The Ministry of Equality has awarded the Gold Medal for Promoting the Values of Equality to Armand de Fluvià. The medal recognises the Catalan activist’s firm commitment to equality and the fight against discrimination for reasons of sexual orientation and gender identity.
And the award of the medal coincides with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Spanish Homosexual Liberation Movement (MELH). The MELH was the first organisation to defend LGBTI rights in Spain, an underground organisation created by Armand de Fluvià and some friends in 1970 in reaction to the Social Danger and Rehabilitation Act passed by the Francoist regime.
Following Franco’s death in 1975, the MEHL disbanded and was replaced by the Gay Liberation Front of Catalonia (FAGC), with Fluvià as its first general secretary. He also played a key role in setting up the Coordination of Homosexual Liberation Fronts in the Spanish State (COFLHEE), the gay and lesbian centre Casal Lamda, of which he is the honorary president, and the FELGTB.
On top of that he is the author of several publications, including one on the underground movement, El moviment gai en la clandestinitat del franquisme (1970-75), and another on AIDS, SIDA, ¿maldición bíblica o arma letal?, in collaboration with Alberto Cardín. He has also written dozens of articles and given lectures on homosexual issues.
Among the numerous awards and distinctions he has received, three that stand out are the Cross of Sant Jordi (2000), the Barcelona Medal of Honour (2008) and the Barcelona City Council Gold Medal for Cultural Merit (2015).
The presentation ceremony will be held in the Saló de Cent at City Hall next Tuesday, 22 December. The Secretary of State for Equality, Noelia Vera, will be there, along with the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, and the Director General of Sexual Diversity and LGBTI Rights, Boti G. Rodrigo.