Queer ESEA Voices in Activism

Our incredible speakers will talk about their work, share their lived experiences and discuss how to actively include LGBT+ ESEA people within activism and social change work. There will be opportunities to ask the speakers questions as part of the discussion panel towards the end of the event.

The event celebrates East and South East Asian Heritage Month and is in line with the theme for UK LGBT+ History Month, "Activism and Social Change”, which highlights LGBT+ activists and changemakers. And it is part of Schools OUT 2025-2026 OUTreach series to 'visibilise' LGBT+ people in all our diversity and share LGBT+ History.

East and South East Asian Heritage Month

Every September, besea.n invites you to enjoy a month-long, collaborative programme of events, dedicated to East and South East Asian heritage, culture, history and everything in between. It’s a chance to celebrate, acknowledge and learn about the incredible ways in which our communities have helped shape the UK.

UK LGBT+ History Month

UK LGBT+ History Month is celebrated every February across the UK and was founded in 2004 by Schools OUT UK. First celebrated in February 2005 it is a dedicated space to celebrate the LGBT+ communities rich and diverse history, herstory, theirstory. In 2025 Schools OUT are celebrating 50 years and 20 years of UK LGBT+ History Month.

Please note that this event will not be recorded and we have a code of conduct for this event. For those who have registered, you will be sent an email reminder with the link to access the Zoom meeting at 9am and 5.30pm (BST) on Wednesday 17th September.

Any enquiries about this event can be sent to projects@schoolsoutuk.org.

Speakers

Eva Echo (she/they)

Eva Echo is a distinguished activist, writer, and TEDx speaker, focusing on transgender rights, intersectionality, and mental health. Known for her compelling storytelling and insightful perspectives, Eva has become a powerful voice within the LGBTQIA+ community. One of Eva’s most significant achievements was her legal challenge against NHS England, addressing unlawful waiting times for trans patients. While the case was ultimately unsuccessful at the High Court and Court of Appeal, Eva and her fellow claimants successfully argued that children have the ‘protected characteristic’ of gender reassignment under the Equality Act. This landmark ruling broadened the number of trans people who benefit from legal protection against discrimination. Eva is also a Director of Innovation at Birmingham Pride, a Director at Trans in the City—the world’s largest organisation for trans and non-binary people in business—and an ambassador for two UK charities: Diversity Role Models, which seeks to embed inclusion and empathy in the next generation, and Queer Britain, the UK’s first and only LGBTQ+ museum.

Rogelio Braga (they/them)

Rogelio Braga is a trans-nonbinary (baklâ) exiled playwright, novelist, academic, and human rights activist from the Philippines. Their works have been performed and read in venues such as the Soho Theatre, National Theatre Studio, Royal Court Theatre, Mercury Theatre in Colchester, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila. Rogelio's leadership as the former co-chairperson of Status Now Network, which comprises nearly 130 organisations across the UK and Ireland, has been instrumental in advocating for the regularisation of all undocumented migrants in the UK and those still in the system. Over the past seven years, they have dedicated their time and expertise to organisations such as Kanlungan Filipino Consortium, Migrant Voice, Southeast and East Asian Community Centre, Freedom from Torture, and the United Domestic Workers Association (formerly the Filipino Domestic Workers Association). As a refugee living in the UK under the Convention, they continue contributing to the discourse on human rights, freedom of expression, and migration through community organising, research, and activism as an extension of their creative and academic endeavours. Rogelio is currently one of the Board of Trustees of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI).

Si Long Chan (they/them)

Dr Si Long Chan is a Hong Kong born co-organiser at East and Southeast Asians North East (@esa.ne_). ESA.NE is a trans and intersex led community-network with a queer politics that centres QTIBAIPOC+ community care and activism. Si Long has been involved in protests, actions, legal support, fundraising, advocacy, community research, and organised QTI Pride in Newcastle upon Tyne. They will talk about working with ESA.NE, homelessness, and creative activism, linking this to broader challenges for anti-violence and anti-oppression.

This evening will be chaired by Sarah Cosgriff (she/they) who is a project worker for Schools OUT, asexual activist and proud Filipino.