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Meet the IGLYO Board: 18 Questions to Get Closer
Our IGLYO Board members answer 18 questions about the experiences, ideas, and moments that shape them — from their proudest achievements and self-care rituals to their favourite cities, icons, and strongly held opinions on pineapple pizza.
Through their answers, you’ll get a closer look at the queer youth leaders helping guide IGLYO’s work!
What is the single best piece of advice you have received in the last year?
Taj: Do not stress over things you cannot control.
Joh: Go out, be vulnerable, embrace the mess.
Eugé: Learning how to slow down.
Georgy: Accept that I can’t be consistently working at the top of my abilities, and sometimes I will indeed be underperforming.
Elle: You don’t have to say Yes to everything.
Marta: To be cringe is to be free
Alex: Start HRT!
Artemis: Sleep as much as you can!!
What do you enjoy most about being an IGLYO Board Member?
Taj: Seeing our network and members flourish, knowing I played a small part in making that a reality, especially in these times.
Joh: Spending time with all the other board members and getting to know all of you, queer youth activists around Europe.
Eugé: To be able to meet so many young queer activists from different contexts, it’s so energising to see how much we can do and how creative we can get.
Georg : seeing what can be done strategically to build the capacities of queer youth on the ground
Elle: I love being involved in queer governance, learning from the any smart and courageous youth activists in our network, and feeling empowered that we can build a different future together!
Marta: Getting to learn from queer youth activists from so many different countries and building something together
Alex: Truly representing what matters.
Artemis: Meeting amazing LGBTIQ+ young activists and changemakers.
What’s your favourite city in Europe and why?
Taj: London…do I need to say more???
Joh: Fell in love with Prishtina in Kosovo.
Eugé: Might be surprising, but Brussels. I have been living there for three years, and I love it so much that I want to become Belgian!
Georgy: Kaunas! On the surface, it’s pretty conservative and not diverse at all, but then you start diging, and find the most beautiful community of people caring and actively fighting for progressive politics.
Elle: Lisbon – perfect balance of mountains and beach, metropole and village.
Marta: Paris cause I feel I will never stop discovering new places and moods in that city.
Alex: Barcelona, it is so cunty / queer / hot!
Artemis: Brussels! So many things are happening; it is a very diverse and multicultural city!
Share one way how you practice self-care?
Taj: sitting in silence with neo-soul music and incense burning.
Joh: cooking for my friends.
Eugé: I try to do 10min of yoga every morning (the word trying is important in that sentence).
Georgy: basketball in my queer collective every Monday and Friday, nothing helps as well with putting a week to a close.
Elle Buying books.
Marta: Sending 10 mins audio to my best friend.
Alex: Overspending money on clothes.
Artemis: Walking with my dogs.
Name one underrated LGBTQ+ Icon and share why they’re iconic.
Taj TS Madison is iconic because she’s raw, unapologetic, and free.
Joh: Ebru Düzgün aka Ebow, Kurdish lesbian rapper, go listen to the song “Free.” She always finds the right words.
Eugé: George Sand, gender non-conforming feminist and bisexual novelist born in the 19th century showing that queer diversity has always existed throughout ages go check her work out!
Georgy: There are so many! But for me it would be Ymania Brown with her unreal ability to hold the room, be real, but also deliver time after time again.
Elle: Angela Davis, because she was already iconic long before we knew she was also queer.
Marta: Mariasilvia Spolato, one of Italy’s first openly lesbian activist.
Alex: Arca - because it’s time to call her mother from now.
Artemis: Stormé DeLarverie.
What is your most used emoji?
Taj: 💕
Joh: ❌
Eugé: 🥲💅
Georgy : 🐝
Elle: 🥰
Marta: 🙂↕️
Alex: 🧿
Artemis 🙂
Name a young queer activist or queer youth organization you think everyone should know.
Taj: Olivia Campbell-Cavendish.
Joh: Trans safety emergency fund - redistributing money to trans people in need around the globe.
Eugé : Kaos.
Georgy: Ajus Jurgaitis — I think an Eastern European perspective is a very helpful tool against imperialisms of today, and Ajus deals with it beautifully while also leading an amazing trans collective.
Elle: Omar Khaled Khatbi, a queer Palestinian activist and community organiser.
Marta: Any member of the IGLYO board 🤪
Alex: Gender Liberation Movement.
Artemis: ALO.
What’s one thing that surprised you about being on the IGLYO Board?
Taj: how much of a governance nerd I would become.
Joh: that we play games, even after the longest meetings.
Eugé: How well we have work as a group for almost a year, we have such a great team.
Georgy: that a bunch of queer folks with often very different opinions can work together to end up keeping big picture in mind while not forgetting about grassroots, too.
Elle: how difficult it is to hit the right balance between slow strategic manoeuvring and more radical pushes.
Marta: How much of the ideas arise from jokes and random moments between meetings.
Artemis: How coordinated and efficient we are.
If you could be a kitchen utensil, what would you be and why?
Taj: A maryse spatula, versatile, heat-resistant, and often in a cunty color.
