The Warsaw Pride Parade, a celebration of equality, diversity, and acceptance, took place in Poland’s capital city two weeks ago. This annual event, which has been marching through the city streets for over two decades, began as a march against discrimination and has grown into a powerful demonstration for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and all those who value freedom, equality, and tolerance.
We were invited by Levi´s to be part of the celebration. Levi´s had their truck at the event, showcasing their support for the LGBTQ+ community. After the festivities, KALTBLUT had the opportunity to speak with Julia Maciocha, President of Warsaw Pride, about the importance of Pride and the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community in Poland. Please have a look at the wonderful photos from Warsaw Pride Parade, powered by Levi´s.
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The Warsaw Pride Parade has experienced its fair share of obstacles and resistance throughout its history. Initially faced with pushback from conservative parties, the event was often on and off during its early years. In 2005, it was banned by the president of Warsaw at the time, Lech Kaczyński, who claimed it to be unlawful. However, this ban only ignited more attention and support for the Equality Parade. That year, the event took place as an illegal demonstration, known as the “Freedom Rally,” and became one of the largest peaceful illegal gatherings in recent Polish history.
The ban on the parade prompted a trial that ultimately declared it unconstitutional and a violation of the freedom of assembly as stated in the European Convention on Human Rights. This landmark ruling not only marked a victory for the LGBTQ+ community in Poland but also influenced the European Parliament to pass a resolution condemning discrimination based on sexual orientation and urging the European Union to combat homophobia.
Despite the obstacles and resistance, the Warsaw Pride Parade has grown into a significant demonstration of equality and acceptance. Tens of thousands of people come together each year, joining the march with a shared passion for social justice, peace, and love.
Thx to Levi´s for giving us the chance to speak to Julia Maciocha, Vice President of Warsaw Pride:
KB: What has been your experience as the president of Warsaw Pride in recent years? What challenges have you faced organizing such a large-scale event?
It’s getting harder and harder to organize such a big event. It may be surprising, but it was easier for me to organize this event at the beginning, 6 years ago, when I had no experience, there were no partners, very small interest from brands, but also among the pro-equality movement in Poland, we were closer to each other.
This year we had 100 entities participating as registered groups or platforms. Just handling so many people is incredibly exhausting and time-consuming. Added to this is the conflict within the community itself – who is a pride for? are companies welcome there? Do we fight only for LGBT people or also for other matters? If for other matters, is it only about other marginalized groups or, for example, also about climate issues?
Nowadays, there are many questions and great responsibilities – who is to answer them?
What is changing for the better is our society, thousands of young people for whom being a non-heteronormative person is no longer surprising, strange or bad. Every year, more and more young people come to the parade to celebrate themselves, and their identity, but also to support their loved ones – friends and family.
We are also observing a positive change in our media – in the past, the Parade was referred to as a parade of gays (as only gay men), rather pejoratively or at most neutrally. A lot of pictures from fetish marches in Berlin were shown to incite the public against us. Now a lot of materials are positive, show real images and real people, and talk about the demands and problems of the community. The language has also changed – now we are the Equality Parade, and we go for all the excluded. Lesbians, transgender and non-binary people have appeared in the discourse.
KB: What challenges have you faced organizing such a large-scale event?
Time has become the biggest problem in recent years. The Equality Parade is an organization based on volunteers. This means that although some people have been with us for years, many of them appear for a year or two, and the cycle of training new people is continuous. The parade is mostly done “after-work” which is unusual for such a scale event.
The second issue is divisions within one’s own community. The government exerts enormous pressure on NGOs and activists, which leads to burnout and overwork, as well as frustration. In recent years, attacks on Parade have come from within – for example in the form of anti-capitalist groups criticizing corporate involvement, rather than from government, right-wing, or anti-LGBT groups.
The most important problem for us is the lack of space – many construction sites are currently underway in Warsaw, a lot of space is closed and in the coming years, it may turn out that we have nowhere to fit such a group of people.
KB: How has Warsaw Pride evolved since its inception in 2001?
