My first talk was with Elle Llewellyn of the organisation YouYou, which is a welfare organisation committed to helping members of the LGBTQ+ community that have been ostracised or left behind by heteronormative/religious institutions.

The focus of this talk, being my very first engagement, was to help create a foundation for my understanding of the troubles and worries faced by the LGBTQ+ community here in Singapore, and how organisations are working in the national structure as determined by legislation in order to create a safe space for members of the community as well as potentially practice advocacy work.

Elle declared at the very start of our meeting that the purpose of getting involved in the active LGBTQ+ community was to seek out to “increase the inclusiveness of queer people who want to be religious/spiritual”. A common trend I found in our discussion was a conflicting between culture, religion, tradition and one’s desire to be openly part of the LGBTQ+ community. Therefore, I learned that plenty of organisations here in Singapore such as YouYou seek to fight the stigma surrounding the idea that one cannot be religious as well as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Another thing I learned that was very useful to know was that organisations here in Singapore tend to be much more about providing welfare support rather than performing active advocacy work. Elle believes attitudes will change in the tide of globalisation, with the cross-exchange of values and beliefs in our world.