ILGA: New Co-Secretary General and new Executive Director as from August 1st

The current Executive Director, Sebastian Rocca, after three successful years will nominally cease to work for ILGA on August 31st, allowing a period of one month for the handover between him and Renato.

“During the selection process of a new Executive Director,” said co-Secretary General Gloria Careaga, “we realized that finding the desired profile outside of ILGA was proving to be more difficult than we originally thought, which is why eventually the Board agreed on taking advantage of internal resources: a solution which makes it easier for ILGA to continue its Plan of Action, which includes expansion in relation to membership and the further development of the global South regions, international lobbying and advocacy, and communication, among others. We believe Renato Sabbadini is the best person for this position, in terms of experience and knowledge of the organization, to continue from where Sebastian Rocca will leave.”

Sabbadini’s position as co-Secretary General will be taken up by Azusa Yamashita (Japan), who was elected as co-Secretary General alternate at ILGA’s last world conference in Stockholm in December 2012. For the first time in the history of ILGA two women, and two non-Europeans, will be leading ILGA.

Azusa Yamashita works as a full-time university researcher and is the co-director and editor for Gay Japan News, Japan’s non-commercial LGBTI online news source and advocacy group since 2005. Being born and having lived in Iwate, one of the seriously affected provinces by the Great East Japan Disaster, she was appointed as mediator of national women’s network, Rise Together for women tsunami survivors and founded her province’s first LGBT group, Iwate Rainbow Network.