Making History – 2007 Chinese La La Camp concluded with grand success

First ever multi-region Chinese La La organizer training camp was held in Zhuhai China July 13 to July 16. Close to one hundred lesbians, bisexual women and trans activists from mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and United States gathered together at the beautiful city of Zhuhai for an intense 4-day leadership training and exchange of experiences. Participants came from more than 20 cities/towns and from 40 different local LBT groups, some traveled by train and bus for hundreds of miles. Participants ranged from freshmen in college to long-time activists in their 50s and 60s.

This training camp brought together activists from different sectors of the queer movement, combining theory and practice. There was a focus on the intersections of social policy, human rights, international collaboration, gender theory, and community building. The goal was to provide this new generation of Chinese LBT activists a stepping stone with full range of human and informational resources. Training courses included topics such as local movement history and recent experience, self-affirmation, family relationships, gender identity continuum, cultural activities and their social impact, working with media, law and public policy, models and strategies and their local/historical context, building communities, sustaining A local group, fund seeking, proposal writing, organizational development, network building and mobilization, and sexuality. Camp participants were able to share local accomplishments and challenges and improve their understanding of the unique conditions of each area, bringing groups closer together.

The "La La Camp" hosting committee was diverse in terms of location and experience: the six groups include: Beijing Common Language, Gender and Sexuality Rights of Taiwan, Women Coalition of HKSAR, New York Institute for Tongzhi Studies, New York Qwave, and Lavender Phoenix in U.S. The La La Camp idea originated at the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Activist Retreat, in November of 2006. After seven months of cross regional planning, the first annual La La Camp was a resounding success.