2015 saw the expansion of GLAAD’s commitment to global LGBT acceptance grow. Throughout the past year, GLAAD developed relationships with organizations that best understand how to affect change in their area, including advocates in Russia, Ukraine, Philippines, China, Brazil, Nigeria, Uganda, Jamaica, Belize, South Africa, Korea, and beyond. These relationships will continue into 2016 to help advance our work.

Let’s take a look at a few of the places where GLAAD worked in 2015:

IRELAND

GLAAD helped win marriage equality in Ireland. In May, Ireland became the first country to pass marriage equality by a nationwide referendum. GLAAD worked with the YesEquality and #VoteWithUs campaigns by providing the best practices from the marriage equality referenda in the United States, leveraging celebrity voices, and creating original web-based content that was pitched and placed in the media. 

CHINA

Seven same-sex couples travelled from China, where the government does not recognize marriage equality, to a destination wedding in West Hollywood, a hub for LA’s LGBT community. The winners were selected through an online video contest hosted by one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, Alibaba, which is based in China. GLAAD worked with the organizers and couples, sharing photos of the couples getting ready, getting married, and doing interviews at the event. 

NIGERIA

GLAAD partnered with Nigerian advocates to release groundbreaking public poll results. While considerable opposition remains for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and their relations, the poll found that acceptance has grown over previous years. These findings also suggest that many Nigerians are unwilling to completely reject lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in their families, a step in the right direction for a country sporting the rejection-steeped SSMPA. 

THE VATICAN & THE U.S.

GLAAD announced the #TELLTHEPOPE campaign, leads the conversation as Pope Francis visits the United States. GLAAD partnered with LGBT, Catholic and LGBT organizations to write an open letter and a Change.org petition, calling on Pope Francis to meet with LGBT families and published a media resource guide for journalists covering the Pope’s visit. Through direct media contacts, meetings, and people we media trained, our work with the media garnered 672,000 media impressions. 

UNITED KINGDOM

GLAAD announced a new U.K. based operation. GLAAD held its first-ever international board meeting in London to announce the organization’s expansion to the U.K., which will help serve our expanded work in Europe and Africa.

Let’s see where Global Voices takes us in 2016.