QueerSpace's news archive page aims to provide easy access to articles we have published in the past. Any comments or suggestions? Email
info@queerspace.org.uk.
On Wednesday 14 November 2012, PA MagLochlainn, our dear friend and
QueerSpace member, died following an illness.
PA worked tirelessly for LGBT people and our rights for many, many years.
He was well-known to all in our community and beyond through his
commitment to a great number of LGBT organisations and willingness to
represent LGBT perspectives to the media in Northern Ireland.
The LGBT community misses his intellectual rigour, sense of fun and
above all his wisdom and compassion.
A Service of Remembrance for PA MagLochlainn took place on Sunday 14 April
at 3.30pm in All Souls' Church, Elmwood Avenue, Belfast.
Quire Belfast LGBT
Singers was proud to perform at this service for their friend
and steadfast supporter.
Lesbian Gay
Bisexual Trans History Month takes place every year in February. It
celebrates the lives and achievements of the LGBT community.
To mark LGBT History Month in
2013, QueerSpace was delighted to
present:
Edmund Lynch's "Did anyone
notice us - they did"
Wednesday 13 February at 7.45 pm
LGBT
Centre, Waring Street, Belfast
This fascinating documentary looks back at our world that was, using
archival records of individual courage & campaigning in the 20 years
before decriminalisation in the Republic of Ireland.
Raidio Eireann broadcast the voices of two openly gay people speaking on
15 February 1974; this was the beginning of visibility for Irish lesbians
and gay men in the Irish media.
It includes various clips from the "Late Late Show", the Fairview Park
protest against the queer-bashing and murder of Declan Flynn, the first
interview with David Norris, and The Diceman (Thom McGinty) amongst
others.
We were privileged to have Edmund Lynch and his partner Martin join us for
the day. Following the screening, Edmund answered questions from the
audience regarding the background to its production and how to increase
LGBT visibility in the media generally.
Queer Generations - Personal perspectives
on the past, present and future
took
place on
Sunday 5 August 2012 at 5pm in The Europa Hotel
Liam Clarke,
Belfast Telegraph Political Editor, hosted
a debate & discussion with older and younger members of the LGBT
community, charting the highs & lows and the ups & downs of gay life
in Northern Ireland over the years.
Those attending were invited to add to a Timeline of
significant milestones in LGBT history, whether local or international.
We'd
like to thank all of you who joined us for QueerSpace's 13th Birthday
Party on Saturday 16th April 2011.
QueerSpace
has always aimed to be a welcoming, safe social space for LGBT people.
As
a priority this year, QueerSpace wants to increase the number of LGBT
people from an ethnic minority background who get involved with our
activities.
So
QueerSpace's 13th birthday party celebrated the diversity of our
members with a food fest of dishes from Asian and Indian
cultures and of course some good auld Irish favourites!
We
were delighted to be joined also by Maria Noble, a community
activist and member of UNISON’s LGBT regional committee who led a
discussion on the issues for LGBT people from Black/minority ethnic
backgrounds.
We also named our Queers of the Year for 2011:
Fidelma Carolan
Amanda Stephens
Fidelma and Amanda were honoured for their work on
behalf of LGBT people over many years.
The lively, constructive discussion provided a number of
clear action points for us to pursue to make QueerSpace a more welcoming
space for LGBT people of
minority ethnic backgrounds - so watch this
Space!
Age Awareness Week 2010 ran from
Saturday 25 September to 2 October. And QueerSpace marked the week by
attending the film "Gen Silent" on Wednesday 29 September.
Age
Awareness Week celebrates the diversity of older people's lives,
highlights the positive contribution older people make to our society,
increases public awareness and understanding of ageing issues and
challenges negative attitudes to ageing.
What would you do to survive if you were old,
disabled and ill - afraid of discrimination or abuse? "Gen Silent" is the
new LGBT documentary that asks six LGBT seniors if they will hide their
true identities in order to survive.
"Gen Silent"
was shown at the QFT on University Square on
Wednesday 29 September at 6.45pm.
The
screening was followed by an interesting, thought-provoking discussion featuring the film's director Stu Maddux and older LGBT people from Northern
Ireland.
Daigan
Gaither, a Sister from the San Franciscan Order of the
Sisters of Perpetual
Indulgence came down to QueerSpace on Wednesday 25 August 2010 to talk
about the good work of the ‘Mother’ Order which has been "defining San
Francisco values since 1979".
