Ready, Set, Vote!

It is time to celebrate Brussels in the upcoming visit.brussels Awards 2024. The visit.brussels Awards celebrates and rewards Brussels’ cultural and tourist initiatives; a plethora of activities which managed to capture the attention of local and international people in the last year, and which have enrichened the city. Your vote counts!

The visit.brussels Awards selects its winners through public voting, as well as through a jury consisting of professionals in the field of tourism and the press. Among the nominees are several LGBTQIA+ initiatives, highlighting the importance of the community in making Brussels’ heart beat.

And the nominees are…

The first category rewards the most audacious new project. In this category we find 2 LGBTQIA+ initiatives:

• The LGBTI+ Health conference: let’s care!: Ex Æquo asbl hosted this initiative in Brussels from the 26^th to the 28^th of October 2023. The conference, which was the first European conference on LGBTQIA+ health, reflected on the history and evolution of community health, putting a special focus on medical care, inclusivity, digital technology, the training of healthcare staff and the developments in the medical field with regards to the community. The conference featured both French-, and English-speaking guest lecturers and tackled the discrimination LGBTQIA+ people face in the heathcare system.

• Brussels Queer Graphics: This project, held from the 17^th of May 2023 to the 7^th of January 2024 in the Design Museum Brussels, honours the visual language developed by the LGBTQIA+ communities in order to signal their presence and show resistance. The exhibition reflects on the cultural history of LGBTQIA+ Individuals, while also acknowledging the flaws within the communities. It provided an overview of the way LGBTQIA+ people expressed themselves, when their voices were not being heard.

The third category, Brussels on Stage, which celebrates those who largely contributed to the awareness of Brussels on an international scale, features Homografía/Homography, a queer video and performance festival which took place from the 27^th to the 30^th of September 2023. The program of the festival consisted of short movies, artworks and performances, which shine a light on sexualities that do not fit into the norm.

The public votes are open until the 28^th of February 2024 (at midnight). So, what are you waiting for? Make your voice be heard!