2005 Utopia Awards for Gay and Lesbian Pioneers in Asia Announced
The recipients of Asia's leading gay human rights commendations, the
6th Annual Utopia Awards, have been announced for 2005.
Bangkok, December 28, 2005 -- For 6 years the annual Utopia Awards,
Asia's leading gay human rights commendations, have been recognizing
individuals and organizations that have contributed to improving the
quality of life for the gay, lesbian, and transgendered communities in Asia.
Previous honorees have included Thai Senator Jon Ungpakorn; Taiwan
lesbian activist, Wang Ping; Hong Kong gay activist Chung To;
Singaporean gay activist Alex Au; transgender Thai kick boxer,
Parinya Jaroenphon; Nepal's Blue Diamond Society; Malaysia's PT
Foundation; Indonesian gay activist Dede Oetomo; and ProGay of the Philippines.
Two outstanding individuals have been selected for the honor in 2005:
The first Utopia Award for 2005 recognizes Rosanna Flamer-Caldera who
has made a significant impact in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
intersex and queer advocacy in Sri Lanka, the Asian region, and
internationally.
Rosanna, as an open lesbian and founding member of
Women's Support Group (1999) and Equal Ground (2004), has championed
homosexual issues in the general public through TV, radio and print
media, challenging the human rights community to expand their scope
to include LGBT concerns. In her capacity as the International
Lesbian and Gay Association representative for Asian females, Rosanna
was also instrumental in organizing the ILGA-Asia Regional Conference
in Mumbai, India (2002).
The second Utopia Award for 2005 honors Dr Peter Jackson for his
landmark publications and his contributions towards the development
of queer studies in the region. A Fellow in Thai History in the
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian
National University in Canberra, Dr Jackson specializes in the
cultural history of modern Thailand.
As an author or co-editor his books have included such titles as "Lady Boys, Tom Boys, Rent Boys:
Male and Female Homosexualities in Contemporary Thailand" and "Gay
and Lesbian Asia: Identity, Community, Culture". In 2001 he
co-founded AsiaPacifiQueer, an Australia-based network of scholars
researching homosexuality and transgenderism. He was also
instrumental in organizing the world's first International Conference
of Asian Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Studies in Bangkok in July, 2005.
Utopia Awards are presented each year to men and women whose
pioneering work and lives have forwarded the cause of dignity and a
better life for members of the region's gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and
transgendered communities.
Utopia was founded in 1994 with the goal of providing positive social
alternatives for Asia's gays and lesbians. The Utopia-Asia.com
website, the Internet's most respected resource for gay and lesbian
Asia, is celebrating 10 years of community service, from its online
debut on Dec 13, 1995. Utopia also publishes landmark printed
guidebooks to gay life in the region, including the Utopia Guide to
45 cities in China, and major cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia,
Laos and Myanmar.
For more information on past Utopia Award winners, please see
http://www.utopia-asia.com/spec/awards05.htm
For more information about Utopia, please see
http://www.utopia-asia.com/utopiais.htm
2003 UTOPIA AWARDS - FULL CITATIONS
Following are the full texts of the award citations:
Our first Utopia Award for 2005 recognizes Rosanna Flamer-Caldera who
has made a significant impact in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
intersex and queer advocacy in Sri Lanka, the Asian region, and
internationally. A founding member of Women's Support Group (1999),
the only LBT organization in Sri Lanka and Equal Ground (2004), a
mixed LGBTIQ organization in Sri Lanka, Rosanna helped pave the way
for LGBTIQ rights in the island nation. As an open lesbian she has
championed LGBTIQ issues in the general public through TV, radio and
print media, challenging the human rights community to expand their
scope to include LGBTIQ issues. Rosanna's co-authorship of "Human,
Right?", launched her efforts towards achieving an equitable status
for all sexual orientations and gender identities through the human
rights framework. In her capacity as the International Lesbian and
Gay Association representative for Asian females, Rosanna was
instrumental in organizing the ILGA-Asia Regional Conference in
Mumbai, India (2002). She has expanded her commitment to defending
LGBTIQ persons around the globe when elected Co-Secretary General of
ILGA in 2003, a post she continues to hold.
Our second Utopia Award for 2005 goes to Dr Peter Jackson for his
landmark publications and his contributions towards the development
of queer studies in the region. A Fellow in Thai History in the
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian
National University in Canberra, Dr Jackson specializes in the
cultural history of modern Thailand and his main research interests
are the histories of Buddhism, gender, sexuality, capitalism and
globalization. As an author or co-editor his books have included such
titles as "Dear Uncle Go: Male Homosexuality in Thailand", "Genders
and Sexualities in Modern Thailand", "Multicultural Queer: Australian
Narratives", "Lady Boys, Tom Boys, Rent Boys: Male and Female
Homosexualities in Contemporary Thailand" and "Gay and Lesbian Asia:
Identity, Community, Culture". In 2001 he co-founded AsiaPacifiQueer,
an Australia-based network of scholars researching homosexuality and
transgenderism in Asia. He was also instrumental in organizing the
world's first International Conference of Asian Gay, Lesbian and
Transgender Studies in Bangkok in July, 2005, the largest gathering
to date of scholars, human rights activists, artists and film makers
involved in researching and documenting Asian gay, lesbian, and
transgender cultures.