The Sisters is a worldwide order with many faiths & spiritual beliefs
founded with a mission to promulgate universal joy, expiate stigmatic
guilt and serve the community.
Since their first
appearance in San Francisco on Easter Sunday in 1979, The Sisters of
Perpetual Indulgence have used the power of parody to expose the forces of
bigotry, complacency, and guilt. Today, The Sisters are a global
collective of queer performance artists devoted to promoting human rights,
respect for diversity, and spiritual enlightenment.
The evening was an informal discussion and proved to be
interesting, lively and fun.
At the
beginning of March 2010, QueerSpace celebrated its 12th Birthday with two
special events -
thanks for coming down to the
party!
12th Birthday InSpace - Saturday 6th March
First
off, on Saturday 6th March we
celebrated with a
12th Birthday InSpace in the LGBT Centre.
As well as munching on birthday cake, QueerSpace looked back at a
few of the many significant events in our history.
Then Stephen Birkett treated us to a reading from his second recently-published novel, 'Ulster Gay'.
QueerSpace also unveiled its Queers of the Year for 2010:
Ruth McCarthy &
Stephen Birkett. The awards were in recognition of their huge
contribution to the LGBT community in Northern Ireland.
LGBT Community
Activism workshop - Wednesday 10th March
The second part of QueerSpace's 12th Birthday was
a
workshop on LGBT community activism
which took place
on
Wednesday 10th March.
The workshop included contributions from the
Volunteer Development Agency
and from Cara McCann, former CoSO Development Officer, as well as members
of the QueerSpace collective and the wider LGBT community.
The workshop discussion brought out many useful thoughts
and ideas which QueerSpace will be taking forward in the next few months.
QueerSpace welcomed back the many
people who've been involved with the collective during its 12 years.
Here are some photos of the
QueerSpace 12th Birthday Party.
Holocaust
Memorial Day (HMD) is commemorated internationally on 27th January each
year.
2010's theme is "The Legacy of
Hope".
QueerSpace marked Holocaust Memorial Day 2010 with a
film event on Wednesday 20th January at 7.30pm in
the LGBT Centre, 9 - 13 Waring Street.
We screened the award-winning documentary film Paragraph 175, followed by an informal discussion.
Paragraph 175, directed by Rob Epstein and
Jeffrey Friedman, and narrated by Rupert Everett, chronicles the lives of
several men who were arrested by the Nazis for homosexuality under
Paragraph 175, the sodomy provision of the German penal code, dating back
to 1871.
It is believed that between 1933 and 1945, 100,000 men
were arrested under Paragraph 175. Some were imprisoned, others were sent
to concentration camps. Only about 4,000 survived.
To find out more about the commemorations, visit the
Holocaust Memorial Day
website.
Belfast
Pride 2009 ran from Saturday 25th July to Saturday 1st
August and was a wonderful success.
The festival was a week of
community events including public debates, arts performances, a church service
and a sci-fi discussion, all culminating in the Parade & Party in the Square on
Saturday 1st August.
And QueerSpace was certainly in
the thick of it. Our main Belfast Pride event took place on
Wednesday 29th July
in the Black Box. "Love... and Marriage?" was an opportunity to discuss civil
partnership and gay marriage with guest speakers including Ailbhe Smyth from the
National Lesbian & Gay Federation in Dublin, Reverend Chris Hudson and couples
who have tied the knot themselves.
Shannon Sickels opened the
evening with a moving recital of why civil partnership is so important to her
and her wife Grainne. Then the discussion was ably
chaired by respected local journalist and commentator, Fionola Meredith.
But the evening had a light-hearted side too, with a performance by Quire: Belfast LGBT Singers
and QueerSpace’s version of the gameshow ‘Mr & Mr/Mrs & Mrs’ with our very own
Fern and Phil!!!
Thanks to Fionola and Patrick
Sanders, to Shannon, Ailbhe, Chris, Isabella, David, Vincent, Geraldine, Orla
and Quire for making the event so special.
And a huge thanks to everyone who
joined us in the Black Box on the night - if you missed it,
here are the photos.
QueerSpace
volunteers were also busy at the Pride Parade and Party in the Square
on Saturday 1st August 2009.
