National Lesbian Health Summit

National Lesbian Health Summit: March 6 to 9, 2009

This Summit is focused on lesbians, bisexual women, queer women, and transgender people. While our workshops and speakers will address these communities, the Summit itself will be welcoming to all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) communities, and our important friends and allies, nationally and internationally.

Overview

The National Lesbian Health Summit is a call to all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) communities and our important friends and allies from across this nation and internationally. We will come together to rebuild a multi issue, multicultural women's health movement focused on long term strategic goals for lesbian/bi/queer women's health and wellness that is reflective of the diversity of our community.

This conference takes a look at issues from the perspective of those who face disparities and discrimination as well as examining the health and resilience that is generated everyday. We will engage in deep thinking and extended discussion and create new responses and innovative programming to reflect the realities of our lives.

Our focus follows a proud tradition of activism and a large body of work regarding lesbian health including: the 2001, 2002, and 2004 National Lesbian Health Summit/Conferences. Those endeavors were collaborative exciting think tanks, with moments of visionary enlightenment. In addition, this Summit also grows out of the robust conference system that has built and sustained our movement, including Creating Change and the Gay Men's/LGBTI Health Summits. This summit will include speakers, panels, workshops, and organizing meetings as well as interactive exercises, experiential education activities, yoga and other forms of self care, as well as creative festivities.

Principles

The National Lesbian Health Summit will be guided by the following principles:

* The World Health Organization's definition of health: '' the state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”''
* The Summit workshops will be organized into 5 major areas: clinical care, community initiatives, education and training, leadership development, and research.
* We are committed to having the Summit organizers and participants reflect the compelling diversity of our community. Our core group, working committees, and publicity & outreach strategies will be inclusive, with substantial representation based on: race, ethnicity, class, age, ability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and geographic location. The Summit will include Spanish and ASL interpreters, be wheelchair accessible, provide child care, and raise scholarship funds to ensure no one is denied attendance due to cost.
* The Summit will have three phases: a strong collaborative planning process; the Summit itself; and post Summit publications including a synopsis as well as appropriate position/policy papers from the proceedings.

Objectives

Specific outcomes for this Summit, in addition to the education and training of all involved, include:

* Refocusing on issues of health resiliency and well being for healthcare providers, educators, and community organizers
* Reinvigorating a national Lesbian Health Movement, utilizing health as a vehicle for social change, through the design and development of the Summit itself
* Creating national publications and implementation guides, including policy papers and the pertinent proceedings of the Summit as an update to the 1999 IOM Report and 2000 Implementation Guide