tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40638846047243182632011-07-07T15:35:46.653-07:00National LGBT Tobacco Control Networkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16540542114328173459noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063884604724318263.post-71033262271799027342009-07-27T09:07:00.000-07:002009-07-27T09:27:39.157-07:00I am preparing myself to attend the LGBTI Health Summit in Chicago for August 14-18, 2009 representing the Latino and LGBT Tobacco Control Networks with a small contingency of other tobacco advocates. I know I am entering into a relatively new practice for myself as I will be blogging and using Twitter from the Summit as a means of providing some insights into the gathering. I had the privilege of working with Eric Rofes, Mark Beyer, Matt Brown, Chris Bartlett, Scott Pegues, and David Acosta in organizing the Gay Men's Health Summits in Boulder. We left Boulder bolder with a movement that was to be multi-issue, multicultural, and synergistic in the development of regional summits and the first LGBTI Health Summit two years later.<br /><br />I have many great memories of organizing the pool party, several caucuses, and leadership institutes where men and women could have some fun celebrating their collected intelligence and advocacy efforts, while organizing a call for an inclusive movement that focused on the assets that GBT men could nurture to move the focus from HIV/AIDS risks to a holistic understanding of health. The provocative questions that Eric Rofes posed at the second Summit about defining a healthy gay man resonated with many at the conference as we understood the need for a model for care and wellness that was not restricted to metrics of health perfection. Eric commented that a gay and bisexual man could be healthy and still have a stomach to boast (yeah bears!); lapse in workout routines; and on occasion nibble on a burger. <br /><br />While some of the contemporary "hot" issues were covered in the agenda of the early Summits (i.e. barebacking, body image, public sex, and racism), the programs included topics which might have been unexpected: masculinity, tobacco use, sexual dysfunction, and ways in which cyberspace was changing gay identities, social patterns, and subcultures. We also had many sessions focused on grassroots activism, political lobbying, and media advocacy. The LGBTI Health Summit in Chicago will undoubtedly have the same health menu but with some hopeful changes from the gatherings in the past.<br /><br />I expect to see new younger faces at the LGBTI Health Summit in Chicago. I expect to see more diversity at the LGBTI Health Summit in Chicago. I hope to see a new sense of activist energy as we have entered an era of Obama-ism that has moved beyond hope to a demand for realistic change and accountability. <em>Espero ver mis hermanos y hermanas Latinos/as con una voz unida y visible.</em><br /><br />While I will be entering my insights from the perspective of a tobacco advocate I will also be commenting on the movement as a whole with <em>un poquito de espanol para incluir toda nuestra</em> <em>gente.</em> How do I create an accent mark on Twitter? Or shall I say how can my accent be left on Twitter?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4063884604724318263-7103326227179902734?l=velazquezlgbtisummit09.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>National LGBT Tobacco Control Networkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16540542114328173459noreply@blogger.com4