About festival
"Culture for Tolerance" - Festival of Gay and Lesbian Culture - is a review of various creative activity which has been brought to life by, for, or about lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people.
During the four days in April (19-22 IV 2007) we want to show society that LGBT people constitute a valuable and creative part of Polish society. 'Culture for Tolerance' also aspires to be a forum for discussion about the place and role of LGBT people in Poland.
We want to present and promote understanding of the past and present of LGBT people, as well as reflect upon their/our future in Polish society.
The "Culture for Tolerance" festival's goal is to introduce the theme of homosexuality into the wider discourse, to draw attention to the discrimination and exclusion against which homo-, bi- and transsexual people struggle on a daily basis. The organizers have set a goal for themselves: to establish a neutral space in which people - irrespective of their sexual orientation - might feel free, and one that will enable them to engage in dialogue on equal footing.
The festivals took places last April 27-30, 2006, April 21-24, 2005 and May 6-9, 2004. It prompted, on the one hand, protests and aggressive attacks from radical right groups (i.e. physical attacks on peaceful participants of the March for Tolerance), yet on the other hand, there was positive interest in the festival, exceeding the organizers' most humble expectations (as well as their capacity for dealing with what took place during the festival). It is this which confirmed our belief that "Culture for Tolerance" is a necessary event worth repeating.
