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Open Up!

Open Up! is an IHLIA project about the history of LGBTI emancipation and development, mainly in central, east and southeast Europe.

It focuses on these countries because in these regions the LGBTI rights are lagging behind compared to those in many other parts of Europe.

The archives and history of these brave movements contain unique documents. They can help us understand the changes in these countries and how they affect (or have affected) the lgbt movements and organizations. In addition, these documents provide us with some background on our less known heroes.

Completely online

The purpose of Open Up! is to make a large number of journals and organization archives digitally accessible worldwide. These include magazines, newspapers, professional journals and texts from lectures, folders policy memos, newsletters, minutes of meeting and press releases.

The entire collection comes from the cabinets of IHLIA’s own archive, which consists of journals and organization archives, or it comes directly from archives of international, European and local lgbt organizations.

The project was presented at the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex – Archive, Library, Museum and Special Collections (LGBTI-ALMS) Conference in Amsterdam.

Peruse the Open Up! collection in the IHLIA catalogue

Documents from the Open Up! collection are specially marked in the search results. To read these full text you first have to request an IHLIA account.

NOTE: Due to privacy and copyright issues there are consequences for the extent to which you can access the material. Therefore IHLIA Open Up! makes the collection accessible through two tiers:

– Tier 1: Public. You only need an IHLIA-account.

– Tier 2: LGBTI community and researchers. For access you need to fill out an extra form. We will ask about your motivation to see the material.

After sending the form, we will process your request asap.

Countries that cooperate with Open Up!

  • – Albania
  • – Armenia
  • – Azerbaijan
  • – Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • – Cyprus
  • – Estonia
  • – Georgia
  • – Hungary
  • – Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244/99)
  • – Croatia
  • – Latvia
  • – Lithuania
  • – Malta
  • – Moldavia
  • – Montenegro
  • – Poland
  • – Romania
  • – Russia
  • – Serbia
  • – Slovakia
  • – Slovenia
  • – Turkey
  • – Czech Republic
  • – Ukraine
  • – Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia
  • – Belarus

Contact

Visiting address IHLIA
OBA Oosterdok
Oosterdokskade 143, 3rd floor
1011 DL Amsterdam

Tel: 020-5230837
Email: info@ihlia.nl

Exhibits on the IHLIA Plaza
Free to visit every day, follow OBA opening times