The Central and Eastern European Local Influencer Program
BUILDING THE CASE FOR GREATER REGIONAL LGBT+ INCLUSION
The Central and Eastern European (CEE) Local Influencer Program is a multi-year effort to build a strong network of business leaders, civil society activists and others to advance LGBT+ inclusion in four focus countries: Hungary, Poland, Romania and Ukraine. Our research report makes the economic and business case for LGBT+ inclusion in the region. You can download the report in English, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian or Ukrainian here.
The report uses a variety of economic research, data analyses, aspirational case studies and a proprietary survey of businesses as evidence for the economic and business case for greater LGBT+ inclusion in the region. It includes summaries of the key issues facing the LGBT+ communities in each of the focus countries as well as the economic goals the countries are striving to achieve. The report correlates a number of economic and other indices against The F&M Global Barometer of Gay Rights (GBGRⓇ), which indexes human rights for gay people globally, and the Global Barometer of Transgender Rights (GBTR™), which similarly indexes human rights for transgender people.
The program is now building a sustainable network of business leaders and civil society activists to collaborate with policymakers on advancing LGBT+ inclusion and the implementation of rights in society, using the research report as a key source.
The program was launched in spring 2021 with a virtual European kickoff event followed by individual country events in Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. These activities attracted much media and political attention, which can be followed in this short video on our Videos page.
The program is funded by Google and a foundation partner.
The Program Advisory Board
The Program Advisory Board is comprised of a number of experts from academia, business, activism, and economic development who are providing their input and expertise to guide the research process. We strive to ensure that all of our work is grounded in local realities and guided by the highest ethical and academic standards. This Board helps us achieve these goals.
Anna Shepherd, Partnerships Manager, ILGA-Europe - Belgium
Theodora Ion-Rotaru, Executive Director, Accept - Romania
Tymur Levchuk, Executive Director, Fulcrum UA - Ukraine
Tamás Dombos, Board Member, Hatter Society - Hungary
Slava Melnyk, Executive Director, KPH - Poland
Tina Orban, Founder, TransVanilla Transgender Organization - Hungary
Ruslana Panukhnyk, Founder, Kiev Pride - Ukraine
Tatiana Karelskaya, Head of HR, European Business Association – Ukraine
Pawel Adrjan, Head of EMEA Research, Indeed - UK
Kuba Piwowar, Digital Acceleration Lead, Google - Poland
Melinda Miklós, CEO, We Are Open - Hungary
Lestat Monroe, Founder, Romanian Diversity Chamber of Commerce - Romania
Marijn Pijnenburg, Global Business Development Executive
Workforce Diversity and LGBT Markets, IBM - Netherlands
Mario Pietropaoli, Cost Management Technician, Dow - Germany
Bartek Gorzynski, Distribution Manager EU, Dow - Poland
Ivan Jankovic, People & Culture Delivery Manager, IKEA - Serbia
Roman Bojko, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Leader, IKEA - Czech Republic
Susanna Romantsova, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Leader, IKEA - Poland
Community Partner
In developing this research, we are working closely with East meets West, a network of LGBTIQ professionals from Western & (primarily) Eastern Europe. East meets West facilitates the exchange of ideas, the sharing of best practices and generates mutual inspiration to improve the social acceptance of LGBTIQ people in the different countries. East meets West also plays a catalyst function in the LGBTIQ organisational ecosystem by connecting NGOs, diplomatic representatives, officials, corporate players, entrepreneurs and a variety of other inspiring personalities. East meets West is one of the founding members of the EGLCC, The European LGBTIQ Chamber of Commerce.