History

Originally created to address the gap between Lille and Paris, the association Flash Our True Colors was founded in Amiens in September 2011. It is a community association aimed at raising awareness of the issues faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly the discriminations they face due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

In its early days, the organization focused on organizing events to fight isolation, as well as a festival around May 17th, the Flash Festival, which later became the IDAHOT Festival.

In 2014, the association collaborated with four local artists and actors to create a comic book project called "À Coeur Ouvert", which depicts the daily lives of LGBTQIA+ people and the everyday LGBTphobia they encounter. This project was also featured in a video on the association's YouTube channel.

In 2018, following requests from social services and a need within the immigrant population, Flash Our True Colors began helping LGBTQIA+ migrants. The association's mission is to assist local LGBTQIA+ people, regardless of their country of origin. The contributions of knowledge and experiences from these populations helped to strengthen the fight against discriminations by questioning the association's position on xenophobia and racism. This also gave rise to the project "Migrants LGBT, Fleeing to Exist".

On June 22, 2019, the association co-organized the first Amiens Pride Parade commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Since then, it has continued this project every year, which is a major event for the LGBTQIA+ community.

1st Amiens Pride march - Juliette Fabijan

Over the years, with the help of volunteers, the association's activist work has grown, and a more collaborative approach has been put in place through Flash Moments: project development meetings, internal training to ensure the transmission of LGBTQIA+ knowledge and heritage. In addition, it is important for the association to support anyone who is a victim of LGBTQIA+phobic discrimination.