LGBT+ allyship training launch marks IDAHoBiT
10 May 2023
Brand new LGBT+ allyship training is being launched for staff at the University to coincide with International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHoBiT).
The first of the new series of ‘Introducing Allyship and the LGBT+ Ally Staff Network’ group sessions will take place at 13:00 on Wednesday 17 May 2023, immediately following the University’s IDAHoBiT flag-raising ceremony.
The training has been created by the LGBT+ and Allies Staff Network and covers what it means to be an ally, how to be an effective ally and how to get involved in events and projects to promote diversity and inclusion at Reading.
Sign up on UoRLearn.
IDAHoBiT flag raising
The University will again be flying the rainbow flag for LGBT+ equality on IDAHoBiT.
Colleagues and students are invited to gather around the Whiteknights Campus flagpole, between Whiteknights House and the Library, at 12.30pm on Wednesday 17 May for the annual flag-raising.
Professor Parveen Yaqoob, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, will host a short ceremony with speeches by Dr Ruvi Ziegler, Co-Chair of the LGBT Plus Staff Network, and student representatives.
Professor Parveen Yaqoob, who is also LGBT+ Champion on the University Executive Board, said: “IDAHoBiT is about the power of solidarity, allyship and community.
”While we might only fly the rainbow flag for a short period each year, our commitment to an inclusive environment at Reading lasts all year round. I look forward to sharing this opportunity for advocacy and celebration with as many colleagues as possible at the flag-raising.”
The IDAHoBiT flag-raising and other events in the University calendar seek to continue the legacy of our former Vice-Chancellor, Lord Wolfenden, who chaired the committee that wrote the landmark Wolfenden Report in 1957, which led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK.
LGBT+ inclusion fund
The University launched a new LGBT+ Inclusion Fund in March 2023.
You can read more about the purposes of the fund here.