The ILGA & ILIS History Collection – a photographic record of international lesbian and gay campaigning from 1978 to the 1990s.

1978 saw the birth of the post-Stonewall international gay rights movement. Some 30 individuals, from nine countries and 17 organisations, meeting in Coventry in the margins of the annual conference of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, agreed to set up the International Gay Association. Now named the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), it has more than 2000 member organisations from 170 countries.

The ILGA & ILIS History Collection documents the early years of this development both for ILGA and for the International Lesbian Information Service. ILIS was founded within ILGA but became an independent organisation in 1981. It continued to operate until 1996.

The Collection consists of more than 2000 photographs contributed by 80 former activists. These are displayed in 60 albums documenting particular events or themes. However, it is much more than a photographic record. Individual photographs are supported by contextual information, including contemporary ILGA and ILIS documentation, reports by the lesbian and gay media, and, where possible, details of the contributions of the individuals featured. The Collection is further supported by links to histories of ILGA and ILIS, short biographies of some 110 activists from around the world, and links to other background information. It provides the first comprehensive account of the early years of the post-Stonewall international movement.

The Collection has been assembled by Nigel Warner, supported by input from ILGA and ILIS activists from many different countries. Nigel was involved in ILGA from its early years and oversaw its finances from 1987 to 1994. He also served in ILGA-Europe, as board member and treasurer from 2000 to 2005 and as representative at the Council of Europe from 1998 to 2018.

The Collection is displayed at the ILGA & ILIS History Collection.