Pride Month: Visakhapatnam-based Nestam begins celebrations with a host of events

Celebrate Pride Month with Nestam in Visakhapatnam, promoting equality, awareness, and unity for LGBTQIA+ community and allies.

June is a reminder of the struggle for equality, celebrating diverse identities and promoting acceptance and love. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies worldwide get together to celebrate a month of reflection, advocacy and unity. This Pride month, Nestam, Visakhapatnam’s only LGBTQIA+ support group, is organising a three-day celebration with a host of events. Pride month is celebrated across the world every year in June to raise awareness and promote equal rights for the LGBTQ community.

In a bid to foster a more inclusive society, Nestam is collaborating with various local organisations, businesses and educational institutions. “We have celebrations for Pride Month every year. This year, we organised a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training session in collaboration with JCI Vizag Incredibles at Hawa Mahal. We’ve been invited to a couple of schools for an awareness session on the June 25 and 26,” says Hayathi, co-founder of Nestam. 

The NGO holds events throughout the year. Every week an Instagram live session is held in collaboration with Rang Foundation where talks on queer issues such as queer disability, neuro divergence within the queer community are held. By providing a platform of learning and discussion, Nestam aims to empower individuals with knowledge and resources.

As part of this year’s celebrations, games, queer-produced film screenings, stalls set up by small and local businesses, open mics and storytelling events will be organised. On June 28, games will be held at YMCA from 7.30am to 10am. On June 29, a pot luck lunch and film screening will be held at VMRDA Park. Open mic, dance and drag show will be held on the concluding day on June 30 at Alluri Seetharamaraju Vignana Kendram.

As Nestam’s Pride Month celebrations continue to grow in scale and impact, the group remains steadfast in its mission to create a society for every one to live with diginity and pride. “Our goal is to draw attention to the issues faced by the LGBTQIA+ community in the city; but more importantly, to let other queer folk know that they have a safe space when and if they ever need communal support,” says Hayathi and adds: “We hope this event acts as a catalyst to bring allies in to support us, and to allow queer folk to celebrate together in a safe space. We also hope that this event encourages others to be inclusive and accepting of community members.

On from June 28 to 30. Events during the first two days are free and open for all. To participate on day three, prior registration is required. To register, visit Nestam’s Instagram page.