Bridging Generations | Older Queer Voices Festival Special

What happens when queer generations come together?

In this special live edition of Older Queer Voices, host Raga D'silva is joined by four remarkable guests for an inspiring conversation about visibility, resilience, allyship, representation and the power of shared stories across generations.

Guests include:

Professor Sue Sanders; Educator, activist, co-founder of LGBT+ History Month and one of the UK's most influential voices in LGBTQ+ education, history, and visibility.

Dan Porter; Chair of Tesco's LGBTQ+ Network, Head of Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing at Tesco, inclusion champion and recipient of the British LGBT Inspirational Leader Award 2026, Finalist - Rainbow Honours 2026.

Rosie Jones; Award-winning comedian, writer, broadcaster, and actor. Rosie has fronted her own Comedy Central series Out of Order, starred in Channel 4's documentary Am I A R*tard, led the BAFTA-nominated Trip Hazard and Mission: Accessible, and is the creator and star of the BAFTA-nominated comedy-drama Pushers. She is also a familiar face on shows including Taskmaster, Live at the Apollo, QI, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and The Last Leg.

Jason Patel; One of the UK's most exciting emerging queer creatives. A double BIFA-nominated actor, Screen International Star of Tomorrow, British LGBT Awards Rising Star nominee and Rainbow Honours Musician of the Year nominee. Best known for his acclaimed performance in Unicorns, Jason champions authentic LGBTQIA+ storytelling across film, theatre, and music, and can next be heard in Russell Tovey's Audible Original Starlings alongside Andrew Scott and George MacKay

Together, they explore what older and younger queer generations can learn from one another, the importance of visibility and representation, and why building stronger connections across generations has never been more important.

Older Queer Voices celebrates older LGBTQ+ lives, stories, and experiences, creating conversations that ensure nobody feels unseen, unheard, or forgotten.

Hosted by Raga D'silva; award-winning speaker, activist, and founder of Older Queer Voices.

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Host, Raga D'silva, sits down with activist, writer and lifelong campaigner Savitri Hensman for a powerful conversation on identity, faith, race, ageing and LGBTQ+ inclusion.

From growing up as a queer woman of colour in 1970s Britain to co-founding the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre and advocating for justice across communities, Savitri reflects on decades of activism, resilience and hope. Together, they explore faith, belonging, ageing, care, social justice and the work still needed to build a more inclusive world.

A thoughtful and inspiring episode from the Older Queer Voices Podcast.Recorded for the Older Queer Voices Podcast. Hosted by Raga D'silva. Co-founder: Nicola Fenton.

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Sridhar Rangayan shares his coming out story with Raga D'silva

Coming Out Stories from India Series one Episode Six
A Views Room Presentation

Curated and produced by Nicola Fenton
Hosted by Raga D’silva

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Raga D’silva, host of the Older Queer Voices Podcast, sits down with trailblazing activist Femi Otitoju, current Chair of Queerwell, the UK’s community-led LGBTQ+ mental health and wellness charity focused on providing accessible, affirming support including therapy, coaching and wellbeing services for LGBTQ+ people.
Femi is also one of the UK’s most influential Black LGBTQ+ voices, a diversity specialist, former Chair of Switchboard, and among the first out Black lesbians to speak openly about being gay on UK television in the early 1980s.
In this powerful conversation, Femi reflects on growing up as a Black lesbian in Britain, finding community in the 1970s, activism through Section 28 and the AIDS crisis, intersectionality before the term existed, ageing in the LGBTQ+ community, and why hope, resilience and collective action still matter today.
A moving and deeply important conversation on identity, survival, community and queer history.

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In this episode of Older Queer Voices, host Raga D’silva is in conversation with Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, a pioneering lesbian activist from Sri Lanka and founder of Equal Ground.

Rosanna shares her powerful journey from a young girl in Sri Lanka struggling with her identity, to finding freedom and belonging in San Francisco, and ultimately returning home to Sri Lanka to challenge injustice. Her story is one of courage, clarity and deep purpose, shaped by acceptance from her parents and a lifelong commitment to human rights.