Folk joined us from 12 noon for a fair trade
coffee at the InSpace Coffee stand in the Community Fair marquee -
it was a great opportunity to relax amid the chaos of Custom House Square!
And you'll have seen the QueerSpace
sandwich boards as we marched with Pride on the parade itself!
Congratulations to the Pride Committee for a fantastic Belfast Pride 2009!
International Day Against
Homophobia (IDAHO
Day) on Sunday 17th May was in 2009 in Ireland marked for the first
time by special church services in Belfast, Cork and Dublin.
The services were
organized by
Changing
Attitude Ireland, a Christian pro-gay network which works within the
churches towards full affirmation of LGBT people.
There were services for
IDAHO Day at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (3.30 pm), at St. Fin Barre’s
Cathedral, Cork (7pm) and at St. George’s Parish Church, High St, Belfast
(3pm). More details can be found at
www.changingattitudeireland.org.
According to Dr Richard O'Leary of Changing Attitude Ireland,
"Homophobia is an issue for Irish society generally, but even more so in
churches, where there has been a tradition of prejudice against persons
who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered.
"While many churches in
Ireland can be commended for addressing racism, they have been reluctant
so far to challenge or even to recognize the existence of homophobia.
Homophobia should be the concern of everyone not just LGBT persons but
their families, friends and colleagues".
The Tenth Cathedral
Quarter Arts
Festival ran from 30th April until 10th May 2009 and closed with a
stunning concert featuring
Quire Belfast LGBT
Singers.
Following
two sell-out concerts in the Black Box at
Outburst in 2007
and 2008, Quire and
Feile Women's Singing Group invited the
audience to
Get Yer La La's Out on Sunday 10th May
at the Waterfront Hall Studio.
Joining Quire and Feile
Women's Singing Group were special guests Cat Barter and The Lazy Susans.
The evening was a glorious explosion of song and spectacle!
Well done to all the groups!
10 days....19
events...and one big queer kick up the arts.
Welcome to the second
OUTBURST Queer Arts festival, 13th-22nd NOVEMBER!
OUTBURST,
Belfast’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender arts festival, is back
for a second year, bringing you the very best in queer theatre, music,
film, art, literature and discussion from November 13th to
22nd 2008.
Highlights
include Licky Rake,
Quire, and a special treat for film fans, with three evenings of
fantastic new queer cinema in association with festival partners, Belfast
Film Festival and
QFT.
All this plus free creative
workshops, old style tea dancing, a Gay Prom Night and a queer cartoon
history of Northern Ireland!
The printed brochure is now available so keep an eye out for its lovely
hot pink cover in a venue near you! In the meantime, here's
the electronic programme, so just download the full brochure below for
all the event details!
To
mark Age
Awareness Week 2008, L+ the older LGBT activity
group, screened a film on Wednesday 1st October at 7pm in the
Belfast Film Festival Cinema, Donegall Street, Belfast.
On the evening, the focus was on the
segment set in 1961, starring Vanessa Redgrave as Edith Tree. It concerns
the death of Tree's lover and soul mate, Abby Hedley, and Tree's exclusion
from subsequent family matters.
The film was followed by a discussion and
refreshments.
L+ gratefully
acknowledges the support and sponsorship of this event by
Age Concern.
It's the new social and
activity network by and for older LGBT people (L
is the Roman numeral for 50!)
QueerSpace was delighted to support the L+
launch event on Saturday 17th May 2008 in Black Box - we were just one of a
great number of community groups with a stand at a community fair where
people were able to find out about available services and upcoming events.
The launch of
L+ on 17th May was timed to coincide with
International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO).
Coffee Morning - Sunday 15th June at 11.30am
L+
has been set up by and for older LGBT folk with support from QueerSpace
and a number of other LGBT community groups, as well as Age Concern and
Help the Aged.
Join
L+ for a
relaxing coffee morning at Cathedral Buildings, 64 Donegall Street,
Belfast on Sunday 15th June at 11.30am. As well as enjoying a cuppa and
chatting, the group will start planning activities - so join the group and
develop
L+ to reflect
what you want.
Café at Black Box Hill
Street, Belfast (free admission)
OUTBURST is all
about supporting vibrant new queer creativity and this afternoon of
readings is no exception. Local actors performed three works of local (via
New York) playwright, Shannon Yee.
