principles

Develop LGBTI policy capacities

Based on a best practices exchange

Our vision

We believe that LGBTI rights are human rights and that we are all free to be who we are, therefore we involved public servants of the member cities to foster best practices, social cohesion, gender equality, and quality of life. We aim to become the benchmark for the implementation of LGBTI public policies around the world.

Focus area

Exchange

Exchange experiences and lessons learned on LGBTI issues in local policies

Collaborate

Collaborate on specific projects (IDAHOBIT international photo exhibition)

Best practices

Facilitate the exchange of local good practices and initiatives with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity

Up-to-date

Regular updates for international developments in LGBTI policy

Link up

Link up with international networks and organizations to foster protection of LGBTI rights

Joint activities

International Day Against Homophobia, Bi-phobia and Transphobia

We celebrate every year the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia with an international photo exhibition, where all members contribute with a picture of their communities and/or the work they are doing on a particular topic that is decided at our annual meeting every year.