Belong to campaign

Annasopra

Got this from another website

The poster, booklet and invitation can be viewed here

[url] http://www.belongto.org/articles/posterbooklet.php[/url]

Press Release

Poster and Booklet to support Lesbian and Gay young people nationwide

Launch: By Mr Niall Crowley, CEO The Equality Authority
Time: 12 midday
Date: Friday 26th November
Venue: The Equality Authority, 2 Clonmel St., Dublin 2.


Niall Crowley CEO of The Equality Authority launches a poster and booklet to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people throughout the county. This is the first nationwide initiative which aims to provide LGBT young people with support around their sexual identity and the harassment which they often suffer in schools and their local communities.

The resources, titled ‘So Gay!’, are produced by members of BeLonG To Youth Project which provides one-to-one and group support for LGBT young people to allow them to safely engage with confidence building, personal development, peer support and making friends. It also affords young people a space where they can experience inclusion, acceptance, social justice, fun and safety. As such, it is the first and only project of its kind in the country.

BeLonG To’s co-ordinator Michael Barron said, “The idea for producing this poster and booklet came from LGBT young people, most of who are presently in school. They pointed out that the only information about gay people that they are exposed to in school and in their local communities is negative and that homophobic bullying is rampant among young people. They have produced these resources to counteract this and to let other isolated LGBT young people know that they are ok and not alone”

Jamie, an 18 year old young man who left his school and area due to homophobic harassment said, “We made this poster and booklet because there are gay young people all over the country who have never been told that it is absolutely normal to be who they are. I had a terrible time in school, if these materials were available then they really would have helped me alot”.

These resources contain information about coping with bullying and ‘coming out’ as LGBT. They also contain personal stories from young people and attempt to dispel myths and stereotypes about LGBT people. They have been produced for nationwide distribution and The Institute of Guidance Counsellors will distribute them to all guidance counsellors in every second level school in the country and The National Youth Council of Ireland will mail them to the majority of youth projects.

Julian, a 16 year old member of BeLonG To said, “It is really important that this poster and booklet are made by young people for young people because we know what it is like in school. It’s also great to see the support which we are getting with this – it’s a sign that Ireland is moving in the right direction towards a more open and equal society”