NEW YORK, January 23, 2009 – Helem, the first organisation in the Arab world to set up a gay and lesbian community centre, has won this year’s Felipa de Souza Award, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) announced today.

The International Conference of the 1st Montreal OutGames that took place between July 26-29, 2006, drawing over 2,000 LGBT activists and organizations from around the world, had invited Helem to take part in a keynote address for the plenary session entitled "Focus on Africa and the Arab World". Unfortunately, due to the Israeli siege and bombardment of Lebanon, the Helem member scheduled to speak at the plenary was unable to attend. Instead, she sent a short video message to be screened during her alloted time.

Despite the difficulties Helem encountered during the organization of the Beirut International Marathon, we emerged with an award for “Most Creative Refreshment Stand’ at the Awards and Prizes Ceremony for the Blom Bank Beirut International Marathon held on January 18, 2006 at the Monroe Hotel.

Large banners held the slogan “No to Racism, No to Discrimination, No to Homophobia” against the backdrop of a massive rainbow flag. We would like to thank all the wonderful people who took part to make this event a success.