About
Who we are:
On March 14th through 18th of 2007, Philadelphia will host the national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Health Summit. This conference will bring together over 500 of the most influential leaders, decision-makers, and practitioners in the field of LGBTI health and wellness from around the country.
We are health care professionals, educators, researchers, practitioners, activists, and allies. We are dedicated to preserving and improving the emotional, physical, spiritual and social health and wellness of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people, who continue to experience significant health disparities because of our sexual orientations or gender identities.
The Summit’s leadership team includes key figures from LGBTI health centers, such as Philadelphia’s Mazzoni Center, the City of Philadelphia, researchers and educators from institutes and universities (including our partner and co-sponsor, Drexel University School of Public Health), health care practitioners, grass-roots activists, consumers, and more.
This year’s theme, “Beyond Boundaries: A Blueprint for LGBTI Healthcare Equality,” is a national call to all LGBTI communities and our important allies from across this nation to come together to develop ad long-term strategic plan for LGBTI health and wellness. The Summit will cover a full range of LGBTI health concerns, ranging from physical and mental health, to social issues such as universal healthcare access, to community building and organizing.
This summit seeks to encompass many of the same health issues and concerns as traditional health conferences, but with an important difference. This conference takes a look at those issues from the perspective of those who face disparities and discrimination in their everyday work lives and home lives. We engage in deep thinking and extended discussion about new responses and innovative programming. Earlier summits have been described as nurturing retreats, exciting think tanks, and moments of great enlightenment.
We create activities where we ask attendees to reach out across ethnic / racial, generational, and socioeconomic differences and begin to talk and work toward common goals. We avoid a focus on celebrities and big names, and we take plenty of time to relax, have fun, and make connections with other participants in meaningful ways.
A previous attendee called his experience a “vacation workshop,” where he returned home “energized and inspired to do this work for another year.
While the summit will include speakers, panels, workshops, and organizing meetings, it will also include interactive exercises, experiential education activities, yoga and other forms of self-care, as well as creative festivities.
If you care about creating healthcare equality for ALL Americans, we urge you to join us in March, in Philadelphia as we go “Beyond Boundaries” and truly create a “Blueprint for LGBTI Healthcare Equality.”
Thank you.
