We want equality and care for disadvantaged groups!
Wave of Equality was founded during a special time – LGBTQ+ Community Pride Month, i.e. June 2021 as an idea of a group of friends. We wanted to finally turn our informal activism activities carried out within other organizations into something of our own, which could serve our region even better. In addition to organizing the Equality March, which we have been doing since 2019, we mainly want to create a safe space for people who are discriminated against through support groups, continuing the idea of the Living Library, cultural events and other educational activities for an open civil society.


We believe that there are people among us who share similar values, so we invite you to join us.


The 1st Equality March in Koszalin – April 6, 2019.
The 1st Equality March in Koszalin passed through the streets of the city on April 6, 2019 under the slogan „We are united by love” and started the marching season in Poland this year. It was supported by about 30 volunteers, and organized_by local social activists including Magdalena Mlynarczyk-Wezgraj, Dawid Ligocki, Jacek Wezgraj and Katarzyna Paprocka, while the march was patronized and supported by Deputy Marshal of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Tomasz Sobieraj on behalf of the Marshal’s Office. „We want to send a signal to the world that Koszalin is a tolerant city,” also said Jacek Wezgraj, co-organizer of the first Koszalin march, and added: „this will be a great day for Koszalin. The first such march in our city. Together with the residents, we want to show commitment to values such as equality, tolerance, freedom and acceptance of diversity. We will also support LGBT organizations, which have been targeted especially by ruling politicians in recent days. Everyone should show which side they stand on.” The assembly was scheduled to start at 2 pm from in front of the Koszalin Public Library on Polonia Square. The route led along Kosciuszko, Pilsudski, Traugutta streets, and further along Zwycięstwa Street to the Old Town Square. Prior to the event, there were two days of film screenings – one on the day before the march around the documentary film directed by Bart Staszewski, „Article 18 „with a discussion after the film, and immediately before the march, the films „Out” and „Middle of the World” were screened at the Alternatywa cinema in the Koszalin library. A panel discussion followed, with Julia Maciocha and Bartosz Żurawiecki taking part.

The gathering itself began with a minute of silence to honor the mayor of Gdansk, Pawel Adamowicz, „an ally of people of color,” who was assassinated on January 14 of this year during the finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP), the „ally of people of color” – the organizers recalled. Then a colorful crowd of about a thousand people, at the head of which they carried a banner with the march slogan, set off. Those participating were adorned with colorful emblems: balloons, flags, and carried banners with slogans: „My gender, my business,” „Let’s protect children from homophobia,” „Diversity is rainbow,” „Dear children, we’re going for your civil rights,” or „For our love and yours,” and cried out: „Pink, glitter, anti-fascism! Freedom for bicycles! Glory to the unicorns!” The march was co-led by Julia Maciocha, a Koszalin resident and president of the Equality Volunteer Foundation responsible for the Warsaw Equality Parade. She spoke to those gathered from the stage: „I would like us to defend kids from hearing every day that they are not good enough, that they are hopeless, that they are a sin,” thus referring to homophobic statements by right-wing politicians, adding: „We are living in one of the most beautiful and yet most difficult moments in the history of the LGBT movement.
Some time from now, our descendants will be surprised that in 2019 we had probes flying to Mars, internet in smartphones, and people couldn’t get married to the person they love, they can’t be themselves. We are going to change that, just in the way that we go out, that we show ourselves that we are not some kindergarten rapists, but people who love.” The march, which was well protected by police, went off peacefully. Minor disturbances took place in front of the West Pomeranian Provincial Office’s delegation on Andersa Street, a street parallel to Zwycięstwa Street, where opponents of the march held their picket in defense of „traditional Catholic values.”


2nd Equality March in Koszalin – September 4, 2021.
The 2nd Equality March in Koszalin, according to the annual cycle, should pass in 2020. However, these plans were thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of which public gatherings could not take place. The organizers who planned the march for April 4 therefore decided on an unusual solution. Instead of a stationary march on that day, they organized the 1st Internet Equality March. The event, in the form of a conversation with invited LGBTQ+ activists, was broadcast online on Facebook. The discussion was moderated by March co-organizer Dawid Ligocki, and participating in the broadcast were Bart Staszewski, Piotr Jankowski of the Tolerado Association, Julia Maciocha (Parade of Equality), Monika Tichy (Lambda Szczecin), Hubert Sobecki (Miłość Nie Wyklucza), Felix Losinski (Equality March in Bydgoszcz). In 2021, sanitary restrictions were reduced and the 2nd Equality March could pass through the streets of the city, on Saturday, September 4, 2021, under the slogan „Love unites us.” A few months before the March, the people organizing the March so far established an organization – the Foundation for Discriminated Groups „Wave of Equality”, for which this event is the most important activity. Magdalena Mlynarczyk-Wezgraj, a member of the Foundation’s board of directors, spoke about the March and this year’s slogan, co-organizer of the march: „LGBT+ people would like to receive the rights they are entitled to. These are rights inherent to every human being because of their dignity, that is, the right to start a family, to take care of a family, to adopt children. We want to manifest that we are and do not want to be left out of the law. We searched for a slogan for this year’s march together with internaut_ women, and the one we had_ two years ago, „Love unites us,” won. I am very pleased that such a peaceful message for the residents of Koszalin is also relevant this year.” Also this year, Deputy Marshal of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Tomasz Sobieraj, gave his patronage to the march. The march was visited for the first time by representatives from the QueerNB Association from Koszalin’s partner city Neubrandenburg. They carried a banner „Sister cities stand together”. The organizers also presented a list of demands, these were: legalization of marriage for same-sex couples, legal recognition of rainbow families, i.e. legal solutions related to parenting and accessibility of social care, reliable sexual education, preventive measures on violence against LGBTQ+ people.

