The keynote speaker (online) was Martin Rouse - Senior Director of Outreach and Engagement at the LGBTQ Victory Fund. This is an organization dedicated to electing, to a public office, pro-choice, pro-equality candidates who are members of the LGBTQ community. The foundation provides campaign support and fundraising for LGBTQ candidates, as the organization is best positioned to promote equality in society and is the best tool to fight actions against the community. 

Although he has only been at Victory Fund for a year, Marty Rouse has been working on behalf of LGBTQ people for more than three decades. For 14 years, he served as National Field Director for the Human Rights Campaign, where he worked for marriage equality and protection from discrimination. Prior to that, he led MassEquality, a statewide group in Massachusetts that fought for marriage equality making Massachusetts the first state in the US to legalize same-sex marriage. The speaker also helps with the global political inclusion of LGBTQ people as a member of the Equal Voices Advisory Board of the National Democratic Institute.

Marty Rouse shared with MISO attendees his own experiences and challenges encountered in his work on behalf of the LGBTQ community. The event was attended by members of the MISO community, as well as representatives of NGOs.

The speaker outlined the pressing challenges facing the LGBTQ community. Among other things, he noted that LGBTQ people are particularly vulnerable to many social problems, such as mental health and psychoactive substance abuse issues. Marty Rouse stressed that the support of family and friends is extremely important in dealing with these issues. Other major challenges are financial problems, including discrimination on the labor market against LGBTQ people, particularly transgender people. He stressed the importance of government and business interference. Marty Rouse also advocated for increasing LGBTQ representation in public life, including through social campaigns on television and social media. By increasing representation, LGBTQ people would feel accepted and supported by their community. The speaker explained that such campaigns could also increase acceptance in society.

Many organizations - despite the remarkable work they do for the LGBTQ community - are experiencing funding problems. Marty Rouse said that promoting LGBTQ image in the media would also help secure funding for NGOs working for equality.

“Polish-U.S. Civil Society Roundtables” is a project implemented by the International Institute of Civil Society and the U.S. Embassy in Poland. These are periodic meetings with the participation of American experts, in the formula of a roundtable, on the development of civil society in selected thematic areas. The aim of the project is to exchange Polish and American experiences in improving civic competence and developing  civil society, with a particular focus on human rights, disinformation, media freedom, fundraising, and diversity and tolerance - depending on the topic of a given meeting. The format of each meeting includes an online speech by an American expert who presents an American perspective to the Polish audience gathered at MISO headquarters. After the speech, the moderator opens a discussion focused on sharing experiences and best practices (with input from an US expert).  The project is intended for NGO and civil society leaders, lawyers, representatives of public administration, business and academia.