Accentuate the positive

Southwark Council has a long and varied history of positive partnership work with the LGBT community. It was the first borough to hold a public meeting to look at the issues of homophobia and hate crimes (1995), hold a conference on homophobic bullying in schools (1999), award a small grant to enable the local community to build a float for London Pride events (2004) and have a public launch for the first national LGBT History Month (2004). Due to a positive working relationship between the LGBT community and the council, in 2007 the local authority was awarded fourth place in the Pink Paper reader’s awards for Best Council or Local Authority.

Against this backdrop, a new competition has been launched to encourage all young people in Southwark to create a piece of art work that demonstrates the positive contributions that members of the LGBT community make to society. The competition, entitled ‘Celebrate’, is open to everyone aged 11–25, and entries can be submitted by youth groups, classes from schools or colleges, or individuals. Part of the challenge of this project is that, even though there have recently been huge advances for the LGBT community in terms of legislation and human rights, there can still be resistance to accepting that young people might be something other than heterosexual. There is still a fear that talking to young people about being gay might lead them down a road where they ‘become’ lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, and therefore to a place of unhappiness and ostracism. This ignorance is the reason we decided to run the competition in the first place. However, because of the issues just mentioned, this project has its problems. It is difficult to pass on this kind of information, and some young people may not see this project as viable or appropriate for them. Furthermore, some young people may not have the opportunity to take part, simply because they don’t know it exists.

The project involves a working partnership of organisations from LGBT History Month, Southwark Police and Southwark Council working through the Southwark LGBT Network. The Network’s aim is to reduce the isolation felt by LGBT people within the local area. In partnership with the Network, the LGBT Community Development Worker at Southwark Council aims to offer a range of events and meetings to engage with, and build the community. Although the project is not just aimed at young LGBT people, it is hoped that in some way the positive impact of the project will reach out to young LGBT people in the area, to say “we know you are there; you are not alone; there are people you can talk to.” It is hoped that this project will build on existing work while developing new links with young people throughout the borough.