Shannon has been living in Belfast since
2004. Her play 'Divinity', was recently produced as part of the 24-Hour
Plays, courtesy of Belfast's twentyfive collective. 'What's In A Name?' a
play about racism, toured schools across NI.
Shannon Yee's work aims to bring those that
live in our periphery into focus. She has received the James Baldwin
Playwriting Award, and was shortlisted for the 2006 Heideman Award.
Rae Spoon is a critically acclaimed Canadian bluegrass/alt.
country performer, influenced by the greats likes Hank Williams and Woodie
Guthrie but more in tune with modern day performers such as Joanna Newsome
and Sufjan Stevens.
Describing himself as "a transgendered person raised by
Albertan Evangelists", his warm and colourful musical storytelling has
seen him share a stage with everyone from Emmylou Harris to Ani Difranco
and Natalie Merchant.
If you like your music with a big honest queer heart and
lots of rich toe-tapping goodness, this one's not to be missed!
Outburst is
delighted to support such an intimate solo gig from an up-and-coming queer
recording artist who is set to be making big waves over the next couple of
years. Check out Rae's music at
www.raespoon.com and
www.myspace.com/raespoon.
The management committee of
Belfast Out
Resource Centre invites all interested groups and individuals to attend a workshop to
be held at
Voluntary Service Bureau, 34 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast on Saturday 1st March 2008
from 10am until 3pm with refreshments on arrival and lunch provided. The
workshop will have an external facilitator.
Belfast Out Resource Centre has applied for £1.5 million funding
from the Department for Social Development's
Modernisation Fund
to purchase accommodation to house as many of the existing professional,
social and recreational LGBT organisations. This building would also
potentially replace and enhance existing facilities such as
Cathedral Buildings and The Rainbow Project’s premises.
"We want you to tell us what you would like
to see for the city and the greater Belfast area. Some of the
organisations also have a province-wide remit; therefore, housing all of
these organisations under the one roof will be more economical and aid
partnership working, whilst increasing visibility.
"Ideas that could be discussed might include
a new logo, a new name, accommodation requirements, getting professional/technical
experts from within the LGBT community on board as
volunteers, exploring finances and vision. So it is vital that we get a good
attendance on the day.
"We need your input to build a better and
more secure future for our diverse organisations and individuals so that
they can continue to provide their vital services to the community. We look
forward to hearing from you; this should be an interesting and
stimulating day!
"It would be helpful if we had an idea of
numbers attending for catering purposes; please confirm attendance by emailing
tracy@coso.org.uk or phoning 02890
890 201."
Well
done to everyone involved in Outburst
- Northern Ireland's first annual LGBT arts festival - which took
place from 22 November to 1 December 2007!
The 10 day
programme of events included great queer theatre, music, visual arts,
workshops and debate, in venues such as the Black Box and the Baby Grand
in the Grand Opera House.
Run by a collective of local LGBT artists and performers and dedicated to celebrating and highlighting queer creativity,
Outburst has been a resounding success for our entire community.
After a
well-earned break, we look forward to Outburst 2008(!)
For Belfast Pride 2007,
QueerSpace teamed up with local acting group Drama Divas to presentQueens: The Musical in the Black Box
on Tuesday 31 July.
Thanks go to the sell-out audience of around 200 who joined
us for the
hilarious rags to riches story of Sean, a 22 year old gay drama
student in Belfast, and his colourful flatmates.
Queer
of the Year 2007
The evening was all the more special as
QueerSpace took the opportunity to crown its Queer of the Year for 2007 -
Niall Gillespie was the recipient in
recognition of his time, effort, vision and work as a volunteer on behalf
of the LGBT community in Northern Ireland. Well done Niall!
Well the
dust has settled on the 17th
Belfast Pride Festival
- the biggest ever on the island of Ireland!
Culminating on Saturday 4 August
2007 with the largest ever Pride
Parade and Party in the Square in its new venue - Custom House Square - the
week-long Festival had it all: spirituality, community action, drama,
debate, the list goes on.
QueerSpace volunteers worked on our stand at the community
fair section of the Party in the Square from midday until 6pm, providing
tea, coffee and homemade buns, as well as spreading the word about
QueerSpace's activities. The atmosphere was fantastic - thanks to all
involved in making the afternoon a success.
