Under the motto "Loud and Proud", on June 24, the fourth Pride Parade will be held in Skopje, the National Network Against Homophobia and Transphobia (NMHT) announced yesterday.
The starting point will be in the "Woman Warrior" park, where the participants will gather at 5 PM. After the speeches, at 7 PM, the protest march through the streets of Skopje will begin, which will then conclude with a cultural and musical program at the ARM stadium in the city park.
"Progress in the field of LGBT+ people's rights has not been equal, nor is it sufficient, and is constantly under attack from forces that oppose universal human rights. That is why Pride remains an important form of protest of the LGBT+ community against stigma, prejudice, and violence", NMHT says.
At the press conference held yesterday, Irena Cvetkovikj indicated that "in such a hostile environment, with hate speech and violence on the rise, and with homophobia and transphobia becoming the dominant position of those in power," being proud and loud represents resistance and protest against the system that oppresses.
"The LGBTQ community has gone through very difficult periods, we will go through this one with our heads held high, proud and loud in realizing our vision of a world of equality and prosperity", Cvetkovikj said.
The Skopje Pride Parade, as the organizers said, is an event that sees an increasing presence of young people, adding that this indicates that young people need the visibility of their identities more than ever.
“At the Skopje Pride Parade, at least for a moment and for a day, young people can feel care, support, togetherness and celebration of their identity in a society that constantly tells them that they are not valuable enough, that they are confused or that they are under someone's influence. The large presence of young people at the parade shows that there is still hope that the generations to come have an unequivocal political stance and that they are here and they are loud", Angel Dimitrievski said.
The first Pride Parade in Macedonia took place in 2019 in Skopje.
Find the event HERE.