Date: Thursday 5th May 2011
Venue: Europa Hotel Belfast
Time: Cocktail reception from 7pm; Meal from 8pm

Entertainment is going to consist of Quoir, who will sing some fantastic numbers for us during the reception, with a DJ for the party! Miss Roxy Tumbledryer will be in attendance, offering up a live cabaret performance and making the night fabulous. After the meal, we will all head to the Shoe Factory for the after party (entrance is free – the venue is booked exclusively for QUB LGBT – please bear in mind that the Shoe Factory is an Over-18 venue).

You can buy your tickets (price only £35) in person from Nicholas Young (nicholas_young21@hotmail.co.uk) or this Sunday from union Street during Sunday Bingo Show and afterwards in Kremlin. Alternatively, you can buy your ticket online with a credit or debit card at tinyurl.com/lgbtformal and bring your booking receipt on the night to redeem your ticket! Ticket sales end 2nd May 2011.

Make sure you get your ticket before they’re all gone – the night promises to be a unique and rare opportunity, so not one to be missed!

The event is being held in the Black Box, and begins at 7pm. There are no age restrictions!

The documentary covered the history of Belfast Pride, and I was particularly impressed with some of the old footage from years gone by. With contributions from many members of the Pride committee past and present, as well as high-profile political leadership views from former Mayor and current MP for East Belfast Naomi Long, as well as current Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, the documentary covered all aspects of Pride, from the reasons, to the organisation, to the protestors, to the fun and events… it really is not to be missed!

It is getting a second showing on Tuesday at the Northstar Science Fiction Night Pride Event, which is at The Roost bar on Tuesday 27th, at 8pm, where you will also get to watch a science-fiction triple feature of Doctor Who, Star Trek: Voyager and Family Guy Star Wars!

Pride 2010 has begun!

The bill, which grants almost all of the rights of marriage, passed in the Dail last week and was approved in the Seanad last night after two days of debate.

It passed with the support of 48 senators, with just four voting against, and will be sent to President Mary McAleese, who can approve it or refer it to the Supreme Court if she believes it may be unconstitutional.

All parties strongly welcomed the Bill in their closing statements in the debate.

Senator David Norris in his closing statement: “I am proud that this day has come. It is a massive, overwhelming victory. It is a victory, not for gay people nor for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Labour or the Independents; it is a victory for decency and for this country.”

The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network has welcomed the change in law, although it has repeated concerns that there is not enough recognition and support of children whose parents are gay.

The rights the bill will give include protections and obligations across areas such as protection of the couple’s shared home, domestic violence, residential tenancies, succession, refugee law, pensions, taxation, social welfare and immigration.

All parties supported the bill, although some individual politicians attacked it.

The first ceremonies are expected to be held in January.

Ireland decriminalised homosexuality 17 years ago.

Ashling O’Brien, a Masters student in University of Ulster, is carrying out research for a dissertation in Applied Psychology. Her research is focused on social support, in-school victimisation, self-esteem and self-identified sexual orientation. She is carrying out this research via an online survey with participants who are between the age of 18 and 21.

Please click on any of the  url

https://www.demographix.com/surveys/3Y9Q-VHRX/37XLDP3J/?IEghn or

www.emis-survey.eu

Many thanks

Don't Stand for Homophobic Bullying!!!

Stand Up! is encouraging all young people to show their support for their LGBT Friends!

Visit www.belongto.org for further information, and become a fan on the Stand Up! page on Facebook.

The week runs from 9th-18th April.

Whilst it is certainly true that for a while Mynt got a bad rep due to many police raids searching for drugs. It is unclear whether these raids turned up anything to note more than I imagine you would find in any Belfast club.

A council statement given to the BBC said the licensing committee “took the view that in light of the available evidence, the applicant was unfit to hold a licence”.

A spokeswoman for Mynt said that whilst they are extremely disappointed with the decision, they will be appealing the decision and that since an appeal is pending, the club can continue to trade with its current license in the meantime.

Peace, out!
- Matt

The website Ditch the Label (www.DitchtheLabel.com) was ‘virtually’ launched last Saturday night in a co-ordinated browsing of the new site, after being advertised via its original Myspace and the founder’s personal Myspace sites.

The founder of DitchtheLabel is 17-year old student, activist and part-time model, Liam Hackett.

He developed the site primarily aimed at marginalised teenagers looking to break free from social stereotypes based on race, sexuality or gender.

The site aims to challenge negative stereotypes and provide a forum in which young people can share their experiences of prejudice and social labelling.

Based in Manchester, the prodigious teen first launched the website via Myspace in July 2007 and since then, the Myspace page has attracted more than 50,000 visits.

Liam looked into developing a more permanent website that would allow a greater expansion of the campaign.

The new DitchtheLabel site was conceived after Liam secured a business grant from the local Chamber of Commerce, who recognised the site’s appeal and potential.

He was only the second person under 18 in in his region to obtain a business grant.

Despite its early days, the website looks like it will become a flourishing internet resource for teenagers looking to break outside social stereotypes.

Liam told PinkNews.co.uk his own experiences dealing with his sexuality as a primary catalyst for launching DitchtheLabel and how he wished a similar resource existed when he was younger.

“The campaign hopes to change the negative stereotypes associated with labels of race, gender, sexuality, appearance and lifestyle and together, we believe that we can significantly reduce bullying and therefore, increasing self-confidence and feelings of self-worth
to thousands of young people worldwide,” Liam says.

“I myself have been subjected to bullying due to my sexuality and I grew up believing that being gay was wrong and disgusting.

“Since leaving school and meeting new people, I’ve grown to understand that sexuality is as significant as the colour of your eyes and nobody really cares anymore.”

The site has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback as it is specifically aimed at teenagers who are coming to terms with their own identities and who are forced to interact with a wide range of people.

At the moment, a majority of the site’s supporters are American.

Liam says that school visits may be planned in the future. He also aims to expand the site so that it is largely more interactive and community-based.

Visit the site or get involved at www.DitchtheLabel.com

shOUT was launched by the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People at a ceremony in Belfast on 7 January 2004. Commending the report, the Commissioner, Nigel Williams, said that the real challenge of the report was to translate the reccommendations into concrete actions..”to challenge views…and rattle cages”.

Other contributors at the launch included Terry Smyth, Assistant Secretary, Department of Education, Northern Ireland. The Department commissioned YouthNet to carry out the research and Terry commented that it was now up to both the youth service and schools to translate the report into actions and to make all young people feel valued for their individual wealth which they could bring to schools and youth groups.

In response to the report, YouthNet facilitated a steering group of agencies involved in LGBT work and 2 Development Officers have been appointed to take the work forward. They can be contacted at the YouthNet office on 028 90 331880 or via email Amanda Stephens or Etain O’Kane.

To download these files you will need to have Adobe’s PDF reader installed on your computer.

shOUT Progress Report 2004/2005 (428 kb)

shOUT Report: Summary (2564 kb)

shOUT Report: Summary (64 kb – Word version)