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.
Programma
19:00 Welkom
19:15 Start programma
20:45 Borrel & mogelijkheid bezoeken expositie
De avond wordt geopend door Dino Suhonic, bestuurslid van Stichting IHLIA. Daarna introduceren Emmanuel Hova en Peace Bien Ejekwu, spokespersons van Queer to Support, de tentoonstelling en delen zij meer over hun community.
In een panelgesprek gaat moderator Nilab Ahmadi in gesprek met Alejandra Ortiz (Papaya Kuir), Andrew Shield (Universiteit Leiden), Sabine Jansen (COC) en Savannah Koolen (Here to Support) in gesprek over de ontwikkeling van de lhbti+-asielprocedure: van de eerste erkenning van het asielrecht voor lhbti+-vluchtelingen in de jaren ’80 tot de situatie van vandaag. Hoewel er de afgelopen decennia veel vooruitgang is geboekt, staan vluchtelingen en de ngo’s die hen ondersteunen nog steeds voor grote uitdagingen. Wat is de huidige kritiek op het lhbti-asielbeleid, en welke rol spelen queer communities hierin?
De avond wordt gemodereerd door Nilab Ahmadi.
Benjamin Ewaseha zorgt voor de muzikale omlijsting.
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
Gasten / guests
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.
Savannah Koolen – panelist
Savannah is an activist, and since 2013, co-director and founder of the Here to Support foundation. In her role, she develops and supervises projects at the intersection of art, activism and social justice. She develops innovative initiatives in which undocumented people themselves determine the direction and content.
Emmanuel Hova and Peace Bien Ejekwu – part of the Spokesperson group of Queer to Support:
Queer to Support is a community for queer refugees in Amsterdam. They come together once every two weeks, to cook and eat together, discuss queer topics and learn more about other queer organisations in Amsterdam.
The Spokesperson group consists of ten people from the community who are dedicated to speak up and advocate for the rights of queer migrants.
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.
The evening will be opened by Dino Suhonic, board member of the IHLIA Foundation. Emmanuel Hova and Peace Bien Ejekwu spokespersons for Queer to Support, will then introduce the exhibition and share more about their community.
In a panel conversation, moderator Nilab Ahmadi will talk with Alejandra Ortiz (Papaya Kuir), Andrew Shield (Leiden University), Sabine Jansen (COC) and Savannah Koolen (Here to Support) about the development of the LGBTI+ asylum procedure: from the first recognition of the right to asylum for LGBTI+ refugees in the 1980s to the situation today. Although much progress has been made in recent decades, refugees and the NGOs that support them still face major challenges.
What is the current criticism of LGBTI asylum policy, and what role do queer communities play in this? Emmanuel Hova and Peace Bien Ejekwu, part of the Spokesperson group of Queer to Support, will talk more about the power of community and introduce the final part of the exhibition that they contributed to
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
