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Celebrating Pride: Exciting June Events

Hello SPN Members,

This June, we have a fantastic line-up of events to celebrate Pride Month. From discussions and seminars to performances and marches, there’s something for everyone. Here are the details:

  1. Queer Neurodivergence and Synesthesia: Podcast Discussion with Maike Engage in an enlightening discussion with Maike, a queer neurodivergent psychologist and synesthesia artist. Topics include being queer and/or neurodivergent in Edinburgh/Scotland, accommodating queer and neurodivergent students/staff at universities and workplaces, synesthesia, and more. Interested? Contact Maike via email at synesthes_a@outlook.com.
  2. Little France Pride March Join the LGBT+ Staff networks for NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh, along with the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity for the first Little France Pride March to celebrate the start of Pride Month. The march will begin at 13:30, with participants encouraged to bring flags, banners, and face paint. Additionally, stalls from various staff networks will be available from 13:00 to 15:00 at the Chancellor’s Building reception. Even if you’re unable to participate in the full 1-mile march, come along to learn more about the support available for LGBTQI+ staff and allies. Date & Time: Friday, 2nd June 2023, Stalls open from 13:00 to 15:00, March begins at 13:30 Location: Chancellor’s Building Reception, University of Edinburgh More information and tickets: Eventbrite Link
  3. Sex Education Xplorers at Summerhall: 3rd June A brilliantly performed, funny, and inclusive show, “Sex Education Xplorers” explores the fluidity of sex and gender. The show is performed by the husband of an SPN member and starts its tour of Scotland at Summerhall at 2pm and 6.30pm on Saturday, 3rd of June. Find out more here.
  4. Pride, Protest and Place series: Creative Writing and Protest. Multiple dates: 5th & 6th June 2pm, sign up here. This is a creative writing workshop that will incorporate historical material from the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard archive. Workshop Co-Ordinator, Eloise Birtwhistle, will talk you through a range of writing exercises and you will explore the themes of queer protest and resistance.
  5. Finding Our Past: How We Collect, Describe, Access, and Use LGBTQ+ Archives Join us for an online symposium on 7th June 2023 from 10:00 to 13:30 BST. We’ll explore themes from our project, such as confidentiality and accessing sensitive material, and discuss how we collect, describe, access, and understand information about the history of LGBTQ+ lives. Project Archivist Louise Neilson will be joined by Hannah Elizabeth, Stefan Dickers, Nicola Maksymuik, and Elliot Holmes, along with Keith Paterson, a former member of the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. For more information and to book your place, please visit: Eventbrite
  6. “You are beautiful just the way you are” LGBT+ Inclusive Service: 8th June An inclusive service at the Chaplaincy from 2-3pm, focusing on self-love and acceptance. Get your tickets here.
  7. Pride, Protest and Place series: Zine Making! Multiple dates: 12th & 13th June 3.30pm sign up here. This is a zine making workshop that will incorporate historical material from the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard archive. Workshop Co-Ordinator, Eloise Birtwhistle, will provide a short introduction in to what zines are and how they have been used in the past, and will guide you through how to get started on making your own!
  8. “Abuse That Dare Not Speak Its Name” Seminar: 14th June Join us for a seminar talk and launch event discussing gay men’s experience of intimate partner violence at the Apex Hotel, Waterloo Place, from 5-6pm. Reserve your spot here.
  9. Bespoke Tour of the Pleasance Sports Complex The Sports Union is organising a bespoke tour of the Pleasance Sports Complex during Pride Month. This initiative aims to improve the health and well-being of all University staff by acknowledging and addressing the historic lack of support for LGBTQ+ individuals in sports and physical exercise. Join us on Thursday, 15 June at 1:00 PM for a 30-45 minute tour of our sporting facilities. Renovations are currently going on in the facility but we can still access a number of spaces. The aim of the tour is to showcase what facilities we have as part of the membership options and what is available to staff, as well as making people more comfortable in accessing the space. We will also have rainbow lanyards and pronoun badges available. To secure your place on the tour, please RSVP to Neil at Neil.Rankin@ed.ac.uk by 2:00 PM on Wednesday 14 June. If you have any specific accessibility needs, please let Neil know in advance so that we can accommodate them accordingly. The tour meeting point will be outside the entrance to the sports facility at 46 Pleasance (What.3.Words: ledge.spicy.train) We look forward to seeing you on Thursday and celebrating Pride Month together!
  10. SPN/EREN Book Club: 20th June Join us for our first in-person book club in collaboration with Edinburgh Race Equality Network (EREN) and SPN to celebrate Pride month. We’ll be discussing Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, a story of a young Chinese American girl navigating her identity and sexuality in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1950s. The meeting will be held in central Edinburgh, with the exact location to be confirmed soon. Register here.
  11. Wellbeing Walk and Bake Sale at Edinburgh BioQuarter As part of the Pride Month celebrations, Edinburgh BioQuarter is planning to host a wellbeing walk and bake sale on the 22nd of June. More specific details, such as the time of the event and the chosen charity, will be announced soon. If you’d like to contribute a cake for the sale, please get in touch with Dom Cairns-Gibson at Dom.cairns-gibson@ed.ac.uk.
  12. Banner Making for Pride Edinburgh: 22nd June Join us at Potterrow Dome from 4-6pm to create banners for the Pride Edinburgh March. Book your spot here.
  13. Edinburgh Pride March: 24th June We’ll meet at Levels cafe on Holyrood Road from 11.30am, then walk down to Holyrood Parliament for midday. Wear your SPN t-shirts and join us in the march. For the complete route, click here. We will have the big SPN banner (see photo above) so all can find us along the route or if you want to meet us at the end by Bristo Square there will be the SPN stand in the window of the Informatics building on the Charles Street side near the brass Rino’s head (on the wall). We’ll be collecting people from there if you want to go to the SPN chillout space.
  14. The BioQuarter LGBTQ+ Staff Committee is holding a Bake Sale, 11-2pm on Thursday the 29th June in aid of LGBT Youth Scotland. If anyone would like to contribute a cake to the stall, then that would be hugely appreciated, and they can be dropped off in the Chancellors foyer any time after 10:30 am tomorrow. They will also be giving out free pride lanyards and pronoun badges (first come, first served).

In addition to these exciting events, don’t forget our recurring monthly socials:

  1. SPN Evening Social: First Friday of the Month Join us for great conversation at The Royal Dick Bar in Newington every first Friday of the month at 17:30. Next date: July 7th, 2023.
  2. SPN Kings Buildings Coffee & Cake: Third Wednesday of the Month Join us at Magnet Café, Edinburgh at 13:00 for free cake and enjoyable company. Next date: June 21st, 2023.
  3. SPN Central Coffee & Cake: Last Wednesday of the Month Meet fellow SPN members at Bayes Café, Edinburgh at 13:00 for free cake and good chat. Next date: June 28th, 2023.
  4. SPN Virtual Social: Last Wednesday of the Month Can’t make it in person? Join our virtual social at 13:00 BST to connect with friends and colleagues. Next date: June 28th, 2023.
  5. Trans and Non-Binary Meetup: 4th Thursday of the Month A safe space for trans and non-binary staff and PGRs to meet, chat, relax, and discuss relevant issues. Held at The Auld Hoose, 5:30-7:30pm. Next date: June 22nd, 2023. RSVP here.

Please remember to keep checking our social media and email updates for any additional events that may be added. Let’s celebrate Pride together in the best way possible – by being our true selves!

SPN Comms & Media Team

Requests:

When putting together a Pride Month display, Moray House Library staff noticed a lack of children’s books with LGBTQ+ themes. Our Academic Support Librarians are now looking into purchasing titles to add to the collection. Please send us (at StaffPrideNetwork@ed.ac.uk) any recommendations for timeless LGBTQ+ children’s books that you think would make a great addition to our shelves – and feel free to drop by the library to check out our display which includes LGBTQ+ books on Education and Sport.

Media available for Advertising:

📣 Attention #LGBTQ+ community! A research study is being conducted to understand how minority stress and childhood experiences affect depression. If you’re over 18, fluent in English, and identify as LGBTQ+, your insights are needed.

🔗 Take the 10-minute survey before the end of June: https://edinburgh.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6xIkNUowfxdolhk?Q_CHL=qr

⚠️ Content warning: The survey includes questions about traumatic experiences.

📧 Questions? Email: s1530227@ed.ac.uk

This research is approved by the University of Edinburgh School of Health in Social Science Ethics Committee. #Research #MentalHealth #LGBTQResearch #PrideMonth

Bake Sale and Wellbeing Walk

banner-making session

Banner & Placard Making Session Potterrow Dome 16:00-18:00

 

Poster for Little France Pride




Celebrating Diversity: Showcasing the LGBTQ+ Photo Bank at the University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh has always been committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. Back in 2018, a special photo shoot led by Gina Gwenffrewi was organised to create a collection of images representing the LGBTQ+ community within our university, including trans and non-binary individuals. These images deserve greater publicity and can be viewed at the LGBTQ+ Students and Staff Image Gallery (Password: edinburghgallery).

 

This photo bank captures various aspects of staff and student life, highlighting how LGBTQ+ individuals contribute significantly to the university community. As Kat Deuchars, a fellow staff member, remarked, “they demonstrate how LGBTQ+ people look just like straight cis people.”

We are currently working on an exciting new project to update these images and feature the inclusive Progress Pride Rainbow Lanyards. If you’re interested in helping with this project, please contact us at staffpridenetwork@ed.ac.uk.

We value your feedback on the existing images and how they can be improved. Please share your thoughts with us to help us create better representations of our diverse community and secure funding for more photos. [Provide a link for feedback here]

Thank you for supporting our efforts to foster a more inclusive environment at the University of Edinburgh.


 

Note: The images included in the blog post are just a few examples and can be downloaded full size from the gallery mentioned above, featuring a mix of close-ups, group photos, and various activities that demonstrate the diversity and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community within the university, including trans and non-binary individuals.




Iona Community: Student Week this September with Mx Ashwin Africanus Thyssen

10 – 16 September: Students’ Week (title tbc) A week for students to experience life in the community, to share laughter and stories, to explore the island and to reflect on current concerns.

This week is jointly led by Iona Community staff with staff and students from Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities and the Student Christian Movement. We are delighted that we’ll be joined by Mx Ashwin Africanus Thyssen from Stellenbosch University for this week.

https://iona.org.uk/visit-and-stay/iona-abbey-centre/iona-abbey-programme-bookings/?fbclid=IwAR2DhbgZdvhzn5GnSr1G8EA3XQfYKLbhqAXd5v12EIwO7sCGzQWozghMZDU




Rainbow background images for video conferencing or slides

The designs taking inspiration from our Flags Survey results, we are delighted to present new Teams backgrounds which are available on the University website and saved in the Staff Pride Network Members SharePoint for you to download. Please add to your Teams (now!) and consider using these as backgrounds for lectures and meetings, both internal and external meetings.

“We are really pleased that these backgrounds play a small but welcome part in emphasising the importance of diversity and inclusivity at our University.”

Niall Bradley, Deputy Director of Marketing, The University of Edinburgh

As we continue to work with the University to increase awareness of the importance of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, tools for all staff and students to show support and allyship are key to that journey.

In this digital age where Rainbow Lanyards are less visible, rainbow lanyard Teams backgrounds were proposed by Melissa Highton, Director of Learning, Teaching and Web Services and Assistant Principal Online Learning at ISG, which became a (lengthymultiple emailsvery senior management collaboration between Katie & I for the Staff Pride Network, ISG graphic designer and SPN graphic design volunteer Gill Kidd, HR’s Head of EDI Caroline Wallace, with final designs and corporate approval by University Communications & Marketing, including Head of Brand, Head of Marketing, Deepthi de Silva-Williams and Deputy Director of Marketing Niall Bradley.

Available to download “(Virtual backgrounds (zip)” from https://uoe.sharepoint.com/sites/Brand/SitePages/Branded-environment-(digital-&-virtual).aspx

Mark Pace has also kindly shared his two PowerPoint templates masters using these designs:

SPN Powerpoint

SPN Powerpoint2




Welcome new LGBT+ students: wave for 10 secs

Did you bring home your Rainbow Lanyard? Can you wave to your phone camera for 10 seconds? Could there be anything more important in welcoming new LGBT+ students than seeing LGBT+ people in the new students welcome video?
 
Vicki.bell@ed.ac.uk via www.wetransfer.com if possible or just share from OneDrive.
  • Final date for delivery: 24th August
  • How did this come about? We have people everywhere, as you know, including in University Communications & Marketing. The lovely Vicki had an idea to have some rainbow lanyards on display and include some SPN faces, as part of the multiple videos on screen (a grid) of smiling people waving hi to the new students – mix of students/staff/alumni – and we love it!
    It’s not just us. The staff BAME networks and Disabled Staff Network have also been invited to take part. IF they receive more than they need, it won’t go to waste, we can use ours as a backdrop at online Staff Pride Network events to welcome community members and University students.
    Do it NOW before you forget!
    Best wishes,

    Jonathan & Katie

     

    Jonathan MacBride (he/him) & Katie Nicoll Baines (she/her)

    Co-Chairs, Staff Pride Network for LGBT+ Colleagues & Allies




    University-wide poster display

    Thanks if you have already put up Staff Pride Network posters around your building, on noticeboards, in staff rooms etc… Posters share our common message, and it would be great to have these displayed in all buildings around the University.

    We have printed 300 posters, and there are still plenty to collect and distribute, so your input is welcome here.  Posters can be collected from Allies Rep Carol (carol.dow@ed.ac.uk) at the School of Informatics and Callum (Callum.Michie@ed.ac.uk) at the KB Copy Centre in the James Clerk Maxwell Building. Get in touch with them if you need posters sent to you.

    Check out the designs on SharePoint.