#SaferToBeMe: UK’s first global LGBTQ+ human rights summit taking place this week

Lead Picture: #SaferToBeMe unveiling event Newcastle Lit & Phil building 20 February 2025. Photo credit: Haydn Brown 2025

The UK’s first ever global LGBTQ+ human rights summit, #SaferToBeMe, is taking place in Newcastle-Gateshead, North East England, bringing together hundreds of delegates from over 40 countries. This gathering will focus on the theme ‘Power, Populism and Politics’, exploring the challenges facing LGBTQ+ communities across the globe.

Running from 20 - 25 October, the week-long summit is organised by LGBTQ+ charities ReportOUT, Pride Action North, and OUT North East. The summit’s programme includes training workshops, networking events, queer history walks, over 40 panel discussions, and a two-day international conference.

Discussions will span pressing global issues, from the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric to advances in legal protections and community resilience. Headline speakers or panellists include: Lady Phyll, Co-founder and CEO of UK Black Pride; Peter Tatchell, renowned human rights campaigner; Jeroen Cooreman, Belgian Ambassador to the UK; Professor Sue Sanders, SchoolsOut and Co-founder of LGBT+ History Month UK.

#SaferToBeMe 2025 Conference

Welcome to the booking page of our #SaferToBeMe Summit two-day Conference about global LGBTQ+ human rights. Find out more about the conference and book your tickets here!

ReportOUT

One of the events most significant milestones will be the unveiling and signing of the Newcastle Gateshead Declaration – the world’s first Global Compact for LGBTQ+ rights. Inspired by UN declarations and created by 14 international LGBTQ+ organisations, this bold solidarity statement will be signed by global business leaders, politicians, and individuals during a high-profile ceremony. 

The final document will then be distributed globally as a call to action and unity. The summit aims to empower attendees to take meaningful action within their own communities, while creating a global support network that uplifts and protects LGBTQ+ voices. Through its workshops and panels, the event will showcase innovative grassroots work, share lived experiences and build strategies to resist political oppression and discrimination.

"Safer To Be Me is more than a conference - it's a movement," said Drew Dalton, CEO of ReportOUT. "We are building global connections, shaping international policy, and taking a stand for LGBTQ+ human rights.“Working with Pride Action North, OUT North East and our amazing partners, we aim to use the conference to amplify voices that are too often silenced, creating real change, and ensuring that everyone, everywhere, feels safe to be who they are."