Sandra Laframboise, a Native of
the Algonquin-Cree people, is chief and elder of the
Vancouver-based Dancing to Eagle Spirit Society.
Sandra is Two-Spirited (embracing both female and male
spirits), which means she is an individual who challenges
conventional gender roles.
In March 2007, Sandra came to Belfast from
Vancouver to give a series of talks and workshops, aimed at the
entire community, which QueerSpace was honoured to
facilitate
in conjunction with the
Voluntary Service Bureau,
Belfast.
Read more
here about Sandra's inspirational visit. Photos and resources will be online
soon.
QueerSpace
was delighted to work with the festival to present Beyond Hatred,
a deeply moving French documentary in which a family reflect on the
killing of their 29-year-old son, and try to move beyond feelings of
hatred and revenge.
Beyond Hatred was shown on Wednesday 28 March at 8.30pm in
the Studio Cinema at the Exchange Place in Donegall Street.
This film
resonates with LGBT people everywhere. The screening was followed by a
special Q&A event, chaired by Dr Gareth Higgins on behalf of QueerSpace.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the debate.
underexposed:QueerSpace photo exhibitions during
Belfast Pride and Anti-Homophobia NI 2006
In
January 2006, QueerSpace revealed we had secured funding from the Arts
Council to work with
Belfast Exposed
on a photographic projectwhich aims to highlight and celebrate
diversity within the LGBT community, challenge stereotypes and break down
invisibility.
The
first results of our workshops were unveiled on Monday 31 July 2006 - our
exhibition entitled underexposed launched in the John Hewitt
Bar to a packed audience of invited guests, members of the LGBT and arts
communities.underexposed
was scheduled
to coincide with Belfast Pride 2006 and ran until Saturday 5 August.
By November, following some serious
effort, we had over 50 images, ready for our next exhibition at Voluntary
Service Bureau's Artspace in Shaftesbury Square. The launch coincided with
Anti-Homophobia NI week and we were delighted to welcome Monica
McWilliams, the Human Rights Chief Commissioner and Bob Collins, the Chief
Equality Commissioner, to speak at the event.
Thanks to everyone
involved for making QueerSpace's underexposed events such a success.
Quire: Belfast LGBT Singers is a group of singers from
Northern Ireland's LGBT community, formed in early 2005 - maybe you saw
them perform at a number of events during Belfast Pride?
With the launch of its own
website at www.quire.org.uk, the
group is going
from strength to strength in 2007.
The
Quire helps launch
Belfast Pride 2006...
Quire: Belfast LGBT Singerswas delighted to help launch
Belfast Pride 2006 at the Waterfront Hall on Saturday 29th
July.
Following the fantastic
success of our concerts with
Glória at the
Waterfront Studio in Belfast in May, and at Dublin's National Concert Hall
in June, this was another chance to catch your community choir in
action.
The Quire entertained the
audience with a medley of pieces from its recent concerts, including (very
appropriately!) My Lagan Love, Something Inside So Strong
and I Am What I Am.
The event was the perfect
opportunity for the Quire to celebrate a year of growing confidence and
success (its very first public performance was at Pride 2005).
...and marches
with Pride at the end of a wonderful week
The following Saturday, the
Quire joined over 6,500 people in celebrating the culmination of Belfast
Pride Week - the Parade and Party in the Square.
Carrying its new Banner with
enormous pride (huge thanks to Sally!), the Quire made its way through the
streets of Belfast city centre, regaling the crowds with some musical
numbers!
A huge thank-you to
everyone who supported us at our concerts in 2006 - at the Waterfront in
Belfast and the National Concert Hall in Dublin -
get in touch if you'd like to join
us.
Support the
Quire
If you are interested in
joining the Quire: Belfast LGBT Singers
or in supporting the work of this community initiative in any way, get in
touch via info@quire.org.uk .
The group is delighted to
include a small but growing number of female singers - we want to represent our community as fully as possible.
Thanks
to everyone who came along to QueerSpace's 8th Birthday Party at Shoe
Factory at the beginning of June 2006, and for making the evening such a success.
We were delighted to award the QueerSpace Queer of the Year Awardto Grainne and Shannon (pictured), in
recognition of their courage and dignity in representing the LGBT
community.
The evening had a salsa theme,
involving us all in dance tuition from Salsa Belfast - take
a look at the photos!
Our
event for Hallowe'en this year was a scary (did you SEE the wigs??!!) boat
cruise down the Lagan on Wednesday 26th October 2005.
About 35 of us were
entertained with spooky stories by our special guest Sister Mary and
enjoyed the hospitality of the Joyce II.
Thanks to everyone for joining us.
The recent
BBC Two series
Coast was the inspiration for QueerSpace's boat trip on Sunday
18th September 2005 when 14 of us got together to see the Gobbins - previously one of the most popular sites in Ireland, having
far more visitors than the Giants Causeway.
A narrow path was erected
in 1902 to take walkers around the cliffs at Whitehead (Islandmagee) but,
unfortunately, following the Second World War the path fell into disrepair
and was closed in 1962. You can however still see bits of the old walkway
from a boat.
As you can
see from these spectacular photos,
the boat trip proved a fantastic opportunity to take in some of our best
scenic coastline.
Congratulations to Andrew for organising such a successful event.
Pride
2005 has been and gone - what a fantastic week it was with over 4,500
people parading proudly through the streets of Belfast on Saturday 6th
August.
UPDATE: Some Pride 2005
photos now on the website.
QueerSpace's Pride Event
QueerSpace held a Queer Pub
Quiz Crawl on Monday 1st August, taking in four of the bars in the
Cathedral Quarter. Thanks to everyone who came along and made the evening
so special - we raised £430 to be split equally between
Diabetes UK in
Northern Ireland and QueerSpace. QueerSpace bore any costs of running the
event. Huge thanks also to all the people who organised, prepared food,
sold ballots or donated prizes.
Have you any Pride photos
you'd like to share?
We have a few images from
Pride Week online now but we need your help - if you have any
photos of the Parade or Party in the Square that you would be willing to
share on this public website, please email them to
info@queerspace.org.uk. Try to
ensure that anyone featured in them is happy enough to appear. Of course,
the appearance of anyone’s image on this website is not an indication of
their sexual orientation.
Pride Committee looking
for your views
The Pride Committee is made
up of volunteers and therefore depends on people willing to give time and
effort. Could you get involved to help shape Pride 2006? Do you have
thoughts on how Pride should change and develop?
Get in touch with the
Secretary of the Pride Committee.
On
Wednesday 15th June 2005, QueerSpace welcomed special guest speaker
Dr Kate O'Hanlan from
the US to talk to us about her work as a cancer surgeon in California,
especially her interest in LGBT health issues and in pushing these further
up the academic research agenda. Dr O'Hanlan emphasised that LGBT health
is about more than HIV/sexual health - it concerns increased risk factors
for conditions such as cancer (in both men and women). She and her partner
exchanged ideas and experiences with over 30 members of the community here
in NI.
The QueerSpace collective
would like to thank Kate and her partner Lé for taking time out of
their busy holiday schedule to help create such a thought-provoking
evening; it was obvious that we are lagging behind the United States in
considering this important issue, but I'm sure everyone attending was
inspired to make a start in the process. Thanks also to PA for all his
work in co-ordinating the event.
On
Saturday 28th May 2005, QueerSpace celebrated the relaunch and revamp of its
popular InSpace Coffee Lounge, run every Saturday afternoon by volunteers.
Read the full story of the
redecoration and view the photos of the day itself
here.
We welcomed
around 75 friends/Spacers to The Nest bar on Wednesday, 2nd
March 2005 to celebrate 7 years of QueerSpace.
The upstairs bar was the
venue for music, drinks, sausage rolls and birthday cake. With a plasma
screen flashing up photos from our many events over the years, the
conversation about worst fashion crime soon flowed!
We heard thoughts from a few
speakers about what QueerSpace has meant to them. And then it was time to
award our Queer of the Year: James Knox, Convener of the
Coalition on Sexual
Orientation. This was in recognition of all his hard work within the
LGBT community, especially the Anti-Homophobia NI week, held last
December.
The Coalition
on Sexual Orientation held a Gay Question Time event on
Saturday, 30th April 2005 with representatives from Alliance, SDLP, Sinn
Fein, the Ulster Unionists and Vote for Yourself. An extra seat lay empty
for Northern Ireland’s largest Unionist Party, the DUP, who refused to send
a representative, despite their manifesto pledge to “ensure equality for
all”.
