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We're delighted to announce our programme of events for this year's LGBT History Month – taking place throughout February 2018.

LGBT History Month is a powerful and thought-provoking event that takes place annually. It aims to promote equality and diversity, for the benefit of everyone, by:

• increasing the visibility of LBGT people, their history, lives and their experiences,
• raising awareness and advancing education on matters affecting the LBGT community and,
• working to make educational and other institutions safe spaces for all LGBT communities.

The 2018 theme for LGBT History Month is ‘Geography: Mapping the World’ which in part celebrates the progress in the world over the last year to legalise same-sex marriage.

Schedule of events

Highlights from our LGBT History Month 2018 programme will include:

• 
  6pm-7:30pm, Wednesday 21 February
  In line with this year's LGBT History Month theme ('Geography: Mapping the World'), this event — open to all — aims to put Nottingham on the map and focus on the experience of LGBTQ people in our city. A panel discussion will bring together representatives from the ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´, Nottingham City Council, Nottingham University Hospitals, the Nottingham LGBT Network and more, to each provide a unique perspective on what it is like to be LGBTQ in Nottingham today.
• 
  6:30pm-7:30pm, Wednesday 28 February
  From the outset, the notion of ‘space’ has been central to the lives of gay and other men who have sex with men as a mechanism for making contact with each other. ‘Hooking up’ not only provides an opportunity for expressing sexuality and identity, but to gain love, affirmation and a sense of connection with a community. In this interactive lecture we work with the genre of performance ethnography to use multi-media and the voices of men who experience ‘hooking up’ at three bench marks in time between 1960 and the present day. All welcome (suitable for 16+).

There will also be a number of additional events taking place at the University of Nottingham throughout the month — including:

• Our marriages: When lesbians marry gay men
  2:30pm-3:30pm, Monday 5 February
  Film screening and director's Q&A from leading Chinese queer filmmaker He Xiaopei. Presented by the Department of Culture, Film and Media.
• 
  5pm-6pm, Monday 5 February 
  London-based artist, feminist and LGBT activist Whiskey Chow shares her experiences and explores how art and activism interact with each other.
• Fear of a Queer China: Activism, culture and resistance
  Monday 5 February - Tuesday 6 February
  This workshop, comprising two half-day sessions, brings together queer scholars and activists to discuss key issues concerning queer activism in contemporary China.
• Taiwan pride: Our fight for marriage equality
  4pm-6pm, Tuesday 6 February
  Legislator Mei-Nu Yu, a key Taiwanese politician behind Taiwan's most recent marriage-equality bill, presents the latest Taiwan Studies Programme lecture.
• Beyond marriage equality: A conversation with LGTBQ+ activists from Taiwan and Nottingham
  7pm-9pm, Tuesday 6 February
  Legislator Mei-Nu Yu takes part in a public event engagement with Taiwanese LGBT and local LGBT groups.
• Queer cinema as art, activism and industry: Filmmaker Fan Popo in conversation
  Tuesday 6 February - Thursday 8 February
  A series of film screenings, director's Q&As and workshops, presented by leading Chinese queer filmmaker Fan Popo.
• No Easy Walk to Freedom
  5:30pm-8:30pm, Wednesday 7 February
  Screening of documentary No Easy Walk to Freedom, followed by a Q&A with Commonwealth decriminialisation activist and Executive Director of the Kaleidoscope Trust, Paul J.Dillane. Proceeds to go to the Kaleidoscope Trust.
• 
  7pm-8:30pm, Thursday 8 February
  Academics from the ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ share and discuss aspects of their favourite works in order to explore some of the less well-known dimensions of queer lives across the world.
• What Become of Gay Liberation?
  7pm-8:30pm, Wednesday 14 February
  A discussion on the legacy of the gay liberation movement in the US, presented by Dr. Christopher Phelps (ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´) and Professor Jonathan Bell (University College London).
• 
  2pm-5pm, Saturday 17 February
  In this networking event, LGBTQ+ groups and allies discuss the future of the community and how we can take steps toward a fairer and more representative tomorrow.

For full listings across the month, please visit the ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´'s events pages.

Get involved

All event links are now live for you to book your place. Plus, don't forget to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #LGBTHM18.

We'll be releasing more news when LGBT History Month officially commences on Thursday 1 February. You can also find out more about our LGBT History Month programme by emailing the People and Culture team.