March 26, 2026 · 4 min read

TGEU European and Central Asian Trans Council 2026

Join us for the 10th TGEU European and Central Asian Trans Council, taking place from 10–13 September, 2026 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, co-hosted by our members Legebitra and TransAkcija. Every two years, this landmark gathering brings together around 200 trans activists from across Europe and Central Asia to shape the direction of trans politics in the region while celebrating the strength, resilience, and diversity of our communities.

Transphoria: collectively resist and celebrate again and again

Our trans communities across Europe and Central Asia are facing increasing political attacks, repression, and attempts to roll back hard-won rights. At the same time, our communities continue to create spaces of joy, care, and resistance that sustain and strengthen our movement. In this context, the theme for this year’s TGEU Council – Transphoria: collectively resist and celebrate again and again – captures both the urgency of the current moment and the enduring strength of our communities.

This theme brings these realities together:

a call to collectively resist the backlash against trans rights through solidarity, shared strategies, and coordinated action
and a reminder to celebrate again and again the power, creativity, and resilience that define our communities

The Council will offer space to hold, to strategise, to connect, and to honour the collective energy that keeps our movement alive and moving forward.

Registration

Be part of this historic moment for our movement! Register for the 10th TGEU European and Central Asian Trans Council and join us in Ljubljana. The event will be held in English and Russian with interpretation and translation provided, and we will work to accommodate different individual accessibility needs gathered through the registration process.

Deadline for registration: Sunday, 9 August 2026.

Scholarships

We want all of our members to have the opportunity to be part of this important and celebratory gathering. TGEU will offer a limited number of scholarships for activists to attend.

Strong preference will be given to TGEU members (organisations and individual members) and to trans and queer people from under-represented groups and countries.

We especially encourage applications from trans people from further marginalised backgrounds, including Black people and people of colour, D/deaf and disabled people, people with a refugee or migration background, sex workers, trans women and gender non-conforming people, people living with HIV, and trans people from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Deadline for scholarship applications: Sunday, 26 April 2026

Apply for scholarship

Volunteer

Whether you’d like to help make the Council as accessible as possible, be a point of contact for participants through our Awareness team, or document and share what’s happening at the Council through video, photography and social media we’ve got a role for you. There are several teams to get involved in, which cover a wide range of skills.

We will waive the registration fees for volunteers. However, you will need to cover travel and accommodation costs.

Deadline to apply: Sunday, 9 August, 2026

Apply to volunteer

Contribute to the programme

To make the Council programme as inclusive and as representative of the movement as possible, we are inviting members to co-create the programme with us.

We welcome proposals from trans-led members of TGEU who want to bring their group’s knowledge and talents into the spotlight. If you would like to contribute to the Council’s programme and bring the theme to life, share your ideas with us via the form below. We especially encourage trans people from further marginalised backgrounds to submit proposals.

We will give priority to trans and queer activists from TGEU member organisations and underrepresented groups. If you aren’t a member yet, you can find out more information about how, and why you should join TGEU over on our ‘become a member’ page.

Deadline to apply: Sunday, 24 May 2026

Apply to programme

Perform or exhibit your artistic work

Attending the Council? Are you trans and an artist? Would you like to present your work to the community? We’re inviting all Council participants to submit a performance or exhibition proposal.

Feel free to be creative! Your proposals will be reviewed by TGEU’s Board and staff. The selection will consider the Council’s space, time, and budget capacity.

Deadline to apply: Sunday, 24 May 2026

Apply to perform or exhibit

Frequently Asked Questions

: While the Council is focussed on our members, we do welcome a limited number of activists who are not (yet) part of TGEU. You can still register for the Council, and simply let us know via the form.

We warmly encourage all participants to become members of TGEU. Being a TGEU member offers various benefits and opportunities, such as access to training, events, consultations and networking with groups from all over the region. Become a member
: The cost of registration for the Council is 420€. This fee includes access to all sessions and meals provided during the event.
: We have full and partial scholarships available for a limited number of participants.

Our Board will review all scholarship applications carefully according to multiple criteria and your application will be given serious consideration.

However, we anticipate that there will be more applications than the number of scholarships we can grant. Alternatively, you may want to consider applying to become a volunteer. While we aren’t able to cover the travel and accommodation costs for volunteers, we will waive your registration fees.
: We are planning on covering a wide range of needs: step-free venue, wheelchair accessible venue, and rooms, diverse dietary needs, a quiet room, an access team, live-captioning, and interpretation ENG<>RU.

In the registration form, you will be invited to share your access needs. We can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to accommodate them all, but will try our best to accommodate the needs indicated in this registration form. Please state your needs when required and we will clearly communicate the support we will be able to provide in advance so that you can organise your stay at the Council.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us via email. Our team, supported by a Disability Advisor, will be happy to listen to your needs and talk through any concerns or questions with you to help you attend as fully as possible.
: Yes, we will! TGEU will provide letters of invitation and support participants throughout the visa process. If you need a visa, please register for the Council by June at the latest. If you’re unsure about whether you need a visa to travel to Slovenia and in the Schengen Area, please check here.

Please keep in mind that it’s your responsibility to obtain a visa. You will receive a letter of invitation to the Council once your registration and payment have been processed.

For further information please contact: council@tgeu.org
: We’re currently working on a health precautions plan with key measures to protect participants. This plan will be shared with all participants and potential participants ahead of the Council.