The EUI kicked off Pride Month by raising and displaying Pride Flags around campus. Members of the community might still spot them hanging in Badia, Buontalenti, Villa La Fonte, Villa Salviati, and Villa Schifanoia.
The beginning of June saw the yearly celebration of State of the Staff, held on 4 June at Villa Salviati. Bringing staff together around community, games and food sharing, the event also helped marking the start of Pride Month at the EUI, featuring the participation of the LGBTQIA+ EUI Staff Network Proud to BƎ!, which organised a quiz to stimulate awareness on the global state of LGBTQIA+ rights, and marked their presence with a booth showcasing the network and its activities.
On 10 June, the Library Café for Pride Month took place in Badia, curated by the Library Information Specialist in collaboration with the LGBTQIA+ EUI Staff Network Proud to BƎ!. The display featured a selection of books on LGBTQIA+ rights and history. If you were not able to attend, you can browse the online catalogue to find your next summer reading.
Grosseto provided the backdrop to this year’s Toscana Pride, held on 13 June, where the EUI delegation joined thousands of participants in a vibrant march celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and reaffirming the importance of visibility, resistance and equal rights. Travelling together by bus from Florence, around 30 members of the EUI community - including researchers, fellows, master’s students and professional staff - took part in the parade, marching together under the EUI banner.
Pride Month is both a time to celebrate LGBTQIA+ lives and visibility, and an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that continue to affect LGBTQIA+ people. In this spirit, on 15 June, EUI members were invited to join the EDMO training module on identity-based disinformation about LGBTQ individuals and communities, which explored how false or misleading narratives targeting LGBTQIA+ people are created, spread, and amplified online. Further information and training materials are available on the EDMO training page.
On 23 June the information session “From trans awareness to practice: preferred name guidelines” took place in Badia and online via Zoom. Organised by the EDI Team, the session combined reflections on the experiences of transgender people in academic and workplace contexts with practical guidance on the newly adopted preferred name guidelines for staff. With the contribution of guest speaker and transfeminist activist Matteo Petito from Ireos - Comunità Queer Autogestita, the event offered space to discuss gender identity and expression and the role each of us can play in fostering a more inclusive and respectful environment.
The EDI podcast series ‘The Elephant in the Room’ published its latest episode, Beyond labels: queer history, disability activism, and the politics of naming, featuring historian and Max Weber Fellow Elisa Heinrich as guest. The episode delves into how ideas of “normality” are shaped through history, language, and power. Drawing on queer history, disability activism, and her own research, Elisa reflects on labels, resistance, and the role of activism in challenging exclusion and producing new knowledge.
To continue engaging with LGBTQIA+ histories, rights, and perspectives beyond the events of Pride Month, the EUI community is also invited to explore the following research stories on queer topics: