RainbowYOUTH launched their latest resource InsideOut in Wellington, with an event held at Parliament last night. Attended by politicians, community leaders, scholars and representatives from other LGBT organisations, the night was not only a celebration but also recognition of the importance of combating homophobic and transphobic bullying. Green MP Jan Logie attended the launch last night and speaks of InsideOut as an invaluable resource; “This resource is world leading and I am sure it will be world changing for many students and teachers alike,” she says. “It's an evidence based educational tool sharing the real experiences of a rainbow array of LGBTI young people that aims to reduce homophobic and transphobic bullying in our schools. I hope every school in New Zealand picks it up. “Everyone involved in making it should feel very proud.” The freely available video-based teaching resources and resource packs aim to foster positive relationships between youth and in turn reduce homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools. “Having the launch in Parliament was/is huge for youth and the broader LGBTIQ community,” says Mani Mitchell, Executive Director of Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand (ITANZ). “Then to have the minister Nikki Kaye make such strong statements of support and admiration of the work that RainbowYOUTH does and then acknowledge the risk faced by the challenges faced by youth/rangatahi is huge beyond words - we have come along way. For me personally it was deeply touching to have the intersex issue made visible by a NZ Aotearoa intersex youths own voice/image. Produced in partnership with Curative, and CORE Education and with support from the University of Auckland, the two year project has been made possible with funding from the Ministry of Social Development. The event at Parliament was just one of eight regional stops for the RainbowYOUTH team, who have been launching the resource nationwide.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 14th October 2015 - 8:40am