Kamran Azizli is a young grassroots activist from Azerbaijan. He has been actively involved in LGBTIQ+ activism since 2018 and has implemented several queer projects in Azerbaijan until now. He has worked within the several regional groups working with LGBTQ issues, including co-coordinator of the Gender Working Group by Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe and co-coordinator of the Queer BAN working group within the Bosch Alumni Network. In 2021, he established the Q Collective initiative to strengthen LGBTIQ+ community building and capacity building within the community. He is interested in project management, gender issues, and economics. 

IVLP Impact Award Project: Queer Academy

The Queer Academy trained 10 young LGBTQ+ individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 years old to become local LGBTQ+ community advocates and activists in Baku, Azerbaijan. After training, the participants organized 20 workshops with over 150 participants on how to mobilize the LGBTQ+ community.

The project had 3 main components: Firstly, the project team organized information sessions about civic activism, gender issues, and wellbeing to increase the general awareness. Secondly, the main training course prepared participants to plan, organize and moderate community meetings and group discussions. Thirdly, trained participants were given the space to practice the learned knowledge and competencies.

Kamran’s project generated an organic support group within the physical and online space where participants opened their home to those in need and helped others find a community. The project created an opening for queer leaders to emerge from the community and contribute to LGBTQ+ visibility and representation in Azerbaijani civil society.

"These community meetings, even once a week, are of great help for people from the LGBTQ+ community to express themselves because they can't find this kind of safe, inclusive, and political environment in any other organization or setting." - Project Participant

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Kamran was a participant in the IVLP Project LGBTQI+ Civil Society Organizations Operating in Challenging Environments in 2021, organized by the U.S. Department of State and Meridian International Center.

His exchange experience led to the development of his IVLP Impact Award Project: "The IVLP program helped to improve my skills and knowledge, supported me explore the possible community solution from other foreign experiences, and contributed to the implementation of the local project for new queer activists."

U.S. Communities Visited Virtually

San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC; New York City, NY; Rapid City, SD

Country: Azerbaijan

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