English below

Namens IHLIA LGBTI Heritage en Here to Support nodigen we je van harte uit voor een inspirerende avond rondom de lhbti-asielprocedure in Nederland. Met dit programma openen we het laatste deel van de tentoonstelling >(Un)Documented: queer refugees in the Netherlands. 

Tijdens deze avond gaan we in gesprek met ervaringsdeskundigen en onderzoekers over de ontwikkeling van de lhbti-asielprocedure: van de eerste erkenning van het asielrecht voor de lhbti+-community tot de situatie van nu. Hoewel er in de afgelopen 50 jaar veel vooruitgang is geboekt, staan vluchtelingen en de ngo’s die hen ondersteunen nog altijd voor grote uitdagingen. 

Het programma wordt omlijst met muziek en we sluiten af met een gezellige borrel. 

Bezoek de tentoonstelling >(Un)Documented: queer refugees in the Netherlands op de derde verdieping van OBA Oosterdok bij IHLIA. IHLIA LGBTI Heritage – het lhbtiq++-archief van Nederland – laat hieraan de hand van uniek archiefmateriaal zien hoe de procedure door de jaren heen is veranderd. Samen met Queer to Support, de queercommunity van Here to Support werkte IHLIA samen om de hedendaagse context te bevragen. De community van Queer to Support deelt hun verhalen en ervaringen via foto’s, video’s, audio en zelfgemaakte werk. 
 
 We horen graag of je erbij bent, meld je aan via aanmelden@ihlia.nl.  

Deze uitnodiging mag ook worden doorgestuurd naar collega’s of andere geïnteresseerden. 

(Un)Documented: queer refugees in the Netherlands 
28 januari 2026, 19.00 – 20.30 uur 
OBA Oosterdok, OBA Theater, 7e verdieping 
RSVP: aanmelden@ihlia.nl 

Programma

19.00 uur Zaal open
19.15 uur Openingsnummer door Benjamin
19.20 uur Welkom door moderator en IHLIA
19.30 uur Introductie Queer to Support + tentoonstelling door spokesperson QtS
19.35 uur Start panel
20.15 uur Q&A
20.35 uur Afsluitend nummer door Benjamin / dankwoord
20.45 uur Borrel + mogelijkheid bezoeken expositie
21.30 uur Einde programma

Sprekers

Nilab Ahmadi – moderator
Nilab Ahmadi is a city council member in Amsterdam, and policy advisor on homelessness. She advocates for social justice, equal treatment and a guaranteed dignified existence for people worldwide. In her work and political engagement, she combines practice and policy with special interest in people who are generally excluded from full societal participation.

Benjamin Ewaseha – entertainment
Musician Benjacobs (stage name) is a songwriter, singer, and a performing artist from Nigeria Edo state. Afrobeat is his genre of music. Benjamin is currently living in Amsterdam.

Alejandra Ortiz – panelist
Alejandra Ortiz is a Mexican trans woman, writer, public speaker, and a bridge-builder within trans communities. Based in the Netherlands since 2015, her work focuses on visibility and empowerment for marginalized communities. She is the founder of Papaya Kuir, a community-based collective that centers queer, trans, and migrant voices. In 2019, she co-founded T-Huis, the first dedicated safe space for trans communities in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Her memoir De waarheid zal me bevrijden (The Truth Will Set Me Free) was published in 2022.

Sabine Jansen – panelist
Sabine Jansen works since 2006 with COC Netherlands to improve the position of LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers. She was the initiator and main researcher of the 2011 Fleeing Homophobia project, and she was involved in the gay asylum cases XYZ and ABC at the EU Court of Justice. In 2018 and 2022 her Pride or Shame? research reports were issued, on the LGBTI asylum situation in the Netherlands. Currently, she works with the Striking Sirens Coalition on the edited volume “Credibility assessment in queer asylum cases: Believe it or not”, which will be published by Bristol University Press.

Andrew DJ Shield – panelist
Dr.mult. Andrew DJ Shield is Assistant Professor of Migration History in Leiden University, where he specializes in sexuality, race, and diversity in Europe since 1945. He is the author of Immigrants in the Sexual Revolution: Perceptions and Participation in Northwest Europe (2017), and Immigrants on Grindr: Race, Sexuality and Belonging Online (2019). He lives & bikes in Amsterdam.

Public programme ‘(Un)Documented: Queer refugees in the Netherlands’

Wednesday, January 28th

On behalf of IHLIA LGBTI Heritage and Here to Support, we invite you to an inspiring evening surrounding the LGBT asylum procedure in the Netherlands. With this programme we open the final part of the exhibition >(Un)Documented: queer refugees in the Netherlands.

During this evening we will speak to experts by experience and researchers about the development of the LGBTI asylum procedure: from the first acknowledgement of asylum rights for the LGBTI+ community to the situation as it is now. Although many steps have been taken in the past 50 years, asylum seekers and the NGO’s that support them still face major challenges.

The programme will be supported by live music and we will close the evening with drinks.

Visit the exhibition >(Un)Documented: queer refugees in the Netherlands at IHLIA on the third floor of OBA Oosterdok. IHLIA LGBTI Heritage – the LGBT+ archive of the Netherlands – uses unique archival material to show how the procedure has changed throughout the years. Along with Queer to Support, the queer community of Here to Support, IHLIA worked to question the contemporary context. The community of Queer to Support shares their stories and experiences through photos, videos, audio and works of their own.

We’d be happy to see you, RSVP at aanmelden@ihlia.nl.

This invitation may be forwarded to colleagues or other interested parties.

(Un)Documented: queer refugees in the Netherlands
January 28th 2026, 19.00 – 20.30 hrs
OBA Oosterdok, OBA Theater, 7th floor
RSVP: aanmelden@ihlia.nl