Welcome Pack – 7th European Transgender Council
Community, Solidarity, Empowerment | Shaping our Future Together
7th European Transgender Council | 28th June – 1st July 2018 | Antwerp, Belgium
If you are reading this welcome pack then you must be getting ready to join us at the 7th European Transgender Council in Antwerp, Belgium in 2 weeks. We are really looking forward to welcoming you in Belgium for the Council.
The 7th European Transgender Council will be held from 28th June to 1st July and is co-organised with our member organisations, Çavaria, Transgender Infopunt and Genres Pluriels, we are happy to host this conference at deSingel Internationale Kunstcampus, an art campus that is wheelchair accessible.
This year, we are bringing the community together around a program based on Open Space Technology. This approach encourages leadership among participants by beginning the conference without any formal agenda but creating and participating in one collectively.
The program will also mix cultural, social and political aspects of the trans movement with special performers, movie screenings and other activities with a full day dedicated to wellbeing and self-care.
Travelling from Brussels to Antwerp
If your flight arrives at Brussels airport you can take an Airport Express bus to Antwerp. You can follow the signs to the bus from the airport terminal.
A direct bus service departs from Brussels Airport to Antwerp every hour, and the last departure is at midnight.
You can get your tickets with the bus driver on the bus. A one-way ticket costs €10 and you can pay in cash.
The trip should take around 35 minutes.
If you are travelling by train there are frequent InterCity trains from different Brussels train stations to Antwerp. Depending on the train, the trip takes between 30 and 40 minutes.
You can check the timetables and book tickets here.
Travelling around Antwerp
We have prepared this handy map which indicates the two Council venues and the main hostels and hotels which are accommodating the Council participants.
European Transgender Council 2018 map.
Antwerp is a small city. Many places are within walking, rolling, or biking distance of each other. Another way of getting around the city is on trams and buses. Buy your tickets in a point of presale (newsagent, supermarket, vending machines at the various stops, or in the visitor centres), where they are cheaper.
These are the possible ticket options:
- Individual ticket: 60 min, 3€
- Day pass: 1 day, €6 / €8
- Three-day pass: 3 days, €12 / not possible to buy from the driver
- Five-day pass: 5 days, €17 / not possible to buy from the driver
Council Programme
The Council Programme is available in different versions. If you received this welcome pack by e-mail, the Council Programme is attached in two versions. As a Designed PDF and as a Text Only PDF.
The Council Programme is also available to download from our website. The links are here:
We will print these programmes and have them available at the registration desk for you to have a copy. So, unless necessary for you, there is no need to print out the programme.
Council Opportunities
Open stage
Put your guitar, ukulele, words, and lyrics in your luggage!
On Thursday 28th June at the Meet & Greet event we will have an Open Stage.
The stage will be yours! This is an occasion to share your talents.
We won’t be able to schedule more than 1H30 of open stage so if you are interested share your proposals by email with Chloé on chloe@tgeu.org. Youtube and soundcloud links are very welcomed but not necessary to apply.
You can apply until June 23rd 12am CET.
Every participant will get up to 5 mins on stage.
Transcribing
TGEU is currently looking for participants who would like to act as paid transcribers and do real-time captioning at the Council plenaries (around 6 hours in total for the whole event). This is in order to make our event more accessible.
If you are interested please send an email to council@tgeu.org or complete the form by Monday 25th June, midnight CET.
Customise your tote bag/ make your own t-shirt
We have made some special hand-made Council 2018 stamps for you to use during our craft space on Sunday afternoon. You can stamp on your tote bag (every registered participant will receive a Council Tote Bag) or make postcards and posters. If you would like to also have a Council T-Shirt you can bring your own T-shirt (suggested: a light colour) to stamp it with textile inks and paints.
How to keep in touch with TGEU and other participants
Keeping in touch with TGEU
Any questions about the Council can be sent by e-mail on council@tgeu.org. If you cannot send an e-mail you can call Mina on 0049 (30) 5360 2670 between 11:00 – 14:00 CET from Monday 18th to Friday 22nd June 2018.
Mailing-list
A mailing-list allows you to communicate with other people in the mailing-list by sending an e-mail to only one e-mail address. We are setting up a mailing-list for those people who wish to communicate with other participants. We need your consent to add you to a mailing-list. If you want us to add you to the mailing-list fill in this form.
We have set up a Facebook Group where you can ask to join. We will post information in the Facebook Group from now until the Council but also during the Council. You can also use this group to coordinate your travel to and from Brussels to Antwerp by bus or train.
To join the group go here.
It is helpful to answer the question about your name in the registration form, so that we can confirm that you are a participant.
Information about your privacy
We want to make sure that your personal data is secure. Since May 25 we are following the GDPR, which means the General Data Protection Regulation.
If at any time you want TGEU to delete your personal data from our servers, you may e-mail us on mina@tgeu.org.
If you would like to be removed from mailing-lists or groups, you can remove yourself or unsubscribe, or get in touch with mina@tgeu.org.
At the registration desks at the Council you will be asked to give your consent for your photos and videos to be taken during the event and to be used afterwards.
If you have any concerns about your privacy or questions about how we store and use your personal data, you may get in touch with us on mina@tgeu.org.
Reimbursement process if you have received a scholarship from TGEU
If you have received a scholarship from TGEU which covers your travel to and from Antwerp it is important to keep all of your receipts and boarding passes. Without your receipts and boarding passes or tickets we will be unable to reimburse you. More information about reimbursements will be sent to scholars separately.
TGEU is grateful for the financial support received from the Rights, Equality & Citizenship Program of the European Union, the Open Society Foundations, the Dutch Government, and the Arcus Foundation. Sole responsibility for contents lays with TGEU and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission, the Open Society Foundations, the Dutch Government, and the Arcus Foundation.
Additional financial support for the 7th European Transgender Council is received from the Government of Flanders.