Pride Activity Network
StreetGames held their first two North West Pride Activity Network (PAN) meetings on Tuesday 14th February (LGBT History Month) and Wednesday 17th May (IDAHOBIT).
Locally Trusted Organisations (LTOs) from within the North West StreetGames network were invited to attend this meeting through the StreetGames newsletter and email communications. These initial PAN meetings are a pilot for the North West network, but we have been successful in receiving some funding to continue this work and explore ways to expand the reach and impact of the Network.
Each of the two meetings have had between 20 and 30 signups from LTOs across the North West, from a range of geographical areas and services.
The future of the Pride Activity Network is to create some resources in the coming months for LTOs to use around LGBTQ+ Inclusion, including some “Top Tips” for them to adopt, as well as potentially an audit-style resource to monitor their progress in this area, and also perhaps some Activator Training to support this.
Any individuals/organisations from within the Network who have an interest in ensuring their provisions/venues are accessible to LGBTQ+ people are welcome to join future Pride Activity Network meetings, with the next PAN Meeting being held on National Coming Out Day on Wednesday 11th October 2023.
Bolton Wanderers in the Community – Loud & Proud LGBTQ+ Youth Club
Bolton Wanderers in the Community (BWitC) has been co-delivering a weekly LGBTQ+ Youth Club with Bolton Council’s Youth Service since 2017.
The Youth Club is a safe space for young LGBTQ+ people and allies to enjoy a traditional youth club setting, including interactive and exciting activities and workshops – for ages 13-17 and 9-12s once per month. We currently engage up to 15 young people per session but have engaged dozens over the last 6 years.
Four of our volunteers (ex-participants) started University September 2022, most of whom joined us on our first ever session in 2017. We have had the privilege of watching these young people grow and develop into confident and resilient adults. One of these volunteers is now a paid BWitC staff member, working across a number of inclusion and youth engagement projects, including other LGBTQ+ engagement sessions.
We have delivered 2 annual Youth Pride events, engaging more than 60 LGBTQ+ young people, and are looking forward to our Youth Pride 2023 event later this year. Participants of the group applied for funding for this from UK Youth; including helping write the bid and presenting their ideas to a panel. The group were successful and we’re in the process of planning a vibrant event in August 2023.
In late 2022, the group won the StreetGames #Inspiration2022 Award for Bes Youth-Led Activity – both regionally in the North West and also Nationally! We won this award for a dance project we delivered in July for PrideHouse Birmingham; the LGBTQ+ hub for the Commonwealth Games. This project saw our participants choreograph and film three “TikTok-style” dances in order to encourage young people to take part in movement and be more connected to the Games. Two of these participants also performed and taught these dances as part of an interactive workshop at the StreetGames Summer Camp for Diversity Day, as well as in workshops for Blackpool Youth Pride.