The conversation explores the harsh realities of criminalisation in Sri Lanka, the impact of colonial laws, and the ongoing fight for dignity and equality for LGBTQ+ people. Rosanna speaks candidly about building movements from the ground up, creating safe spaces for queer women, and expanding that work into a national platform that includes advocacy, allyship and cultural change.

There is also reflection on the documentary Outlaws, where Rosanna’s story forms part of a larger global narrative on how outdated laws continue to harm LGBTQ+ communities. She speaks about the emotional weight of that storytelling and the importance of visibility in shifting mindsets.

Alongside the challenges, this episode holds space for hope. Rosanna highlights the growing number of allies, the importance of community, and the role each person can play in creating change. She speaks directly to parents about unconditional love, and to those struggling with their identity, reminding them that they are valid, worthy and not alone.

This is a deeply honest and moving conversation about resilience, activism and what it means to live authentically while fighting for others.

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Trigger Warning:

In this powerful episode of Older Queer Voices, host Raga D’silva brings an urgent and deeply moving conversation into the open; domestic abuse within LGBTQ+ communities.

With honesty and care, Raga is joined by Debbie Cannon, a specialist in trans and non-binary domestic abuse, and Michelle Weltman, who shares her lived experience of surviving abuse in a same sex relationship.

Together, they unpack the uncomfortable realities that often go unseen. From coercive control and emotional abuse to the unique ways identity can be weaponised, this conversation sheds light on experiences that are too often dismissed, misunderstood or hidden in silence.

With millions affected across the UK and many LGBTQ+ survivors never accessing support, this episode asks difficult questions. Why are so many not believed? What keeps people from reaching out? And how do we begin to recognise abuse that doesn’t always look the way we expect?

This is not an easy listen. But it is an important one.

If you or someone you know may be affected, please take care while listening and remember; you are not alone, and support is available.

Watch. Listen. Share. Start the conversation.

Helpline:

Call 999

Galop

You can phone us on 0800 999 5428.

You can email help@galop.org.uk.

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In this episode of Older Queer Voices Podcast, host Raga D’silva sits down with Jo Rzymowska MBE, a trailblazer in global travel and one of the UK’s most visible LGBTQ+ business leaders.

With a career spanning over four decades across brands like Disney, Thomas Cook and Celebrity Cruises, Jo shares her extraordinary journey from a young overseas rep navigating life-changing experiences, to leading with authenticity at the highest levels of business.

She speaks candidly about growing up with a refugee family history, discovering her identity, and the long, complex path from hiding her sexuality to becoming a powerful, visible leader. Jo reflects on the realities of being a gay woman in the workplace in the 80s and 90s, the fear, the silence, and what it took to finally live and lead openly.

Now, as the founder of Jovolution, (www.jovolution.com) she is focused on giving back through mentoring, coaching and driving meaningful change in diversity, equity and inclusion.

This is a conversation about resilience, identity, leadership and the power of being your true self.

Visibility matters. Showing up matters. And stories like Jo’s remind us why.

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In this episode host Raga D'silva is joined by Lisa Power, one of the most influential LGBTQ activists in the UK.

From volunteering on the Lesbian and Gay Switchboard during the early HIV AIDS crisis to co-founding Stonewall, shaping sexual health policy, and preserving LGBTQ history through projects like Queer Tours and Queer Britain Museum, Lisa has dedicated her life to queer rights. They explore her journey coming out in the 1970s, the challenges of navigating a binary and often hostile queer movement, and the radical early activism that included organising large marches without the internet or social media.

Lisa shares rare insights into the founding of Stonewall, the overlooked roles of lesbians in early HIV activism, and how humour and defiance have shaped her approach to life and ageing.

She also reflects on the danger of queer history being erased and why it is vital that older queer voices tell their own stories.

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