The panel engaged with the audience on a wide variety of topics such as
Hate Crime, Education and Government Departments' lack of commitment to
equality for LGBT people. Civil Partnerships and Domestic Violence were also
discussed.
All parties, except the Ulster Unionists, recognised that commitment to LGBT
equality was no longer a matter of individual conscience but party policy.
Questioned by the audience, Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance agreed that elected
representatives that do not support gay equality will face disciplinary
action by the party.
Stephen Farry, from the Alliance Party pledged to help ensure “a more
representative police force” which includes gay and lesbian people whilst
Patricia Lewsley pledged action on lesbian and gay domestic violence and
funding.
Eóin O’Broin from Sinn Fein proposed that an ongoing dialogue with the
political parties and members of the gay community should take place
following the election.
It was agreed that action is required to ensure greater representation of
the gay community on the Task Force on funding the Voluntary and Community
Sector.
November
2004
saw the first of a series of monthly meetings where QueerSpace
gets involved with the special process of
Community Dialogue.
There's a great deal of enthusiasm among the Collective about the
potential results of the dialogue, so if it's something that interests you
-
and that you'd be able to commit to - contact us for more details.
A meeting to discuss the way
forward took place on
Wednesday, 18th May.
And as ever our latest
calendar contains details of other LGBT
community events coming up soon.
QueerSpace was proud
to play a part in the first Anti-Homophobia Week in
Northern Ireland - a series of events designed to not only raise awareness
of new laws protecting gay people, but also to tackle homophobia itself -
which took place from 3rd - 14th December 2004.
QueerSpace hosted a
charity Pub Quiz in Union Street Bar on Monday 6th December.
The proceeds (over £250) went to the
Coalition on Sexual
Orientation to support the vital work undertaken on behalf of all LGBT
people in Northern Ireland. Thanks for your support - we know everyone had
a fab night.
Wednesday 8th
December saw QueerSpace present the Northern Ireland premiere of the
movie
Latter Days, which lived up to its description as a "charming, sexy, and moving tale
that will leave you believing in the transformational power of love". Aah.
For more info on Anti-Homophobia NI 2004, visit CoSO's
revamped website.
Belfast Pride 2004 has been and
gone! Running from 31st July till 7th August, the week
featured a packed schedule
of events. A highlight for many people was
QueerSpace's Queer Bus Tour of Belfast on Sunday 1st August. A
range of speakers kept us entertained with amusing and informative tales of
the Queer history and herstory of our city. Huge thanks to everyone involved in making the event such a success!
Photos of the Queer Bus Tour
and other Pride events are available in our Photo Gallery
here.
Pride 2005 had
its first meeting in September and is now up and running. Visit their
website for more
details about how you can get involved in the fun.
It was great to see so many of QueerSpace's friends and supporters at our
recent 6th birthday party. We held an informal reception on Wednesday, 31st
March 2004 in the Atrium at Clanmil Housing in Waring Street.
Sally Young (pictured left)
received our Queer of the Year 2004 award for her work with Belfast's
LGBT community, facilitating arts projects and organising Belfast Pride. With nibbles and drinks,
comedy performances and witty speeches, it was the perfect opportunity for
everybody to catch up.
Photos of the event are now
online in the photo gallery.
The
Office of Law
Reform for Northern Ireland has published a
consultation document on the creation of a same-sex civil
partnership register for the province. This follows on from the
government’s intention to introduce a Civil Partnerships Bill in England
& Wales.
The
document focuses on the rights and responsibilities of such a
partnership; during the partnership, on dissolution and following the
death of a civil partner. This is obviously a milestone in addressing
the serious inequality and social injustice faced by LGBT people in
committed relationships.
“CIVIL PARTNERSHIP: A LEGAL
STATUS FOR COMMITTED SAME-SEX COUPLES IN NORTHERN IRELAND” can be viewed
as an Adobe PDF file
here. The consultation
period closed on Friday, 5th March.
CoSO, the
Coalition on Sexual
Orientation, held a consultation meeting at 6.30pm on
Tuesday, 17th February 2004 at Clanmil Housing, Waring
Street.
TASK FORCE ON RESOURCING THE VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY SECTOR
- PUBLIC CONSULTATION
The Task Force on Resourcing the Voluntary and Community
Sector was established by the Minister for Social Development in February
2003. It is due to report next year and has been examining what action is
required to enable the sector to continue to make a substantial contribution
to the well-being of the Northern Ireland community. The Task Force has
published a
Position Paper (Adobe PDF format - 900k file size) to share its thinking
on issues which are fundamental to the future of the voluntary and community
sector.
