The Battle For The LGBTQIA+ Community In Ukraine
Episode 8
The InterPride podcast series, InterPod, is proud to launch our 8th episode, The Battle For The LGBTQIA+ Community In Ukraine.
The LGBTQIA+ community has come a long way in the fight for acceptance. Our voices matter and will be heard. Many of our LGBTQIA+ community members have fought for decades for the right to be seen and heard.
The LGBTQIA+ community in Ukraine is at war because of an unprovoked attack from Russia. We hear from those in Ukraine undergoing significant pain and suffering. Please donate to support our friends, family, and loved ones in Ukraine during this challenging time by going to https://tinyurl.com/IPSLF.
In this episode, we speak to LGBTQIA+ activists and advocates from Ukraine and also those who migrated out of the country to get a sense of what’s happening and how the community and come together to support the LGBTQIA community in Ukraine.
Program Lineup Includes:
- Leo Volobrynskyy (he/him)
- Иван Терещук/Ivan Tereshchuk (he/him)
- Andrii Zarytskyi (he/him)
- Julia Maciocha (she/her)
- Maxim Potapovych (he/him)
- EYIBRA (they/them)
- Iggy C (he/him)
Leo Volobrynskyy (he/him)
Leo is Ukrainian American, born in Odessa, UA. Ethnically Jewish, Ukrainian and Russian. An immigrant. 20 year resident of San Francisco, active member of LGBTQ and Organized Labor community. San Francisco Good Samaritan for meritorious conduct in saving a human life. Things that matter most to me are family, social and economic justice, helping those in need, love and friendship.
Иван Терещук/Ivan Tereshchuk (he/him)
Ivan is Ukrainian, born in Odessa, UA. 27 years old, openly gay and HIV positive man. Director of the Odessa branch of the public organization “LGBT Association LIGA”. I have been active in the field of advocacy, human rights and public health since 2017. I am staying in Ukraine to defend my homeland and human rights.
Andrii Zarytskyi (he/him)
Andrii Zarytskyi, Ukrainian. Born in Donetsk, Ukraine. 32 years old. Director of the Kyiv branch of the public organization “LGBT Association ‘LIGA’”. I am an activist and a gay man; I have been active in the lobby and advocacy, human rights spheres since 2008. Currently, I am providing information support to the LGBTQI community of South of Ukraine and manage online communication of the organization both with community and different stakeholders.
Julia Maciocha (she/her)
Julie is the Chairwoman, Volunteers of Equality Foundation Julia Helena Maciocha is chairwoman of the Volunteers of Equality Foundation. The foundation organizes the largest pro-equality event in Poland, the Equality Parade, and supports the marches’ organizers in other cities. The event has expanded from 15,000 to 80,000 people and has become Poland’s largest peaceful demonstration that includes all socially marginalized groups. Julia’s work is focused on LGBTQ+ activism. She is especially committed to building solidarity across movements and training new activists to join the pro-equality movement. She also teaches university courses on animal welfare and zoo psychology and is working toward a Ph.D. in this discipline. Intersectionality is central to all of her work, and she believes that change can only be achieved by working together.
Maxim Potapovych (he/him)
Maxim is a 22 year old LGBTQI activist, open gay, social media manager of KyivPride, live in Kyiv with partner.
Music Credits
EYIBRA (they/them)
EYIBRA (formerly known as Abraham Brody) is reborn as an electronic-experimental project with the launch of their first lead single ‘ISAAC’, on April 16 2021. Co-produced by Mexican artist NNUX, ‘ISAAC’ explores and illuminates numerous theories that the biblical persona of the same name was in reality non-binary or transgender. EYIBRA weaves together complex electronic production and raw beats with soaring strings and pristine vocals to evoke a sound world deeply influenced by artists such as Bjork, Arca, and FKA Twigs. EYIBRA has collaborated with artist Marina Abramovic, and their work is deeply influenced by ritual and transformation of consciousness both in their music and the immersive live performances they create. This has led them to collaborate with the shamans of Buryatia, Siberia (installation and performance commissioned by Fabrika CCI Moscow), the ritual music of Lithuania (for the Barbican Centre London), and polyphonic mystical singing from the Republic of Georgia. Recent highlights include performances at the Kennedy Center Washington D.C., the EFG London Jazz Festival, Public Theatre (New York), Vortex Club (London), Sziget Festival (Budapest), Lunga Arts Festival (Iceland), RichMix Cultural Foundation (London), Meyerhold Center (Moscow), VEGA (Copenhagen), Municipal Smetana Hall (Prague), and Pace Gallery (London). EYIBRA has also been artist in residence at the Barbican Centre (London), National Sawdust (NYC) and Fabrika CCI (Moscow). EYIBRA has performed on shows such as WNYC New Sounds, BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, NPR, and Lithuanian National Television, amongst others. Their most recent work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Independent, The Guardian, Songlines Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar Magazine and others. EYIBRA is a recipient of a 2021 Arts Council England Project Grant, and a 2018 recipient of a grant from the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture to tour the project ‘ANCESTORS’ with Lithuanian ensemble Trys Keturiose, which among others was performed at National Sawdust in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Iggy C (he/him)
Iggy C is a Queer Russian Pop/Rock Artist getting his life together in America.
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Michelle Meow is the host and producer of “The Michelle Meow Show.” The program’s tagline is: ‘Your A-Z, covering the LGBT, LMNOP, and everyone in between.’ Michelle’s mission is constructing opportunities for people to listen in to deep conversations to develop understanding and empathy. She shares, “We simply don’t have enough opportunities to talk and not enough moments to listen.” Michelle’s show can be heard in San Francisco and nationally on the Progressive Voices Network and her local TV show can be seen on KBCW TV and Channel 44.
Michelle also produces programs at the iconic Commonwealth Club, where she has also serves on their Board of Governors. There she is dedicated to conversations around social justice with an intersectional lens. She has interviewed notable thought-leaders such as Olympic medalist Adam Rippon, NFL’s first out LGBTQ coach Katie Sowers, first American woman in space, and Sally Ride’s widow Tam O’Shaughnessy. Since 2006, Michelle has been a co-host of the San Francisco Pride Parade broadcast and she was the President of their Board of Directors from 2014–2018. She is a self-described LGBTQI+ history geek, information sponge, and a lover not a fighter.
Michelle shares, “Exchanging thoughtful dialogue can create change. We are all different, but in our differences, we find similarities and hope. Exchanging thoughtful dialogue can create change we all seek in humanity.”
You can learn more about Michelle and her programming at here.
