SAN DIEGO – San Diego Pride, a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster pride in and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities, has been selected by the San Diego Diplomacy Council as one of San Diego’s Citizen Diplomats of the Year for its contributions to promoting global understanding.
Since 2012, representatives from San Diego Pride have met with more than 100 visitors from 60 countries, discussing topics such as the role of non-governmental organizations in promoting women’s issues, engaging at-risk youth, human rights and gender identity. Delegations have included allied and adversary leaders in countries where being openly LGBT can lead to public and legal oppression, violence and death. By finding shared and universal values or even just meeting an openly LGBT person for the first time, these conversations are planting the seeds of hope for millions of LGBT people around the world.
“Our humanity should not be defined by the borders of our birth, but in the universal truth that each of our lives has an equal and cherished value,” said Fernando Lopez, public affairs director, San Diego Pride.
San Diego Pride will be recognized on Diplomacy Day, Oct. 25, at a gala event at Horton Grand Hotel that will also celebrate San Diego Diplomacy Council’s 35th Anniversary and the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program’s 75th Year. U.S. Consul General in Tijuana, Andrew S. E. Erickson, will provide the keynote address. Attendees will include local leaders from the diplomatic community, government, business, non-profits, and educational institutions.
For more information, visit: SanDiegoDiplomacy.org/event/diplomacy-day-2014 or contact Jill Secard, San Diego Diplomacy Council executive director, at 619-291-8105 or Jill@SanDiegoDiplomacy.org.
