Speakers

Best4OlderLGBTI Conference Speakers

Dr Senthorun Raj

Dr Senthorun Raj is a Lecturer in Law at Keele University and is passionate about glitter, pop culture, politics, and social justice.
Sen’s academic and activist work takes an intersectional approach to looking at the ways law deals with the lives of queer minorities.
His new book, Feeling Queer Jurisprudence, explores the role of emotion in shaping legal struggles for LGBT rights.
He is the chair of Black Gold Arts and serves on the board of Amnesty International UK. Prior to moving to the UK, Sen was a Scholar in Residence at New York University’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice and a Churchill Fellow.
He has also worked as the Senior Policy Advisor for the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby in Sydney, Australia.

Eleni Tsetsekou

Eleni Tsetsekou, lawyer, specialist on minority issues and vulnerable groups. She is the Head of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Unit of the Council of Europe, whose mission is to fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics in Europe.
She previously served in the Council of Europe Roma and Travelers, responsible for the promotion of integration policies and inclusion policies in member states of the Council of Europe.
Roma women and girls were a particular focus of this work.

Margherita Logrillo

Margherita Logrillo is Italian and works as a Policy Assistant in the Non-discrimination and Roma coordination Unit of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission.
During her time at the Commission, she had the opportunity to work on two of the major EU initiatives in in the area of equality: the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025 and the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations at the Université’ Libre de Bruxelles and one in Public Policies at LUISS University in Rome. She previously worked for the European Women’s Lobby in Brussels, the largest umbrella organization of women's associations in the EU.

Best4OlderLGBTI Conference Moderators

Workshop LGBTI Public Campaigns

James O'Hagan, LGBT Ireland

James O'Hagan is the LGBT Champions Programme Coordinator in LGBT Ireland.
This programme is targeted towards health and social care professionals working and supporting older people, aiming to ensure that the health and social care staff are properly trained and aware and that their services are inclusive of LGBT+ people.
He is also the host Big Gay Bucket List podcast, a fortnightly show which discusses the experiences of LGBTI+ people in modern Ireland.

Workshop LGBTI Ageing

Martin Moerings, PINK 50+ Ambassador

Martin Moerings, one of a hundred ambassadors pink50+ in the Netherlands.
As ambassadors we give attention to the LGBTI elderly. We want to make them more visible in society, offer them possibilities to be themselves and strengthen their position.
I am a retired professor of social sciences (penology) of the University of Leiden. During my career I could always be open about my homosexuality and even pay attention to it in my scientific research and teaching.

Workshop LGBTI Advocacy and Activism

Jonathan Mastellari, IAM - Intersectionalities And More

Sociologist and social worker. President and project manager of IAM - Intersectionalities And More, organization that work on needs related to intersectionality, with a specific focus on gender and lgbtit+ topics.
LGBTIAQ+* rights got visible in Italy only in the last 20 years. Some of the community part of LGBTIQA*+ population are still invisible, facing the risk of a double discrimination and isolation.
IAM works in Italy on this topic since 2012, creating group of peers, trainings, lobby and discussion among public institutions and private.
His presentation has the goal to present the Italian situation, understanding and showing needs and ideas for the future.

Workshop LGBTI Awareness-raising programs

Ciaran McKinney (He/Him) Engage Programme Manager

Ciarán McKinney has been with Age & Opportunity since 2009 and manages the Engage programme, promoting active citizenship and lifelong learning. He delivers training and facilitation to the public and private sectors and the community and voluntary sectors in age awareness, building resilience through life transitions, ageing with confidence, group work skills and various civic engagement courses.
He is currently the lead on a Europe for Citizens funded programme “Get Engaged” with partners in Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Italy and he is a member of the Council of Administration at AGE Platform Europe.
Ciarán has worked in the charity sector since 1984, both in Ireland and the UK. Prior to Age & Opportunity, Ciarán worked for many years in sexual health services in London and Ireland and with the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network as Director of Gay HIV Strategies.
He is Chair of Gay Health Network , a sexual health programme for men who have sex with men, and vice-Chair of BeLonG To, a national youth organisation for LGBTI+ young people in Ireland.