Joh: A very sharp, durable knife to dice vegetables for lasagna.
Eugé: A nice bottle opener (limonadier).
Georgy: A looooong spoon that I use to make special hot drinks for my partner so they feel better.
Elle: A kettle; if you push the right button, it will turn me on and you’ll get hot, if you forget about me, it’s gonna cool down.
Marta: A skimmer.
Alex: Azeri Trash.
Artemis: A very BIG cup.
Share your proudest accomplishment from your time on the Board thus far (big or small).
Taj: Leading the development of IGLYO’s 2026-2030 strategic plan.
Joh: Facilitating online board meetings.
Eugé: Having worked with the lawyers on the motions and policies which we will be presenting at the AMC.
Georgy: Preparing the transition for our finance team (it’s all the secretariat’s achievement tho!).
Elle: Balancing governance and external representation, AMC prep and fun!
Marta: Having had the chance to connect with other networks and their members, sometimes very different from us.
Alex: Trans Health advocacy at the WHO!
Artemis: Working with fellow board members in the Membership WG.
Does pineapple belong on pizza? Why or why not?
Taj: Yes, very much tropical vibes.
Joh: I don't care, as long as I don't have to eat it.
Eugé: I am not judging, but no.
Georgy: I can’t say it better than Marta already has.
Elle: Yes, bread with tomato, cheese, and pineapple- what’s wrong with that?
Marta: Yes cause it makes Italian nationalists mad.
Alex: That’s cringe.
Artemis: That’s fine.
Share one personal goal you want to accomplish in the next year.
Taj: Have more time for enjoyment and rest.
Joh: Shoot one roll of film per month.
Eugé: Find a PhD to be able to research more on LGBTQI rights issues in Europe.
Georgy: Strike the right balance between my family and my work, and my passion.
,Elle: Read more.
Marta: To reduce my screen time.
Alex: Have my back hair 2x longer.
Artemis: Start a new initiative on LGBTIQ+ issues globally.
What is one thing you wish more people knew about IGLYO?
Taj: That IGLYO is a rare example of a truly queer youth-led organization, with our board being all queer, and our secretariat being mostly queer youth
Joh: Tbh, how incredible our Member Organisations are!
Eugé: That we have a lot of cool underfunded grassroots organisations that deserve more funding.
Georgy: With all due respect, that it’s not just another international NGO, and anyone from queer youth can become a change in what and how we do — which, admittedly, can be both for the bad and for the good.
Elle: That queer youth leads the way, including on the European level.
Marta: That IGLYO is not just an organisation advocating for queer youth, it is a space where young queer people actually get to shape the agenda
Alex: That we have the best visual identity which is not pretty common anywhere
Artemis: That most of the members are doing such amazing work as young activists and leaders without or with very small resources!
What is your favourite meme?
Taj:
Joh:
Eugé:
Georgy:
Don’t wanna see trans people? Just get rid of your eyes then.
And a milder version if we don’t want harsh language:
Are you a girl or a boy? - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Elle:
Marta:
Alex:
Artemis: I love this doggy
What’s a book, film, TV show, or podcast that has had a lasting impact on you in the last year?
Taj: I Love Boosters (a film by Boots Riley).
Joh: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado.
Eugé: The straight mind by Monique Wittig.
Georgy: “Hacks”! First, I enjoy seeing well-written friendships between people of different generations, and then I just love how many queer icons there are.
Elle: Twin Peaks.
Marta : Fleabag.
Alex: Squid Game.
Artemis: A book called “Shakar”.
If IGLYO had a suer power, what would it be and why?
Taj: Dear I say immortality; IGLYO is forever young.
Joh: Fundraise all the money we need without having to do the reporting.
Eugé: Invisibility to any type of attacks.
Georgy: Out-of-this-world relationship-building.
Elle: Steal money from the rich and give it to trans kids.
Marta: Ubiquity.
Alex: Seeing beyond the visible.
Artemis: Immortality.
What have you learned about yourself since being a board member?
Taj : I learned that I can actually be a good leader in a group dynamic.
Joh : sometimes all the english i have in me just leaves instantly and suddenly and i can’t form a proper sentence
Eugé : That I can be a very organised secretary lol but also that I like governance
Georgy : that my opinion, experience, and effort can be worthwhile for many others… somehow
Elle : that I love being around people that are inspiring queer youth leaders
Marta : That sometimes it is okay to take a step back and let info sink in before handling a difficult situation
Alex : That i can be the youngest in the whole team
Artemis : Love to being young people from different countries and cultures
Share one essential item you always carry in your bag to board meetings.
Taj: Strong mints or candies to keep my breath fresh, my sugar levels regulated, and my brain alert.
Joh: Usually my crochet things and essential oils for my pillow.
Eugé: A lesbian book and a carabiner (unrelated to whether I am going to a board meeting or not).
Georgy: My keychain (flat, mailbox, storage room, bike all in one place) on a Milchjugend carabiner
Elle: Early Grey (from Tesco).
Marta: The IGLYO T-shirt and my lip balm.
Alex: Lip oil.
Artemis: Small TinTin Statue.