Outsummit 2026The Future We Claim

Welcoming Remarks

Outright opens the day with the thinking behind this year’s program and why these sessions belong together under the theme.

Maria Sjödin (they/she)Outright International

A Reading and Conversation with Laverne Cox

A reading, followed by a conversation on stage.

Maria Sjödin (they/she)Moderator · Outright InternationalLaverne Cox (she/her)Actress & Producer

Memory as Foundation: LGBTIQ Archiving for the Future We Claim

This session explores archiving as an act of futures-building rather than simply preservation of the past. Panelists will discuss how documenting LGBTIQ history affirms the continuity of our existence, giving future generations of activists a foundation to draw from as they build new strategies and movements. The conversation will address what it means to archive with an eye toward the next 20 to 50 years: what future advocates, researchers, and community members will need from the record being created today, and how current archiving choices shape whose stories endure and whose get lost.

Alberto de Belaunde (he/him)Moderator · Outright InternationalMaricel Isaza Camargo (she/her)Colectiva Memorias QueerMDMim DziriNACSPAnn Marie Gothard (she/her)Pride Live and Stonewall National Monument Visitor CenterJelena Vasiljević (any pronouns)Rainbow Ignite

Beyond the Architecture of Constraint: Claiming Civic Space for the Future

Laws restricting international cooperation are not new. But as authoritarians gain ground, governments around the world are once again turning to legal and regulatory tools to constrain civil society’s ability to build international partnerships, access resources, and engage across borders. LGBTIQ organizations are far from alone in facing these restrictions, although anti-LGBTIQ sentiment is often a motivating factor. This session brings together LGBTIQ advocates, democracy advocates, and civil society experts to draw lessons from earlier waves of restriction, explore strategies for collective resistance, and consider how cross-sector and international coalitions can build the civic space, connections, and collective power needed to shape a more open and democratic future.

Whitney Pfeifer (she/her)Moderator · Outright InternationalTamar Jakeli (she/her, they/them)Tbilisi PrideGrace Divine Ingabire (she/her)MOLINicholas Miller (he/him, any pronouns)International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)Ngo Le Phuong Linh (she/her)ICS CenterAlberto de Belaunde (he/him)Outright International

Transcending the Binary: Gender Liberation as Collective Joy

In this 30-minute performance-lecture, internationally acclaimed poet, comedian, and public speaker ALOK makes the case that gender liberation isn’t a niche issue — it’s a shared inheritance and a shared future. Blending poetry, comedy, and cultural history, ALOK traces how gender diversity has deep roots across global cultures and traditions, long before modern binary systems took hold. Challenging the idea that gender nonconformity is new, Western, or divisive, ALOK reframes it as something ancient, communal, and joyful — showing how moving beyond rigid gender norms opens up more freedom, creativity, and connection for everyone, regardless of how they identify. Expect wit, warmth, and a call to imagine gender not as a constraint, but as an invitation to joy.

ALOK (they/them)Internationally acclaimed poet, comedian, public speaker, and actor

Lunch and Themed Networking Rooms

Attendees choose their own room. The topics come from registrants themselves, submitted when they sign up.

Online session
Online at the same time, and screened in a room on site: a pre-recorded session for people new to Outright and to this movement. Members of Outright staff discuss the issues addressed in the program, why Outright works on them, and what is at stake.

Maria Sjödin (they/she)Outright InternationalYvonne Wamari (she/her)Outright InternationalJennifer Lu (she/her)Outright InternationalAlberto de Belaunde (he/him)Outright International

Breakout Sessions

Two sessions run at the same time. One streams live; the other is for the room in New York.

Streamed live

Beyond the Binary in Law and Policy

Around the world, hostile political actors and far-right groups are working to legally define gender and sex in narrow, binary terms, with consequences that extend far beyond any single country’s borders. At the same time, activists continue to advocate for more expansive understandings of gender. This session will examine how these opposing visions play out nationally, through laws and policies that expand or restrict the bodily autonomy and legal recognition of intersex and trans people, and internationally, through debates over gender at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the General Assembly, and in the Crimes Against Humanity treaty negotiations. Panelists will discuss what is at stake in these legal battles and the strategies advocates are using to defend an inclusive understanding of gender in law and policy.

Neela Ghoshal (any pronouns)Moderator · Outright InternationalFranco Aníbal Fuica Fuica (he/him)Asociación OTDLisa Davis (any pronouns)CUNY School of LawMaria Paula Perdomo Garcia (she/her)Outright InternationalShana Knizhnik (she/her)American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

In person

No Child Left Invisible: The Right to Education for Intersex Learners

International human rights standards recognize every child’s right to education without discrimination, yet schools and education systems often fail to account for the existence and needs of intersex students. As politicians and religious leaders aligned with the anti-gender movement increasingly target schools, intersex learners face growing risks of exclusion, discrimination, bullying, and violence. This panel will center the lived experiences and perspectives of intersex people from different regions and share findings from Outright International’s forthcoming Right to Education research and new policy brief, which examine discrimination, curriculum invisibility, and exclusionary gendered policies and practices affecting intersex students. Panelists will also highlight practical policy and programmatic approaches to creating safer, more inclusive, and gender-transformative educational environments for intersex learners.

Kimberly Mascott Zieselman (she/her)Moderator · Outright InternationalObioma Chukwuike (they/them)Intersex NigeriaOhotuowo Ogbeche (she/her)Outright InternationalNada Chaiyajit (she/her)Co-Founder, Intersex Thailand; Law Lecturer, Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand

Breakout Sessions

Two sessions run at the same time. One streams live; the other is for the room in New York.

Streamed live

Claiming Our Place in the Next Global Development Agenda

As the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goal deadline approaches, governments and institutions are beginning to debate what comes next for global development. This session asks how LGBTIQ movements can shape that conversation before the next framework is set. How do we ensure that bodily autonomy, legal recognition, economic justice, safety, health, migration, climate, and democratic participation are understood as core development issues? And how do we move from being added at the margins to helping define the agenda itself?

Thiruna Naidoo (she/her)Moderator · Outright InternationalNgo Le Phuong Linh (she/her)ICS CenterNjeri Gateru (she/her, they/them)National Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC)Jay Gilliam (he/him)Former USAID Senior LGBTQI+ CoordinatorAnna Dovgopol (she/her)Outright International

In person

Acronyms, Terms, and Symbols: How Do We Talk About Ourselves So That Others Will Listen?

This session opens an interactive conversation on the language our movement uses to describe itself and the populations it advocates for—from acronyms to terms to symbols—and what that language communicates to the audiences we most need to reach. Participants will examine where our current vocabulary builds understanding and where it creates barriers, particularly with audiences outside our communities.

Obioma Chukwuike (they/them)Moderator · Intersex NigeriaAndrew Park (he/him)Outright International

Vogue, Voice, and Vision: Global Queer Performance as a Force for Change

Queer art and performance serve different audiences and different purposes. Some work is inward-looking, built for and by the community, strengthening bonds and creating spaces of belonging and affirmation. Other work is outward-facing, reaching mass audiences and shifting hearts and minds at scale. This session brings together performers and artists working across different global contexts to explore both dimensions of queer performance, examining how theater, vogue, drag, music, visual arts, and other forms function as tools for community building and for broader cultural change.

Meriam Mechti (she/her)Moderator · Outright InternationalWeema Askri (they/them, he/him)The Initiative Mawjoudin for EqualityJuan Jose Guzman (he/him)Fundación MecenasPrincess Lockerooo (she/her)Princess Lockerooo Productions

Closing Remarks

Maria Sjödin (they/she)Outright International