InterPride

History

InterPride was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Texas in the 1980s. The organization was originally known as the National Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators (NAL/GPC), before changing the name to International Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators (IAL/GPC) in October 1985, the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Coordinators at the conference in West Hollywood, California, and eventually to InterPride in the late 1990s.

Formation of InterPride

In April 1981, Pride Coordinators Rick Turner and Marsha H. Levine, from San Francisco and Boston respectively, met at the "call to unite" – a gay and lesbian leadership conference in Los Angeles, and the start of an organization then known as NOLAG (National Organization of Lesbians and Gays). While discussing common issues that their individual pride organizations faced, and remarking that their connections with the New York Pride and Los Angeles Pride committees were helpful for problem-solving, Rick and Marsha felt this trading of information was important and could develop into a potential network.

More than a year later in August 1982, Levine sent out a call for the First Annual Conference of the National Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators (NAL/GPC), to meet in Boston. Rick Turner, now deceased, declined joining in establishing the organization, due to his declining health. With the aid of San Diego Pride Committee and chairperson Doug Moore, who had been collecting a list of national pride organizations, and with small donations from the Los Angeles and Boston Pride Committees, the mailing list from Moore was used to distribute a self-mailing registration form designed and produced by Levine. Though many committees expressed an interest in attending, most didn’t have the funds to send delegates at that time.

On October 9, 1982, in the Hill House on Beacon Hill, members from the Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco Pride committees gathered in response to Levine's mailing. Three long tables were pushed together to make a triangular seating area. For two days many topics concerning coordinating LGBT prides was discussed, and while each city had different events, they discovered much of the planning and logistics was surprisingly similar. They voted to hold a second conference in San Diego the next year.

The 16 people in attendance at that first gathering were:

Membership

The organization's membership comprises more than 160 LGBT pride organizations with representation from more than 35 countries in 162 cities. Member prides include:

Activities

InterPride's programs and activities are geared towards networking, education, and mentoring.

Conferences

During the last 29 years, pride organizations from almost every continent have participated in InterPride's annual world conference.

The conference is held each year in a different city, with the location of upcoming conferences being voted on two years prior to their occurrence. To demonstrate a commitment to support and empower the global LGBT Pride community, the conference is now frequently held outside North America, with scholarships available for member organizations that cannot afford to attend through the Pamela O'Brien Memorial Scholarship Fund. O'Brien was a longtime member of Cape Cod Pride in Massachusetts, USA and served InterPride as a Regional Director and Vice President of Operations.

In addition, several of the regions into which InterPride is divided hold their own conferences independent of the worldwide conference.

WorldPride

WorldPride is a title awarded by InterPride to local prides that seek the title to promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues on an international level through parades, festivals and other cultural activities. WorldPrides are held at least two years apart.