Mission
As a Canadian-based international non-profit organization ARC International strives to:
1. Develop and assist in the implementation of an international strategic vision regarding LGBT human rights.
2. Foster international linkages and communications between stakeholder organizations.
3. Advance equality and justice for LGBT persons and their families at the international level.
ARC International also acknowledges that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people experience the world differently depending on their sex, race, age, class, dis/ability, religion, language and other factors, and that for many of us the struggle for equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people cannot be separated from other campaigns for justice in which we are engaged. Our commitment to an intersectional approach recognizes that human identity is indivisible and that the struggle against one form of oppression (such as heterosexism/homophobia/transphobia) cannot in practice be separated from the many other struggles that members of our communities are engaged in (such as struggles against sexism, ableism, racism, or economic disadvantage). To address oppression effectively, it must be addressed holistically. We are, therefore, committed to integrating this perspective into all aspects of the organization’s work.
Staff
ARC International's founders and co-directors, John Fisher and Kim Vance, have been involved in LGBT issues internationally and within Canada for more than twenty combined years.
Before founding ARC International, Kim Vance served as President of Egale Canada, and is a seasoned activist within the LGBT communities at the national and local level. Her training in adult education has guided much of her prior work in training and community economic development projects with marginalized women. She has also produced and directed film projects with LBGT youth, incarcerated women, and Planned Parenthood. While working with Egale, Kim oversaw the organization's participation in the World Conference Against Racism in South Africa and attended the conference on behalf of the organization. She participated in the Beijing +5 conference in New York City, examining advancement and development for women around the world. She also oversaw the development of a co-sponsored CIDA/Egale Canada conference for activists in the South East Asia region and attended the conference in Bangkok. Kim received the Pride Community Service Award in her province in 2001. She and her partner were the first Registered Domestic Partnership in Canada, and one of the first married couples in Canada, after launching a court battle within her province. She is also the very proud mother of two adopted children, Marcus and Patty.
John Fisher served as Executive Director of Egale Canada for eight years. With a background in law, he completed an LL.M. thesis on lesbian and gay international issues at Queen’s University in 1992. He represented Egale at the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, and became the first openly gay person to address sexual orientation issues at a plenary assembly of government delegates at a UN World Conference. John has also represented Egale at the International Year of the Family Conference, a PrepCom for the World Conference against Racism in Geneva, 2001 (where he was responsible for forming a caucus on sexual orientation and multiple grounds), and was an invited guest speaker at the International Lesbian and Gay Law Association Conference in Turin, 2002. He has met with representatives of the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, and has participated in annual NGO consultations with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. John Fisher was named Grand Marshall of Toronto’s Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade in 2003, and received a “Heroes’ Award” from the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference of the Canadian Bar Association in August, 2003.