Interpride

InterPride’s Vision is a world where there is full cultural, social and legal equality for all.

InterPride’s Mission is to increase the capacity of our network of LGBTI Pride organizations around the world to raise awareness of cultural, social and legal inequality, and to effect positive change through education, collaboration, advocacy and outreach.

InterPride exists: To promote Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride on an international level, to increase networking and communication among Pride Organizations and to encourage diverse communities to hold and attend Pride events and to act as a source of education.

InterPride accomplishes it mission with Regional Conferences and an Annual World Conference (AWC). At the annual conference, InterPride members network and collaborate on an international scale and take care of the business of the organization.

InterPride is a voice for the LGBTI community around the world. We stand up for inequality and fight injustice everywhere. Our member organizations share the latest news so that can react internationally and make a difference.

InterPride is one of the few international LGBT entities in operation continuously since the 1980s. InterPride is incorporated in the State of Texas and has been granted Tax Exempt status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Geared towards networking, education, and mentoring, the group boasts a membership of more than 160 Gay Pride organizations with worldwide representation from more than 35 countries in 162 cities, dedicated to LGBT Pride parades and other events.

Formation of InterPride
In April of 1981, Pride Coordinators Rick Turner and Marsha H. Levine, from San Francisco and Boston respectively, met at "Call To Unite" – a gay and lesbian leadership conference in Los Angeles, and the start of an organization then known as NOLAG (National Organization of Lesbians and Gays). While discussing common issues that their individual Pride organizations faced, and remarking that their connections with the New York and Los Angeles Pride committees were helpful for problem-solving, Rick and Marsha felt this trading of information was important and could develop into a potential network.

More than a year later (August 1982), Levine sent out a call for the First Annual Conference of the National Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators (NAL/GPC)*, to meet in Boston. With the aid of San Diego Gay Pride Committee and chairperson Doug Moore, who had been collecting a list of national Pride organizations, and with small donations from the Los Angeles and Boston Pride Committees, the mailing list from Moore was used to distribute a self-mailing registration form designed and produced by Levine. Though many committees expressed an interest in attending, most didn’t have the funds to send delegates at that time. (*Rick Turner [deceased] declined joining in establishing the organization, due to his declining health.)

On October 9, 1982, in the historic Hill House brownstone row house at 74 Joy Street on famous Beacon Hill, members from the Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco Pride committees gathered in response to Levine's mailing.

The meeting site was just down the street from the renowned Freedom Trail, and just steps away from Boston’s Pride parade route and rally site. Three long tables were pushed together to make a triangular seating area. For two days many topics concerning coordinating lesbian/gay pride was discussed, and while each city had different events, they discovered much of the planning and logistics was surprisingly similar. They voted to hold a second conference in San Diego the next year.

The 16 people in attendance at that first call were:
 * Boston - Marsha H. Levine
 * New York - Tony Gambino [deceased] (and lover), Brian O'Dell, David Colle [deceased], Janet Love, Fred Goldhaber [deceased], R. Paul Martin
 * San Francisco - Konstantine Berlandt [deceased], Glenne McElhinney
 * Chicago - Rich Pfeiffer
 * San Diego - Doug Moore
 * Los Angeles - George Piazzi, Sharon Tobin, Cheryl Ruddy [deceased], Sean Johnson [deceased]

Executive Committee
Executive Committee


 * Co-Presidents
 * Gary A. Van Horn Jr. - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
 * Caryl Dolinko - Vancouver, Canada


 * Vice Presidents of Operations
 * Suz Seymour - Northampton, Massachusetts, United States
 * Cain Williamson - Atlanta, Georgia, United States
 * Marie-Eve Baron - Montréal, Québec, Canada
 * Emilio Aguilar - Madrid, Spain


 * Vice President of Member Services
 * Sue Doster - New York City, New York, United States


 * Treasurer
 * Linda DeMarco - Boston, Massachusetts, United States


 * Secretary
 * Brett Hayhoe - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Conferences
During the last 29 years, Pride organizations from almost every continent have participated in InterPride's annual world conference.

The conference is held each year in a different city, with the location of upcoming conferences being voted on two years prior to their occurrence. To demonstrate a commitment to support and empower the global LGBT Pride community, the conference is now frequently held outside North America, with scholarships available for member organizations that cannot afford to attend.

The 2007 InterPride Conference was held in Zürich, Switzerland from October 11–14, 2007.

The 2008 InterPride Conference was held October 23–26 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The 2009 InterPride Conference was held October 15–18 in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States.

The 2010 InterPride Conference was held October 21–24 in Long Beach, California, United States.

The 2011 InterPride Conference was held October 20-23 in Brussels, Belgium.

The 2012 InterPride Conference was held October 4-7 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

The 2013 InterPride Conference will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

In addition, several of the regions into which InterPride is divided hold their own conferences independent of the worldwide conference.