To coincide with Nottingham's Pride event, which ended on the Forest Rec, local LGBT activists organised a public meeting to discuss the political freedom and human rights of the LGBT community across the world. Peter Tatchell, Skye Chirape (lesbian activist and artist from Zimbabwe) and Claire Jenkins (trans-activist) spoke about LGBT struggles for recognition and freedom in different parts of the world, the experiences of LGBT asylum seekers in Britain and cuts to funding for LGBT people in Nottingham. Ali Hili (Iraqi gay activist) was unable to attend through ill health, but a message from him was read out.

Recordings of the speeches are included below (apologies for the poor quality - there was a problem with the microphone).

The meeting was chaired by Richard McCance, a veteran Nottingham LGBT activist who expressed dismay at council cuts of funding to Outburst, an outreach group for isolated LGBT youths across Nottinghamshire. He referred to a recent case in Derby where a teenage gay boy, spurned by his boyfriend, threatened to jump from a tall building. Emergency services had started coaxing him down when a crowd of people who'd gathered goaded him to jump to his death. It was people like this lad who were so desperately in need of services like Outburst.

In the discussion that followed a member of the audience expressed concern about a small handful of Islamists who had turned up to protest Pride. Peter Tatchell was quick to point out the importance of dialogue between the LGBT community and local Muslims, recounting very positive experiences he'd had in the past.

All of the speakers were clear in pointing out that much of the homophobia that exists in the post-colonial world has its roots in imported Victorian colonial values and an extremist missionary Christianity. This makes claims by macho African leaders that homosexuality is 'un-African' false. The struggle for LGBT rights in Africa was described as the continuation of African liberation.

The meeting was well attended - extra mats had to be brought into the room so that people could sit on the floor because all the seats were filled - and there were calls for it to be made an annual event. Let's hope it happens again next year.