This Saturday, LGBT+ activists from the Liberal Democrats will be getting together in Manchester for the annual Summer Conference. The organisation's twice-yearly conferences set the campaigning and policy agenda for the organisation, and form an important part of its governence along with the Annual General Meeting.

Speaking ahead of the 30th anniversary of Section 28 which prevented schools from promoting homosexuality, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Layla Moran has called on the Government to make Sex and Relationships Education fully LGBT+ inclusive.

Earlier this week Welsh Liberal Democrat Education Secretary Kirsty Williams announced that all schools in Wales will teach a new sex and relationships curriculum which will include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex topics, as well as issues of sexual consent and prevention of violence against women.

Layla said: "In coalition Government in Wales, Liberal Democrats have made sure that sex education is fit for purpose in the modern age. Teachers will be given the proper training to provide high quality education about healthy relationships, sexuality, gender, consent and abuse which covers all gender identities and sexual orientations.

Ahead of a Senedd statement on International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have urged Wales to build on recent progress in LGBT rights and fight for safety, equality and freedom for LGBT people across the globe.

There is no doubt that the past few years have seen great strides in LGBT rights in the UK and across the world, but there is far more that needs to be done to create a world where every LGBT person can live safely, equally and freely.

LGBT+ Lib Dems' Secretary, Andrew Brown, has written for Liberal Democrat Voice:

On this day in 1990, the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of 'mental disorders'. Since 2004 the anniversary of this has been used to promote awareness of the legal and cultural discrimination LGBT+ people still experience around the world.

Responding to comments by the BMA's Welsh General Practitioners Committee that a full Gender Identity Clinic service is unlikely to be made available in Wales, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have called for an urgent assessment on progress on the establishment of Wales' first Gender Identity Clinic.

The BMA have claimed transgender people are being let down by an unacceptable lack of progress towards the establishment of a Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) in Wales and that they have no confidence in a proper service being provided.

All members of LGBT+ Lib Dems are invited to our Winter Strategy Conference in London this Saturday.

Our Winter Strategy Conference is one of two occasions during the year where we can get together to discuss the issues that most affect LGBT+ people, and how we campaign on these. (The other is the Summer Conference, normally held in Manchester).

Unfortunately LD HQ is not available on the chosen date this year, so we will be meeting in the Poetry Cafe at the Poetry Society. The venue is in a basement, but does have a lift. Tea and Coffee will be provided, and there will be a break for lunch.

If you have any suggestions of topics, issues, or campaigns you want to have included in the day's discussions please get in touch on secretary@plusld.org.uk

After the Conference, members are cordial invited to join us at our Winter Soiree just a short stroll away in the Cellar Bar. Party member Paul Kohler has graciously offered us the use of his bar until 8pm and 20% off drinks!

Sadly we regret that the Cellar Door, being a basement venue, has no step-free access.

The latest edition of Plus, the magazine for members of LGBT+ Lib Dems, is out now and will be hitting members doormats over the next few days.

With features including easy ways for ordinary members and supporters to help advance LGBT+ rights in the UK, councillor resources and how you can help with a new LGBT+ rights and the Lib Dems / SDP / Liberal Party history project, it's a cracking read.

A very happy new year to you from the new LGBT+ Lib Dems team.

As elected at our Annual General Meeting in Bournemouth in September, the group heading up our work in 2018 will be:

• Chair: Jennie Rigg
• Treasurer: Richard Flowers
• Secretary: Andrew Brown
• General Executive members: Sarah Brown, Hywel ap Dafydd, Iain Donaldson, Jack Gilbert, Don Harrison, Holly Matthies, Zoe O'Connell.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed a report that calls for a complete overhaul of sex and relationships education in Wales.

The Sex and Relationships Education Expert Panel was established in March 2017 by Welsh Liberal Democrat Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kirsty Williams, to help inform the development of high quality SRE in the new curriculum in Wales.

Each year the 1st December, World AIDS Day arouses a series of different emotions for me from relief, to tears, to pride and to survival that I've surmounted another six months.

You may wonder why, in 2017 this means so much to me and engulfs me in such a fashion. Well, I was diagnosed on the 3rdJune 2004, which is ironically the halfway point of every year between December 1st. It is my HIV positive anniversary which many people, who have been diagnosed, have etched on their psyche for ever.