Call for a Experts for IGLYO Capacity-Building Activities

Join our Pool of Experts!

We're currently looking for young people between 18 and 35 years old from in and out the European Region with specific expertise in different aspects of LGBTQI rights, activism, non-formal education, facilitation, and moderation to join our pool of experts and contribute to our in-person and online capacity-building activities on an ad hoc basis. When invited to facilitate at an IGLYO activity, experts will be paid a fixed rate of €200 per working day (excluding taxes). Read our full call below and apply by 20 April 2025 at 23:59 CEST.

About this call

IGLYO — The International LGBTQI Youth & Student Organisation is a member-based youth and student network, with 128 Member Organisations in 40 Council of Europe countries. IGLYO’s vision is a world where we, young people in all our diversity, are able to express and define our own sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and variations in sex characteristics, and are able to participate fully in all aspects of life, rise to our full potential, and enjoy respect and positive recognition.

IGLYO strives to ensure the voices and experiences of LGBTQI young people are present and heard by decision-makers at European and international levels, by implementing and designing research and policy work in areas such as inclusive education, health and bias-motivated hate-crime and hate-speech.

To create an influential collective of young activists, IGLYO also builds the confidence, skills and experience of LGBTQI youth through cross-cultural exchange and peer learning activities. The soon-to-be-established Pool of Experts will support IGLYO in its activities aimed at capacity-building and training of young LGBTQI activists. More information about IGLYO’s work can be found at www.iglyo.org.

IGLYO capacity-building activities

IGLYO trains, supports, and builds the capacity and skills of LGBTQI youth organisations, activists, leaders, and volunteers to represent, advocate on behalf of, and serve our communities more effectively, influencing sustainable societal change and increasing the visibility of our movements.

We achieve this goal through different activities, such as:

In-person events

The Activist Academy (see the 2024 and 2023 editions).
Thematic conferences (see the recent ones on Hate Crime and Hate Speech and Health and Advocacy)
Study sessions (see a recent one on rural LGBTQI youth)
Study visits to the European Union (as the one organised in December 2024)
Other project-specific trainings and events

Online events

The Global Online Activist Academy (see the 2024 and 2023 editions)
Webinars (see a list of past webinars)
Other project-specific trainings and events

You can read more about our capacity-building offer at this link.

About the Pool of Experts

In organising the events above, we strive to offer a high-quality educational and formative experience for young LGBTQI activists. To do so, we regularly rely on external experts who act as consultants.

This open call for a pool of experts responds to different needs:

We want to prioritise young professionals, so as to provide visibility and opportunities for professional growth to LGBTQI experts up to 35 years old.
We want to create a stronger link between IGLYO’s capacity-building offer and its Member Organisations, by prioritising not only participants coming from IGLYO Members, but also experts belonging to Members.
We want to create stronger links with the international LGBTQI movement and engage with experts from outside of the European region to enrich the educational offer of our online events (the Global Online Activist Academy and the webinars). We also recognise the importance of broadening our perspectives beyond a Eurocentric framework.

We know that young people are knowledgeable and capable and that our Member Organisations are an important repository of expertise on LGBTQI rights. Therefore, we are launching this call to find young experts on LGBTQI rights and LGBTQI activism who will act as a resource for all IGLYO’s capacity-building events.

Therefore, we are looking for young people (aged 18 to 35 at the time of application) with specific expertise in different aspects of LGBTQI rights, activism, non-formal education, facilitation and moderation.

Roles and responsibilities of the Pool of Experts

As a member of the Pool of Experts, you will:

Design and deliver in-person workshops within your area of expertise
Design and deliver online workshops within your area of expertise
Participate in online or in-person panel discussions on your area of expertise
Moderate online or in-person panel discussions
Support the IGLYO Programmes Team in setting up pedagogical programmes
Support the IGLYO Programmes Team in developing training and capacity-building resources

Desired knowledge and skills

Members of the Pool of Experts should have expertise in one or more areas related to LGBTQI activism and LGBTQI rights; and skills in public speaking, non-formal education and/or facilitation.

Knowledge and expertise

IGLYO’s capacity-building offer centres around two areas:

Capacity-building on skills related to LGBTQI activism;
Training and awareness-raising on topics related to LGBTQI rights and other intersectional issues.

Members of the Pool of Experts should feel comfortable leading a session in at least one of these two main areas.

Examples of activism-related skills:

Policy and advocacy
Campaigning
Communications, storytelling, social media
Organisational Development
Project Management
Fundraising
Community organising
Public speaking
… and more!

