The International Lesbian Information Service (ILIS) was an international organization which aimed at fostering international
lesbian organizing. It was started within
ILGA in 1980.[1][2][3][4] The following year, at a separate lesbian conference arranged prior to the ILGA
Turin conference, lesbian organizations decided that ILIS should become a separate organization.[5][6]
History
ILIS arranged eleven international conferences in
Europe,[7] and supported lesbian conferences in
Latin America and
Asia through their regional networks (the Latin America Network and the
Asian Lesbian Network).
In Turin in 1981, criticism concerning the lack of visibility of lesbians in the gay movement, as well as the cost of participation for lesbian activist to the ILGA conferences led to the separation of ILIS from ILGA.[8]Paola Bachetta recalls leaving ILGA to form ILIS also in reaction to the lack of inclusivity towards postcolonial issues. Subsequently, the following ILIS conferences included
intersectional workshops on racism,
lesbophobia and
postcolonial issues.
ILIS was represented at the 1985 United Conference on the status of women, as a result of the decision to reach out to non western lesbians. In 1986, the ILIS Geneva conference fundraised money to strive towards the participation of lesbians coming from postcolonial countries. One of the main topic of the conference was "Political Exile for Lesbians of All Countries". The following conferences had to face some criticism about unchallenged assumptions: the fact that the conferences were meant for outed lesbians and did not take into consideration others types of lesbian expressions under oppressive regimes, and the fact that western countries were presented as saviors to third world countries.[8]
The activities seem to have gradually stopped in the late 1990s, with their final newsletter being published in 1998.
The ILIS Secretariat, which also coordinated the publishing of regular newsletters,[9][10][11] rotated as follows:
Amsterdam 1980–81. Coordinated by Interpot. Published the ILIS cheap stencil service.[12]
Amsterdam 1987–1998. Coordinated by Interpot. Published the ILIS Newsletter.
Conferences
Below are listed the international lesbian conferences organised by ILIS in Europe in conjunction with local lesbian organisations, the presence of ILIS representatives at three UN World Conferences on Women, as well as the Latin American and Asian Lesbian Conferences that were organised either with the help of ILIS or to which ILIS member groups attended:
1980: 5–6 April – Creation of ILIS at IGA (now ILGA)
Barcelona Conference, Spain
1980: 14–30 July – ILIS at UN World Conference on Women in
Copenhagen, Denmark
1980: 27–31 December – ILIS Conference in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
1981: 15–17 April – ILIS Conference in Turin, Italy (ILIS separates from IGA)[19][20][21]
30 December 1981 – 3 January 1982: ILIS Conference in
Lichtaart, Belgium
1982: 3–5 September – ILIS Conference in
Sheffield, England
1983: 1–4 April – ILIS Conference in
Paris, France
30 December 1983 – 1 January 1984: ILIS International Action Meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
1984: 19–23 April – ILIS Conference in
Stockholm, Sweden[22]
1985: 4–8 April – ILIS Conference in Cologne, Germany
1985: 15–26 July – ILIS at UN World Conference on Women in
Nairobi, Kenya
1986: 25–28 March – ILIS Conference in
Geneva, Switzerland. Creation of Latin American and Asian regional networks.[23]
1987: 14–16 October – First meeting of Latin American, Caribbean and Chicana Lesbian Feminists in
Mexico City, Mexico
1988: 18–22 August – ILIS European Regional Conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
1988: 2 October – Creation of ILIS Asia Subgroup, based in Amsterdam
December 1988 – March 1989: Creation of ILIS Latin America Subgroup, based in Amsterdam
1990: 18–22 January – ILIS Conference in
Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (conflicting sources as to this conference taking place)*
1990: 11–13 April – Second Latin American Conference in
Costa Rica
1990: 7–10 December – First Asian Lesbian Network (ALN) Conference in
Bangkok, Thailand
1991: 21–25 March – ILIS Conference in
Barcelona, Spain
1991: 28 August – First ILIS Zami Subgroup meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
1992: 3–5 May – Second ALN Conference in Tokyo, Japan
1992: 14–16 August – Third Latin American Conference in
Puerto Rico
1995: 11–15 August – Third ALN Conference in
Wulai, Taiwan
1995: 4–15 September – ILIS at UN World Conference on Women in
Beijing, China
Anderson, Shelley, Lesbian rights are human rights! Amsterdam: ILIS, 1995.
Blasius, Mark (2001), Sexual Identities, Queer Politics. Princeton: Princeton University Press
Compare EEIP report 1990. "HOSI Ausland EEIP Reports Regional konferenzen" with ILIS (misc.) Open Up pdf hardcopy *1058*. Both digitally available at IHLIA LGBT Heritage.*
http://www.ihlia.nl/
ILIS newsletters and minutes of meetings. Available at IHLIA LGBT Heritage.
Zimmerman, Bonnie (2012). Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia, Volume I. New York: Routledge.