As in the previous year, the march was accompanied by additional attractions. At 2 p.m. on Polonia Square in front of the Koszalin Public Library, the organizers prepared a rainbow picnic. Between 2:10 and 3:20 p.m. a discussion entitled „Mom, Dad, I’m trans*” took place on the experiences of transgender people, and the day before there was a screening of the film „I miss you.” During the picnic and march, a strong need resounded regarding the establishment of a psychological support group for parents and loved ones of LGBT+ people, to which the Foundation responded. The march was scheduled to begin at 4 pm, the route was about 5 km led along Kosciuszko, Monte Cassino Avenue, Falata, Orląt Lwowskich, Traugutta, Zwycięstwa to Pilsudski Square. The route of the march, initially a bit longer, was shortened somewhat, in view of information about a possible countermarch on its way. The marchers were protected by a large police force throughout the march, which went off without a hitch. After the initial speeches, the participants, gathered in numbers of about 300, set off in a colorful procession. At the head of the gathering they carried a large flag with the inscription „Pace,” a little farther away a large rainbow flag known as a sectoid sewn by Danzig refugee women lent from Danzig. The musical setting was not to be missed. Those participating were accompanied by a mobile music platform, from which the march was led by the House of Utopia group, Marta Magott and Julia Maciocha. During the march through the large slab housing estates, those marching chanted a variety of slogans: „In Koszalin, the rainbow is flowing!” or „Government to the gars, women to the breweries!”.


The 3rd Equality March in Koszalin – April 2, 2022.
The 3rd Equality March in Koszalin passed through the streets of the city on Saturday, April 2, 2022. It was the least numerous of the marches to date, as about 250 people walked its route. The marchers were not helped by the changeable April weather. As every year, the march was to pass in a dancing, joyful atmosphere under the slogan familiar from previous years, „Love unites us,” but the organizers, due to the outbreak of war in Ukraine, decided to change the character as well as the slogan of the march to „Love! Not War!”, which was explained by Magdalena Mlynarczyk-Wezgraj of the Foundation for Discriminated Groups „Wave of Equality” as follows: „There are more and more refugees in our city, so we wanted, in addition to the rainbow flags of the local LGBT+ community, to carry flags of Ukraine. Today’s march, due to the ongoing war and the desire to stand in solidarity and connect with the citizens of Ukraine, is not so fun – we gave up the traditional party held after the march.” Like last year, this time a rainbow picnic was held on the square in front of City Hall, where foundations, LGBT+ associations presented their activities. Additional attractions included face painting or banners related to peaceful messages and support for Ukrainian women and men, and a meeting at 1 pm with Marta Nowicka around her book „Slovak. Coming Out of the Closet.” Meanwhile, the day before, on Friday, the Living Library (the official anti-discrimination method of the Council of Europe) continued.

The march was scheduled to start at 3 pm from under the City Hall. The route, similar in length to last year, 5 km, was to go through Mlynska Street, Monte Cassino Avenue, Wladyslaw IV, Jana Pawla II, Falat, Mlynska Street, before returning to the Old Town Square. The organizers also listed a number of demands for which they will be marching: „Marriage equality, a friendly law on gender reconciliation, legal recognition of rainbow families, civil unions, support of the local community, amendment of the criminal code, reliable sex education, better psychological and psychiatric care – these demands are close to our hearts. This year we also want to draw attention to human rights in the refugee context and express solidarity with people from Ukraine.” The march began at 3 p.m. At its head rode a platform funded by Lambda Szczecin, from which popular hits of music stars and Ukrainian songs were played. Slogans were chanted relating not only to the situation of LGBT+ people like „Everyone different, everyone equal,” but also referring to the situation in Ukraine, „Love! Not War” and „Together We Will Win,” which were shouted in Polish and Ukrainian. During the march, the organizers had their speeches, as well as a representative of a delegation from Koszalin’s partner city Neubrandenburg in Germany, which appeared for the second time at the Koszalin event. The arrival of this group was organized by the local QueerNB Association. Marcel Spittel, on behalf of the delegation said: „It’s great that we can demonstrate diversity and demand equality together. Unfortunately, in Ukraine, where there is a war going on, we hear about cases of the Russians creating special deportation lists. Distinguished activists from Ukraine’s LGBT+ community are being placed on them. It is unclear what will happen to them. We don’t even want to imagine it.” Those listening to him chanted the slogan: „Free Ukraine.” Participants in the March were greeted on social media by Neubrandenburg Mayor Silvo Witt. On the route of the march, a solidarity banner with the slogan „Together we will win” could be seen, which was financed by the Coalition of Marching Cities. The march itself passed peacefully, without any incidents. It was protected by the police.