Examples of topics related to LGBTQI rights and intersectional issues:

Disability justice
Anti-racism
LGBTQI migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers
Trans experiences and trans rights
Hate crime and hate speech
Anti-gender and anti-rights movements
Inclusive education
Inclusion in sports
Queer theory and politics, transfeminist theory
… and more!

Skills and competences

We expect the experts to have skills in:

Working with LGBTQI youth
Public speaking
Facilitation

Skills in the following areas are a plus:

Non-formal education
Training methodologies (for example role games, simulations, forum theatre, improvisation, directed imagination etc.)
Online facilitation, moderation of online events, interactive methodologies online
Moderations of events and discussions
Working with young people with disabilities and neurodivergent youth
Working with other intersectional minorities

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, you need to:

Identify as LGBTQI;
Be aged between 18 and 35 years old at the time of the application (applicants younger than 30 years old will be prioritised);
Speak English at an advanced level;
Demonstrate expertise and skills in the areas indicated above.

This call is open to young experts between 18 and 35 years old based worldwide. Though, only young experts based in a Council of Europe Member State (see full list), Russia, Belarus or Kosovo can be engaged in IGLYO’s in-person capacity-building events. The reason why young experts from outside of the European region cannot be hired for in-person events is linked to restrictions of cost eligibility set by our funders. In other words, we cannot cover travel expenses from a country outside of the European region. Young experts who are based outside the European region will contribute to IGLYO’s online capacity-building events.

Finally, for young experts based in the European region, we will prioritise applications from experts who belong to one of IGLYO’s Member Organisations (see full list here). Nonetheless, we encourage young experts from outside IGLYO’s membership to also apply.

What we offer

Being part of IGLYO’s Pool of Experts does not guarantee any minimum work, but also does not oblige you to perform any minimum work.

If you are selected for the Pool of Experts, you will sign a framework contract with IGLYO for a 2-year period. This contract will not guarantee any minimum work and will not require you to perform any minimum work. The contract will detail the responsibilities and rights of both parties. The contract will set a fixed rate of €200 per working day excluding taxes. This contract is not an employment contract.
Whenever IGLYO needs a young trainer or expert, it will prepare a call detailing the type of expertise needed, the task to be performed, the number of working days foreseen for the task (and therefore the budget), the timeline and any other relevant detail. The call will be sent to the members of the Pool of Experts that correspond to the profile we are looking for. If you are available and interested in this task, you will just need to notify IGLYO.
IGLYO will decide which Expert to select. We will make an effort to give everyone equal opportunities to contribute to IGLYO’s programmes.
After having performed the task, you will send an invoice to IGLYO for the agreed amount and you will be paid accordingly.

Application

If you fit all the criteria and are excited about this opportunity, apply by following the steps below:

Prepare a standard CV of max 3 pages in PDF format.
Prepare your answers to the following questions:
- In 250 words (maximum) introduce yourself as a future member of the Pool of Experts and a young queer activist. What is your background story? What makes you an expert in your area?
- In 250 words (maximum), describe your experience working with and for LGBTQI youth. Can you identify some challenges and opportunities related to working specifically with this target group? Within your area of expertise, which aspects are specifically related to LGBTQI youth or have a different impact on LGBTQI youth?
- In 250 words (maximum), present a recent instance in which you demonstrated skills in non-formal education, training/workshop design or facilitation and moderation. What was the context and the topic? What went well and what could have been improved?
- In 250 words (maximum), explain your motivation to be part of IGLYO’s Pool of Experts. Explain why you are specifically drawn to the opportunity to contribute to IGLYO’s Programmes work, and how this opportunity fits into your professional development.
- What is your availability throughout the year? How many working days do you think you can dedicate to IGLYO throughout one year?
Think about a person who can act as a referee for your application. This person must have worked with you (either as an employee or as a volunteer) in some capacity and be able to testify regarding your skills and competences. We will only contact them with your permission.
Upload your answers to the questions above along with your contact details, your CV and the contact of your referee via this Application Form.

Make sure to write answers that are personal, concrete and specific. We want to hear about your personal experience and motivation. Generic answers will receive a low score. Clearly AI-generated answers will not be considered.

As a youth organisation, IGLYO values including the expertise and perspective of young LGBTQI people in all its activities. We also value giving young people more opportunities to grow professionally and showcase their expertise. We are also aware that young LGBTQI people face multiple overlapping marginalisations and discriminations based on age, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, class, race, and other intersecting factors, and that due to the systemic nature of structural oppression, they do not have access to the same resources and power as others. The applications we receive will be evaluated keeping all these factors in mind.

IGLYO particularly welcomes applications from women, trans, non-binary and intersex people, individuals from Black communities, other communities of colour and ethnic minorities, migrants and refugees, neurodivergent folks, people with disabilities, and people living with HIV and chronic illnesses.