The LGBTQI+ media association

 

Elma brings together queer publications, journalists, and media professionals – enabling us to work together, share resources, and enhance the impact of LGBTQ+ media across Europe. It further aims to enhance LGBTQI+ media, information and empowerment for LGBTQI+ communities in countries where there is further work required to achieve equality.

who

can join

MEDIA

 

Benefits for publications:

    • Sharing of resources with other European publications
    • Commercial opportunities, such as participation in Europe-wide advertising campaigns
    • Free access to Diversity and Inclusion resources coordinated by ELMA

JOURNALISTS

 

Benefits for individuals:

    • Networking
    • Career opportunities
    • Peer support
    • Free access to Diversity & Inclusion resources by ELMA

ELMA press release  

BUDAPEST, MARCH 3d, 2022

Europe’s LGBTQIA+ media publications join forces

With the worrying outlook for LGBTQIA+ people in Ukraine, Europe’s LGBTQIA+ media publications are joining forces to work together to amplify the stories of our community and to tackle homophobia in all its forms.

 LGBTQIA+ people across Europe continue to encounter day-to-day discrimination and abuse:

  • 61% of LGBTI people avoid holding hands in public.
  • 37% of LGBTI people feel that they are being discriminated against.
  • 11% of LGBTI people have been assaulted physically or sexually in the last 5 years. This rises for Trans people and Intersex people. Only 1 in 5 of these incidents has been officially reported.
  • These results show that there has been only limited progress on these issues since 2012.

Source: EU LGBTI 2 Survey, FRA (2019)

Ten of Europe’s leading LGBTQIA+ media publications have joined forces to amplify the concerns and visibility of our community and to tackle the underlying issues. ELMA is the European LGBTIA+ Media Association.

“We are all living in uncertain times, but it’s clear that Europe’s LGBTQIA+ community is particularly vulnerable to health inequality, economic hardship, and the worrying rise in homophobia, biphobia and transphobia…” explained Giannis Papagiannopoulos. “ELMA gives us a clear statement of intent that Europe’s LGBTQIA+ community demands to be heard and is united against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia in all its forms.”

Papagiannopoulos is the co-founder of Antivirus – the only LGBTQIA+ publication in Greece. He’s also the president of the newly formed European LGBTQIA+ Media Association – ELMA. He’s committed to strengthening the diversity of ELMA’s membership to fully reflect Europe’s LGBTQIA+ community.

The founding members of ELMA are already collaborating on a range of journalistic projects – amplifying the stories of Europe’s LGBTQIA people and sharing those stories with media outlets around the world.

“One of our first actions is to demonstrate the economic and political power of our European LGBTQIA+ community…” added Papagiannopoulos. “We’re leveraging the audience reach of the publications within ELMA to undertake a major survey of LGBTQIA+ people. This is an ongoing process – giving everyone a voice and enabling us to focus on and elevate the things that really matter to LGBTQIA+ people in Europe.”

ELMA’s survey of LGBTQIA+ people is being conducted in partnership with Visit.Brussels and VO Citizen. The support of Visit.Brussels has enabled ELMA to create a media hub in Brussels to facilitate close cooperation with the various bodies within the European Commission.

About us

ELMA is the European LGBTQIA+ Media Association – a formally constituted association in accordance with Belgian law. ELMA was launched in 2022 and its founding publications include Shangay (Spain), Antivirus (Greece), Humen (Hungary), Winq (Netherlands), Garçon (France), Means Happy (Spain), and Ket (Belgium). ELMA is a member of the Press Club Brussels Europe.

 European LGBTQI+ Survey 2022

Amplifying the voices of LGBTQIA+ people across Europe, the survey – undertaken by ELMA members – the objective of the survey was to obtain insights as to how LGBTQI+ people perceive media and marketing messages that reference queer topics, and also to consider the factors that shape travel and spending choices. 

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