There have been many Parade organizers since 2001. Each of them had their own vision. For me, the most important thing was to increase the diversity of groups appearing at the Parade, as well as to increase its educational value by creating Equality Town – a picnic of non-governmental organizations.
Currently, it is an event created by a group of committed people. We have a flat hierarchy structure and a lot of decision-making among volunteers.
KB: How has the Polish government and society responded to the Pride Parade?
The government has been responding to us with silence for years now. Currently, their targets are transgender people, because there are few of them being public figures in Poland, they are a little-known group, so it is easy to produce lies about them. Everyone who has seen the Parade or the Equality March knows what it looks like, and even if they don’t like it, you can’t produce a lie about what they saw. We currently have over 30 Equality Marches in Poland. Most of the public has some contact with some form of pride. (More: polishprides.org)
KB: What is the message that the Pride Parade seeks to convey?
You can find our official demands here: www.paradarownosci.eu/en/equality-parade-demands
This year, the parade was dedicated in particular to transgender people who are currently experiencing a smear campaign from the government.
We wanted to show solidarity, but also to remind them that the community stands behind them and, contrary to some voices, we are not going to shove them into the closet.
KB: How does Warsaw Pride differ from other Pride events that take place around the world?
I don’t think we’re very different. I go to Prides in different countries, and visually we look very similar. What is different with us is pride in countries that have equal rights is more of a celebration, with us it is still a form of protest.
KB: How important is it for the international community to support the Pride Parade in Warsaw?
Support from abroad is especially important as a symbol of solidarity. After the emergence of LGBT-free zones, many countries said – you need to cut off Poland from the union because it does not provide basic democratic rights. Well, it doesn’t. This does not mean that you can abandon your queer siblings, it means that we need acts of solidarity and pressure that other countries can exert on our current and future government.
KB: What role can the queer community in Poland play in ensuring that the parade continues to take place?
I can share the hope that the next generation will take over the Parade from me and my Team and will shape it according to their own idea. And maybe in a few years, it will look completely different than today. I honestly can’t wait to see what happens in the future!
KB: What is being done to address the discrimination and violence that queer individuals often face in Poland? How is the LGBT community in Poland organizing in response to the challenges that it faces?
Non-heteronormative people in Poland do not have any rights and under the current government, they do not win any. What the community is focused on is educating the community and preparing the ground for the time when the pro-democratic party will take over. We are successful in this. Currently, over 60% of Poles want equal partnerships for same sex couples (oko.press/polki-i-polacy-gotowi-na-zwiazki-partnerskie-i-rownosc-malzenska-sondaze-i-eurobarometr).
We are also trying to unite the activist community – we have created the Polish Prides Alliance to connect activists organizing marches all over Poland. Currently, we associate all marches in the country, that is over 30 organizations/collectives/informal groups.
KB: What are some of the important initiatives and movements that the queer community in Poland is leading? How can people who want to support the queer community in Poland get involved?
We created the Polish Pride Alliance to support marches all over Poland, activate cities outside of the capital and offer all kinds of help to new activists. You can support us here: polishprides.org/fund
KB: What are your hopes for the future of Pride in Poland?
My dream is for pride to happen in every city, even the smallest one so that every non-heteronormative person can always be close to their community – it is this closeness that creates a sense of understanding, acceptance, and security. I also believe in the power of pride – showing the community to the whole society, talking about the discrimination we experience, about the rights we fight for, so that they understand why it’s important to join our fight.
KB: What message would you like to send to the queer community in Poland and around the world?
I know we’ve already won. It may take a little longer, but we are on the road to equality, history is on our side, and we will win sooner rather than later.
KB: How can we ensure that the conversation around queer rights and representation remains at the forefront of conversations in Poland and globally?
We need every ally imaginable. I believe in intersectional connections between movements, and I also believe that we need a whole spectrum of activists, because each of us has an important role in this movement, regardless of place. We need radical anarchists, protests and pride, politicians of various options, companies, corporations, and businesses. We need local governments, cultural institutions, teachers, and parents. I believe that the only way is to dialogue with each of these groups because they will help us create a better future for the next queer generations.
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