Present and Powerful Global Trans Conference 2027 takes place in Panamá City from 15-17 September 2027.
Who can apply?
All applicants, whether self-paying or scholarship, will go through a selection process. This is to ensure a demographic and geographic balance among attendees and ensure a truly global experience for all.
Scholarship Applicants
GATE and ITF have secured funding for a limited number of scholarships for activists to attend the Conference. Unfortunately, due to limited funding, not everyone who applies will be granted a scholarship.
Scholarship applications are limited to:
- GATE members
- ITF current or previous grantees
Self-Paying Applicants
The cost for self-paying is US$1,350, which includes the cost of registration, accommodation, food and ground transportation, but excludes flights, which you will need to book yourself. Self-paying applicants will only be requested to pay after the application process has been finalized and their registration has been confirmed. Due to limited space, not every self-paying applicant may be approved for registration.
Self-paying applications are open to:
- Donors
- Trans and gender diverse participants (you do not need to be a GATE member or ITF grantee)
Abstract Proposal Submissions
All applicants are welcome to submit an abstract proposal for inclusion in the conference programming; however, it is not required as part of the application process. Applying to attend the conference without submitting an abstract will not negatively affect your application.
We particularly welcome abstracts that move beyond merely describing problems to identifying strategies, solutions, practices, and commitments. Submitting a proposal does not automatically guarantee that your application will be approved.
We are looking for proposals that adhere to the following guidelines:
- Be clearly connected to a conference track and respond to the current global context. See Conference Tracks.
- Offer practical learning, strategic reflection, or movement-building value
- Center trans and gender diverse leadership and lived experience
- Reflect intersectional analysis and attention to power, safety, access, and inclusion
- Contribute to collective strategy, solidarity, and coordinated action
- Bring forward underrepresented perspectives, regions, or issues
- Offer concrete tools, lessons, models, or recommendations that participants can adapt in their own contexts
Abstracts will be reviewed based on the following selection criteria:
- Topic relevance to the Conference goals and tracks 30%
- Strength of evidence & methodology 30%
- Community involvement and intersectionality 20%
- Clarity of results & conclusions 20%
Note: Applicants are NOT required to submit an abstract proposal.
Writing an abstract proposal
While we are unable to support you in writing your abstract proposal, you can take GATE’s learning series, From Data to Evidence, which will guide you through transforming lived experiences, community-led monitoring, and programmatic work into abstracts.
AI Use
Applicants must disclose if AI was used. This will not negatively affect the review but will support transparency. Applicants may choose to use AI in the following ways:
- To support brainstorming, translation, editing, or improving clarity, as long as the proposal reflects the applicant’s own ideas, experience, and community knowledge.
Conference Tracks
Track A: Human Rights in Times of Anti-Gender Opposition and Democratic Backsliding
Focused on the political, legal, and social conditions affecting trans and gender diverse movements by examining strategies to respond to anti-rights attacks and build collective power, session topics will include:
- Analyzing anti-gender opposition tactics, democratic backsliding and shrinking civil space
- Best practices and innovative ideas for responding to anti-gender opposition
- Strategically navigating global, regional and national spaces
- Using narrative change to advance trans rights
Track B: Resourcing Equality Movements and Agendas
Focused on how trans and gender diverse movements can be sustained, resourced, protected, and strengthened in a time of funding decline and increasing political pressure, session topics will include:
- Human resources – governance & staff leadership and capabilities building
- Safety, security, well-being and sustainability of movements
- Innovative resource mobilization
- Collaboration: cross-movement and intra-movement collaboration
Track C: Right to Health and Well-Being
Focused on the health, safety, dignity, and collective well-being of trans and gender diverse people and movements, session topics will include:
- HIV care for trans people
- Defending the right to health and gender-affirming care
- Community-led health models, research, and accountability
- Long-acting modalities in HIV prevention and care
Key Dates
Applications for scholarship and self-paying delegates, along with submission of abstracts for inclusion in the conference, will open on 1 September 2026 and close on 30 September 2026.
We will endeavor to respond to successful applicants by the end of 2026.