After a break GLYNI starts back its Monday sessions on the 2nd of February 2009! We will be starting back with a session hosted by our Youth Worker Liam Larmour, so come on down!! Its the first Monday back so it would be a great time for you to contact us and arrange to come down and get to know everyone!
But remember, if you want to start coming along to the group you have to email us first on befriending@glyni.org.uk
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Hey everyone, hope you all had a great Christmas and a happy New Year!
Remember, GLYNI is taking a break for the month of January! Monday nights are not on until February.
Friday nights may still run occasionally, please check this with Liam prior to coming all the way down!
Peace, out!
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This year GLYNI celebrates its 9th birthday! Hurrah!
(Image from http://cakehead.com)
Since 1999 GLYNI has been working towards creating a better Northern Ireland for LGBT young people by providing a safe space for us to come to and talk about the issues that affect us!
Today its a fast growing safe space for LGBT young people to come along, hang out, learn cool new stuff and enjoy a cup of tea!
Last Friday GLYNI members celebrated with a fairy cake and a Futurama DVD.
This coming Monday GLYNI will be holding a workshop about Bullying and Homophobia facilitated by our very own Drop-in Co-ordinator Adam.
If you fancy coming along to GLYNI and haven’t yet contacted us, why not get in touch by contacting us using the links above!
Anyway, hope y’all have an awesome week!
~Sean’sfirstblogposthiphiphorray…
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GLYNI has received funding to develop two new resources!
The funding is to develop a sexual education programme for LGBT youth, as well as developing a resource pack for young women.
This is a great chance for GLYNI and its members to decide how future students may be educated! It’s also a great opportunity for young women to raise their issues, have some time to discuss the differences in how women and men are treated, develop something that is tailored for them specifically, and not something more general.
This is a fantastic opportunity, no matter which you would like to be involved in! Things are still at a planning stage, so there is still plenty of time to come along and have your input, then to come along and get involved in the programme itself!
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An ambitious campaign that aims to change the ways in which young people label themselves was launched last week in the form of a funky teen-oriented website.
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
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Hey everybody! After longer than originally hoped, the new website is now active! I encourage everybody to browse it and comment on the forums, it still needs tweaked and filled out in a few places, so please, I really want the help! If you have an idea or suggestion, no matter how big or small, get onto those forums and say it!
Everything SHOULD be working, however, with our web hosts still taking their time over the issues I have informed them about, the site may go a little slow (like the boards) until I get them to fix this issue.
Once again, welcome to the new GLYNI site!
New stuff:
Well, this blog for one! Which, I promise, will have regularly updated content, from articles, to news, to GLYNI events, even random thoughts and political stuff, every so often!
The forums have a facelift to match the site.
Loads of new and updated content, with more to come (some I still haven’t received – YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE PEOPLE!). Check the links to see whats new, and check back regularly, it’ll change again soon!
The calendar in the upper right is a new feature where you can all keep track of what’s goin on in GLYNI on a week-to-week basis. This will be updated as often as necessary.
Finally, I don’t want this blog to just be me talking over and over again. If you wanna volunteer to contribute an article etc every so often, please, get in touch with me, I would like as much variety of opinion and colour to the blog as possible!
Peace out!
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GLYNI has gone back to its youth (no pun intended) and re-opened its old drop-in service. It is being piloted at the moment with GLYNI members (as well as those undergoing our Outreach Training) to supplement our Monday night group-time which has been dedicated to training for the month of March. During this time, the young people at GLYNI will be having a bit o’craic and banter doing games, nights out and generally hanging out. At the end of the pilot, they will evaluate the re-opening of the drop-in (known as Come Out, Drop In ) to see how to make it more enjoyable and attractive to members of the other groups. GLYNI had always been a safe haven for young LGBT/Confused people to hang out as an alternative to the commercialised gay scene, and it is hoped this drop-in will help to redefine its role within the wider LGBT Community. Further details will be made available closer to the time. Come Out, Drop In has been funded by The Youth Council for Northern Ireland.
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“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart. (Eleanor Roosevelt)”
At the start of April, one of GLYNI’s volunteers, and a long-standing member of the group, will be leaving for fairer fields. Jim McErlean has been in the group for just over five years now, having joined at the ripe old age of just 17! Jim, known to many as Jamie, once was part of a unique trio of members known as J-Cubed (Jim, Jody and Gymnast James). Now GLYNI is left with Just Jody!
He quickly established himself as a central character within GLYNI, with a sense of humour and modesty that struck a chord with everyone. He always had a smile for everyone, and a joke to tell to lighten the mood. His willingness to learn and to develop, to broaden his knowledge of all things gay, inspired many in the group to follow in his footsteps. Jim, along with other members of the group, quickly took over as a volunteer from the older members who had moved on. He stepped into this role with a natural flair for leadership and a drive to help others through what he himself had been experiencing and still was going through.
Liam Larmour, Volunteer Co-ordinator, says of Jim, “He has been a good friend to many in the group over the years, and leaves us with a space that will not be filled easily. Personally, he has always been like a younger brother to me. We lived close together when he joined the group, so it helped that we were from the same area. Whenever one of us had any problems at home, the other was there to help. He is the type of friend and role-model that doesn’t come into your life too often. We have some brilliant memories of the craic we used to share on the bus home after the group. I have learned a lot from him, he reminded me why I love working with GLYNI. He will be missed, but the door is always open to him”.
So, to Jim, from all the members of GLYNI past and present, we bid you good luck, keep in touch and don’t be a stranger. The only thing you take when you’re gone is what you leave behind, so from us to you.. LOVE YA!
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The Coming Out Resource, compiled by GLYNI and funded by The Youth Council for Northern Ireland, is ready to go to the designers!! However, we still need input from you, the young people. What we would like, are your stories and those of your families and friends, your experiences of coming out, the positives the negatives. We’d also like your experiences if you’ve been the victim of homophobia, or feel that your school/youth organisation or local community just doesn’t seem to include you in the services they provide. What can they do to help you develop more fully as a young person? You can give as much detail as you feel comfortable with, however, we ask that you omit personal details such as yours/peoples’ names and those of schools/organisations and their staff etc. We’re keen to represent as many different experiences from across Northern Ireland as possible, whether you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, curious/undecided, or trans.
So you can write them in an email, send them through text or taking it to a different level, you can also send mobile or webcam vids. You can send them by text to 07707216921 (SMS only) or by email to resource@glyni.org.uk (stories, mobile/webcam vids etc). Please note, if you send a mobile or webcam vid featuring yourself, GLYNI will assume implied consent to include this on the resource. Please ask permission from any other persons who may appear also. All mobile numbers and emails received will be treated with the utmost confidentiality, and will only be used in the event that we lose your contribution, or you express an interest to be kept up to date on the resource distribution.
We’d also like to hear from any youth organisations out there who have any videos (e.g. training videos, You-Tube videos) with an LGBT theme. If you would like it to be included within the resource to help other young people and their families, please email us with details.
There is limited time left, so get your say quickly. This is going to be the only resource of its kind in Northern Ireland, you should be a part of it!
What’s In Your Closet? will be launched by the Summer and will be available for distribution soon afterwards. Further details on how to get a copy will be available then.
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shOUT is an important piece of research into the needs of young people in Northern Ireland who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender
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)
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