To facilitate this, the Coalition on Sexual Orientation held two
consultation events at
Clanmil Housing on Waring Street,
Belfast on Monday March 8th and Tuesday March 9th,
both at 6.30pm. The March 9th
event was women-oriented. For more information,
contact admin@coso.org.uk
The Equality Commission held a roundtable on sexual orientation and
disability at NICVA on Tuesday, 24th February 2004. Michael
Brothers, Special Projects Manager with the Disability Rights Commission
discussed his research, It’s not just about
ramps and Braille: disability and sexual orientation.
The research is part of a project –
Rethinking Identity: the Challenge of Diversity – exploring
the reality of diversity in people’s identities, completed by the Joint
Equality and Human Rights Forum which brings together equality and human
rights bodies across Britain and Ireland. The roundtable looked at
the findings and also at the work done and planned in seeking to meet the
report’s recommendations.
Belfast was the focal point of the fourth
annual Holocaust Memorial Day
on 27th January. Take a look at how QueerSpace
marked the occasion and the
official events that took place.
Saturday, 20th December
2003 (after our special festive InSpace)
Our Christmas event this
year was a trip along the Lagan in the Joyce II in sub-zero temperatures.
But we all soon warmed up thanks to the music, great company and liquid
refreshments. Take a look at the
photos which are now online.
The QueerSpace trip to Galway was a great success. 17 intrepid people made
their way down to Galway in a luxury coach - complete with DVD player, air-con and temperamental toilet light! - for a weekend of sightseeing, fine
food and a tour of the local nightspots. For rapidly dwindling photographic evidence of what
went on, click here.
Belfast Pride is over for
another year and it certainly lived up to its billing as a week of
events to stimulate, entertain and celebrate the diversity of the LGBT
community in Belfast and Northern Ireland with something for everyone!
QueerSpace was delighted
at the huge response to the community quiz we organised in the John
Hewitt Bar on Monday 28th July as a fundraiser for Belfast
Pride. From all reports received, everyone who took part had a great
time and no-one went home empty-handed!
It's
hard to believe, but QueerSpace has reached the ripe old age of 5
years old.
We celebrated the occasion with a 5th
Birthday Party at the Custom House on Wednesday 19th
March 2003, thanks to everyone who came along for the launch of the
Breaking Down Barriers report, which is now available to
download from the QueerSpace website.
There were nibbles and drinks, and
the Regal MC kept the dance floor full with some great tunes.
Robert May was also the winner of the QueerSpace Queer of
the Year award - congratulations!
Go to the Photo Gallery to view some
photos from the event.
Want more info, to pass on a compliment or
complaint or to
volunteer? Email QueerSpace
and let us know. We want to hear from you - make QueerSpace your space.
took
place on
We'd
like to thank all of you who joined us for QueerSpace's 13th Birthday
Party on Saturday 16th April 2011.
The
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (
Holocaust
Memorial Day (HMD) is commemorated internationally on 27th January each
year.
But the evening had a light-hearted side too, with a performance by
QueerSpace
folk set their phasers to stun on Friday 8th May 2009!
Following
two sell-out concerts in the Black Box at
To
mark 
It's the new social and
activity network by and for older LGBT people (L
is the Roman numeral for 50!)
Friday
28th March 2008 from 9pm
Belfast Out Resource Centre has applied for £1.5 million funding
from the Department for Social Development's
Culminating on Saturday 4 August
2007 with the largest ever Pride
Parade and Party in the Square in its new venue - Custom House Square - the
week-long Festival had it all: spirituality, community action, drama,
debate, the list goes on.
On
Wednesday 15th June 2005, QueerSpace welcomed special guest speaker
On
Saturday 28th May 2005, QueerSpace celebrated the relaunch and revamp of its
popular InSpace Coffee Lounge, run every Saturday afternoon by volunteers.
We welcomed
around 75 friends/Spacers to The Nest bar on Wednesday, 2nd
March 2005 to celebrate 7 years of QueerSpace.
The 
November
2004
saw the first of a series of monthly meetings where QueerSpace
gets involved with the special process of
