The international Youth School 2011 ended on August 31st. The final balance sheet written by the participants shows the intensity of this learning experience and the overall quality of the lectures. Twenty six participants from 11 different countries lived together for ten days. It was a period of study, reading and discussions. 

Vinicius Almeida (from the PSoL in Brazil) describes on his blog, the arrival at the Institute:

The international Youth School 2011 ended on August 31st. The final balance sheet written by the participants shows the intensity of this learning experience and the overall quality of the lectures. Twenty six participants from 11 different countries lived together for ten days. It was a period of study, reading and discussions. 

Vinicius Almeida (from the PSoL in Brazil) describes on his blog, the arrival at the Institute:

In Cuba, there is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite, Transsexual (LGBTT) movement whose gestation is found at the intersection of the state and organised civil society. This movement seeks to tackle the main themes of LGBTT reality from the perspective of human rights, health and social integration, while inserting itself into the national project of edifying a just society.

The elaborations on gender of the last 20 years, in particular Queer theory, challenge the Marxist approach to the issue of gender oppression, and thereby demand the overcoming of an approach based on the establishment of a hierarchy of priorities between oppressions. At this year's annual Left Forum (the former Socialist Scholar Conference), IIRE Fellow Cinzia Arruzza hosted a panel to discuss this challenge: "Does Marxism have Gender Trouble?" on Saturday, March 19th.

In March 2011 we were honoured by a visit from the new Cuban Ambassador to The Netherlands, Zelmys María Dominguez Cortina. The ambassador met with IIRE Executive Director Marijke Colle, former directors Susan Caldwell and Antonio Carmona Báez, IIRE Fellow James Cockcroft and a delegation from IIRE Manila.