THE IMPOSSIBLE PARADE

THIS PARADE IS PROUDLY WALKING UNTIL THE ANTI-LGBT+ LAW CHANGES. MEET THE IMPOSSIBLE PARADE.

At least 32 areas in Poland still called themselves ‘LGBT-free zones’ in 2022. The LGBT+ community was simply not welcome there, and any LGBT-related activity was forbidden according to local law. To support regional communities in these places, Polish activists in cooperation with 180heartbeats + Jung v Matt, outsmarted the local governments on their turf and organized virtual pride parades at exact locations of the hateful places. Now the law has been canceled in three areas, the marches move forward raising money for offline parades to be held across all unwelcoming zones.

In 2019, Polish local governments began to collectively pass resolutions that exclude non-heteronormative people from their local communities. The so-called anti-LGBT resolutions are still in force in dozens of municipalities and districts across the country. According to the research carried out by KPH, 12% of the LGBT+ community (140 000 out of 2 million) are planning to move out of Poland. A third of them mention the experience of discrimination due to belonging to the LGBT+ community as the reason for leaving. The equality marches organized in the metaverse by KPH are a form of opposition to the discriminatory resolutions and, at the same time, an expression of support for LGBT+ people living in the mentioned regions.

NGO organizations, including Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH), postulate that everyone should be able to organize an equality march wherever people want to express themselves and speak out for themselves – which, in itself, is guaranteed by the Polish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Therefore, KPH in cooperation with 180heartbeats + Jung v Matt, has created an initiative - THE IMPOSSIBLE PARADE, marches in the metaverse in 32 municipalities where the so-called anti-LGBT resolutions are in force. Augmented reality is a developing sphere that NGOs see as a space for manifestation where absurd, homophobic law does not apply.

In 2022, to organize the first geographically based AR metaverse - OVR, The Campaign Against Homophobia, bought locations in 32 cities and villages in Poland. As the owners of the land, KPH could organize pride parades that walked on the streets of these municipalities. The parades are designed to walk as long as hurtful resolutions do not disappear in a given location. Additionally - to gain traction in the legislative process, KPH bought the address where the Polish Senate resides. The virtual demonstration could be seen right in front of the parliament building.

Three towns in the Lublin Province, known for the highest density of “LGBT-free zones’ just recently gave up on its anty-LGBT resolution, which lowered the count from 32 to 29 unwelcoming regions.

But the fight doesn't end there. The campaign initiator, the 180heartbeats + JVM agency, hopes to believe the best place for pride parades is not in the metaverse but in real life. Thus the characters from the activation get a second life as NFTs. All 32 heroes from THE IMPOSSIBLE PARADE, representing 32 regions, found their place on the biggest NFT platform (OpenSea), raising money for offline parades - to be held across all unwelcoming towns. As the second part of the campaign, the agency decided to deepen virtual activism by adding tokens to the wallets of celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Serena Williams, and Shaquille O'Neal. 180heartbeats +JVM hopes that their NFTs from THE IMPOSSIBLE PARADE will give another momentum to the discussion on equalising the rights of minorities in Poland.

More about - LGBT-free zones (Polish: Strefy wolne od LGBT)
LGBT ideology-free zones are municipalities and regions of Poland that have declared themselves unwelcoming of an alleged "LGBT ideology" or voted the Family Rights Charters. By June 2020, some 100 municipalities (including 5 of 16 voivodeships), encompassing a third of the country, had adopted resolutions creating areas that have been characterized as "LGBT-free zones." In September 2021, all five voivodeships withdrew the measures after the EU threatened to withhold funding.

Most of the adopted resolutions were lobbied for by an ultra-conservative Catholic organization, Ordo Iuris. The Economist considers the zones “a legally meaningless gimmick with the practical effect of declaring open season on gay people''. In a December 2020 report, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights stated, "Far from being merely words on paper, these declarations and charters directly impact the lives of LGBTI people in Poland." This line of thought was confirmed by the Supreme Administrative Court in Poland, which stated that the resolutions are discriminatory, violating the dignity, honor, and good name of LGBT people, and mandated their withdrawal. On 18 December 2019, the European Parliament voted 463 to 107 to condemn Poland's more than 80 such zones. In July 2020, the voivodeship administrative courts in Gliwice and Radom ruled that the "LGBT ideology-free zones" established by the local authorities in Istebna and Klwó respectively, are null and void, stressing that they violate the constitution and are discriminatory against members of the LGBT community living in those counties. Since July 2020, the European Union has denied funding from the Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund to municipalities that have adopted "LGBT-free" declarations, which are in violation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Poland is the only member state to have an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which it had signed upon its accession to the EU in 2004. In addition, several European sister cities have frozen their partnerships with the Polish municipalities in question. Due to their violation of European law, including Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, these zones are considered part of the Polish rule-of-law crisis.

4 facts about anti-LGBT resolutions in Poland:

- The first anti-LGBT resolution was adopted in 2019 in Świdnik (Lubelskie Voivodeship).
- At its peak, LGBT-free zones, i.e., places with anti-LGBT resolutions or Self-- Government Charters of Family Rights, covered 1/3 of Poland.
- LGBT+ people living in LGBT-free zones have suicidal thoughts more often than those living elsewhere.
- In 2021, the European Parliament, in response to "LGBT-free zones," declared the entire EU, which includes Poland, an "LGBT+ freedom zone."