Ten years ago, on July 15th 2010 to be precise, was born what we know today as the first queer feminist organization in Francophone West Africa and Cameroon, with the ambition to establish an extensive support network to promote the wellbeing and safety of LGBTQ people. What can we say, we have come a long way!

In 2010, concerned with the situation of LBQWSW populations within the mixed social movements of the time and aware of the many opportunities that the digital world could offer, Mariam Armisen embarked on an ambitious project: creating the first virtual LGBTQ network in West Africa led by lesbians, queer, trans* and non-binary people. QAYN, originally known as the Queer African Youth Networking Center, was conceived as a virtual platform specialized in information sharing, networking, exchange and the creation of a virtual community of LGBTQ activists.

A year after its creation, and despite a strong virtual presence through its website and social media networks, QAYN, realizing that internet access could hinder its community-building mission, undertook to reduce the physical distance with its communities. QAYN thus began its community engagement work by traveling across the region and getting closer to LGBTQ communities. On the ground, this took the form of discussion forums with communities, collecting essential data on the experiences of individuals in different countries, and participating in advocacy and learning spaces at national, regional and international levels.

10 years later, despite numerous challenges, but more importantly thanks to the knowledge gained along the way, the support of our partners, friends and allies, and the strength and determination of LGBTQ activists in the region, we are able to look back on our journey with pride. To date, one of our proudest achievements is our contribution to the emergence of a Francophone LGBTQ movement in West Africa and Cameroon in which lesbians, queer, trans* and non-binary people are present and making their voices heard. After mobilizing and supporting several activists over the past few years, we are now witnessing the emergence, and increasingly, the empowerment of LBTQ groups in several countries in the region. This journey was not always smooth, but QAYN has managed to learn and grow alongside these activists; QAYN was able to adapt to the different changes in context and the evolution of the needs of the movement over the years, to become the institution we know today. It is this openness to dialogue and learning that inspired the Activist School and our participation in the establishment of ISDAO, the first LGBTQ Activist Fund in West Africa. These initiatives, which are innovations in the African LGBTQ movement, aim to address the needs for funding and capacity strengthening of the emerging activist community in our region.

Over the past few years, QAYN has also distinguished itself by its commitment to knowledge production by and for LGBTQ Africans, through various studies and publications on the experiences of LGBTQ people, and the launch of Qzine, the first bilingual queer art and culture magazine in the region.

In retrospect, our past is encouraging, but we know that the best is yet to come. Our aspirations for the future are many but can be summed up in three words: autonomy, maturation, change. In line with our movement-building mission, we aspire to the emergence of a greater number of organizations working for the LGBTQ cause, in more countries in the region. Our hope is that one by one, these different organizations will become increasingly autonomous and take ownership of the advocacy spaces in their respective countries so as to better serve their communities. We also hope that the LGBTQ movement in Francophone West Africa and Cameroon will reach a level of maturity that will no longer be characterized solely by the number of existing organizations, but also by the specialization of LGBTQ groups and/or individuals in various social fields (art, health, politics, economics, finance, academia, etc.) so as to contribute to the solidification of the movement and, ultimately, lead to a positive change of mentality towards our communities in the long run.

While we await these important changes, we would like to use this special day for QAYN to express our gratitude to all those whose hard work, courage, determination, energy, hope and love have guided and nourished us along this journey. Happy Birthday to the entire QAYN family, from Dakar to Yaoundé, all the way through Ouaga and Lomé, and across the Atlantic! The progress we are witnessing today within the francophone LGBTQ movement, however small it may seem, means so much to us. Today more than ever, we are determined to continue our mission. There is still a long way to go and the challenges that lie ahead are considerable. However, the strength and energy that drives us today are unmatched!