Stonewall 2009
WORDS: Danny Champken (Sprout Editorial Group)
Upon hearing about the chosen topic for Stonewall Cymru's annual event for 2009, that of education and the LGB society, I was most intrigued.?
Named Education: Our Right ? Lesbian, Gay And Bisexual Perspectives Of Education, the event took the form of a conference and was delivered through what I felt was an adequate measure of formal and informal procedures.
To be honest, I've never considered that my own homosexuality had much of an impact on my education. I was to learn, however, that the matters to be discussed were much more diverse than I had anticipated, and that learning of the numerous examples of more adverse experiences in education, from a variety of perspectives connected to gay people, is both prudent and necessary in the eradication of such issues.
Despite having been intrigued by the event, its casually pretentious name did make me put my guard up, and I naturally assumed that this would be a gathering of injured souls sharing tales of deepest heartache about being discriminated against because of their sexuality.
Whilst there was an element of this, it soon became clear to me that it was not excessive, and that those examples given were only done so in order to then put forth positive and beneficial suggestions as to how to deal with them.
The objective of the event was prevention and cure, as opposed to dwelling on sorrowful facts and statistics. The promotion of understanding, as opposed to the condemnation of prejudice, was to become a recurring theme, and I found this refreshing and much more reflective of all-encompassing equality than I had expected.
This theme was received positively as a reaction to those occasional examples of negative experiences suffered by gay people in education, ranging from bullying in schools through to discrimination in higher education.
Whether from gay students or gay teachers, their families, friends or colleagues, there are countless examples of how prejudice and discrimination are still prevalent in schools and throughout the education system, as this conference proved.
But the event also dealt these examples a blow by concentrating on prevention, and on helping in a truly positive way that shattered my preconceptions that this would be a pretentious or tedious event.
Stonewall Cymru, the Welsh chapter of the national gay rights campaigning group, chose to host this event at the picturesque location of Llandudno, in a clear nod to its Welsh flavour. And indeed, the conference was put forth bilingually, impressively catering for those, like myself, who needed translations.
Ample opportunity was given for us to familiarise ourselves with the layout and agenda of the day, as the first hour was dedicated to networking and visiting the 'marketplace' of stalls all representing organisations connected to the cause of the day, a list of which is available below.
Groups such as AIDS charity Terrence Higgins Trust and children's support societies NSPCC and Childline were available for points of view on gay health and youth issues.
This organisational line-up was most impressive, with Stonewall itself taking centre stage showcasing its publications Spell It Out, The School Report and the more recent The Teacher's Report, all of which provide statistical data on experiences by gay students, teachers and their colleagues alike.
These particular publications formed the backbone of the event, contributing information about those issues that remain to be tackled, and suggestions as to how this could/should be done.
Stonewall's controversial yet undeniably effective 'Some People Are Gay - Get Over It' poster campaign from last year goes to prove the enthusiasm with which this organisation is tackling the ongoing issues faced by young gay people in education.
As revealed by Derek Munn, director of public affairs at Stonewall, during his speech, 'The Stonewall Update', that campaign was suggested by a group of young pupils from a school in Yorkshire. This clear indication of a general youth feeling about the topic in hand is refreshing to hear in the midst of such frustration over that which is unfair and unjust.
Another notable speech came on behalf of Jane Hutt, Welsh Assembly Government Minister For Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, whose absence was unfortunate. Her words nonetheless provided motivational assurance to those organising and attending this event that our efforts were being heard, and being honoured.
John Sam Jones' talk on 'dealing with local challenges' was put forth amiably, with reference to personal experience that made his words all the more relatable and accessible in respect of the day's objectives. Jones, who currently works as the Schools Advisor For PSE for Denbighshire County Council, is well known for his award-winning novels, an example of which, Fishboys Of Vernazza, was available for every attendee to take home to enjoy the rare experience of local gay literature.
There was a great deal of opportunity throughout the day for attendees to actively get involved in the day's outcome. Such interactive means as the video diary and graffiti walls allowed everyone to voice an opinion, give suggestions and to simply contribute to what was generally a feeling of positive action.
The various workshops hosted throughout the day also allowed for such interactivity, with a good number of topics being attended to:
? Tools for use in schools
? Supporting parents, supporting sons and daughters
? Out and proud in further and higher education
? How LGBQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer) youth work? works
? Schools-based counselling
? LGB issues in language learning
This just goes to show the sheer diversity of topics being covered at the year's Stonewall Annual Event. Indeed, attendees of the conference only had the opportunity to take part in two of the above workshops; perhaps there is too much ground to cover in just one day?
It certainly seems that, despite the sheer feeling of progress, success and positivity that this day left me with, there is still so much further to go in the eradication of youth discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.
As aforementioned, the recurring theme of the day was that of promoting understanding. Having been apprehensive about attending a day of 'homophobia-bashing', I was most relieved to be privy to these views.
Surely it makes sense to promote more widespread understanding of gay issues beyond the reaches of the gay community itself? After all, that which is perceived as homophobia can often be put down to mere curiosity or lack of understanding.
Without meaning to get all cheddar here, if we were to all understand each other a little bit more, we’d make far more progress than we could imagine.
ORGANISATIONS AT THE EVENT
Childline
Crown Prosecution Service
FFLAG (Families And Friends Of Lesbians And Gays)
LGBT Excellence Centre Wales
Advocacy Service For Children And Young People In Your Area (Tros Gynnal)
NSPCC (National Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Children)
Stonewall Cymru
Terrence Higgins Trust
TUC (Trades Union Congress)
Victim Support Wales
Viva (West Rhyl Young People's Project)
