Network of European LGBT Families Associations (NELFA)

In many European countries, Rainbow Families, that is families where parents are LGBT, are faced with unsuitable domestic laws, if not a total legal void.

This lack of proper recognition of Rainbow Families exposes them and especially their children to all sorts of legal risks. These families live with the thought that if a tragedy touches their life, for instance, the death or accident of the legal parent, the bond of the social parent to the child may not be recognised by the Law and basically their family life can be severely disrupted.

It goes without saying that this precarious situation may of course produce negative effects on the family and its members: a feeling of insecurity and uncertainty, social invisibility and psychological stress to name a few.

Third European Rainbow Families Meeting took place in Cologne, Germany

The 2014 European Family Meeting took place in Cologne, Germany between 1 and 4 May 2014. The meeting was organized by the Network of European LGBT Families Associations (NELFA), in cooperation with NELFA’s German member, Lesben und Schwulenverband in Deutschland (LSVD).



More than 300 participants from 14 countries (Europe and Canada) met for a long weekend of networking, family fun and capacity building workshops and lectures on LGBT family issues. This year’s meeting was dedicated to schools, under the motto "Different Families, Same Schools". To learn more about NELFA’s 2014 European Family Meeting check NELFA’s facebook page for photos and videos: www.facebook.com/nelfa.aisbl

On Saturday, 3 May, participating families celebrated International Family Equality Day (IFED), with music and “science adventures” at Cologne’s Odysseum adventure museum. To learn more about IFED check its facebook page and website: www.internationalfamilyequalityday.org
www.facebook.com/InternationalFamilyEqualityDay

Lisa Green, NELFA's Vice-President and LSVD member said: "Educators, teachers, activists and parents had the chance to learn about how to transform our schools into safer places for all children. We heard about exciting projects and how a good idea in one place can be adapted to work somewhere else. Everybody left inspired".

Angelo Berbotto, NELFA's Board Member said: "This was a wonderful meeting for our movement in Europe. We have been updated about the legal and political situation for our families in Europe and heard our children talk about their experiences in school”.

Anne-Marie Thus, NELFA’s Board Member and also one of the parents attending the meeting added: "We have shared, we have met and we got to know many loving families from all over Europe. We have widened our horizons and we have celebrated our children, our families and our achievements together".

NELFA strongly believes in the importance of supporting rainbow families from countries where their social and legal situation is particularly challenging. NELFA and its member organizations were able to support the presence of one Polish and one Croatian family at the event. NELFA was also planning to support the participation of one Russian family, but this proved impossible due to visa delays.

NELFA’s 4th European Family Meeting will take place in Rimini, Italy in October 2015, and will be hosted by our members Famiglie Arcobaleno.

About NELFA:
NELFA is the European platform of LGBT families associations, bringing together LGBT parents and parents-to-be from all over Europe. NELFA currently represents 23 organisations in 15 European countries with more than 10.000 members. NELFA is a member of ILGA-Europe.
For further contacts:
Lisa Green – Vice-President            Luís Amorim – Board Member/Treasurer
+49 157 876 571 84                      +32-473 76 50 70

www.nelfa.org
Our new Leaflet: http://www.nelfa.org/index.php/nelfa-aisbl-leaflet
International Family Equality Day (IFED): www.internationalfamilyequalityday.org