Agenda item

Anna explained the Action Plans for new members.

Matthew gave an overview of Straight Allies campaign. Looking to sign up venues to be LGBTQ friendly spaces that are aware of issues and able to support. A number of organisations signed up originally but we will be looking to re-launch this.

This forum is a Hate Crime reporting centre, reminder that members can report into officers at the forum meeting.

LGBTQ Pride was very successful. A new member came to the forum as a result of the event and thought it went very well.
Suggestion to promote Straight Allies with America in future.
Action: Aimee to send a thank you letter to Northampton MA and the Mayor on behalf of the forum.

St Andrews have arranged a speaker from Stonewall that could link in with forum activities. They are looking at an event around role models that includes LGBTQ roles models.  Anna suggested a need to re-establish the link with St Andrews for partnership working.
Action: Aimee to liaise with Serita.

Ian gave an update on the Umbrella Fair, Q stage Action:
UFO have been very proud to have an LGBT presence at all of the Umbrella Fair festivals, more recently known as Q-Stage. The festival is a free volunteer led music and arts festival and is costing more to put on as it continues to grow.
UFO’s focus is around the pavilion and building a more cohesive community and raise awareness of what they do throughout the year, not just on festival weekend. The growth of the festival is impacting on pavilion and there are less volunteers each year. As a result the festival will be downsized and moved to surrounding the pavilion, and there will no longer be a Q-Stage.
However, one suggestion is to use the whole month instead of just a weekend which might give an opportunity to have a LGBT focussed weekend event.

Carnival – Forums float
The Lowdown want to combine with the forums to put together the float. Waiting on more details.
Action: Aimee to circulate further information with forum, for anyone wanting to be involved in a steering group.

Q: Does the action plan cover a wide enough scope around the Borough?
A: The purpose of the forum is to engage with LGBTQ communities and groups. There is the opportunity to use the forum to create community driven events such as a Pride Picnic. It is then the responsibility of the communities to take ownership of activities and drive them.

The Forum is really good at engaging with community-minded people, not particularly good at accessing commercial and harder to reach groups of people. This is something to work on.

Q: Why have events failed in the past?

A: Turnout- some people don’t feel comfortable to go out to an LGBT event and be identified.

The enclosed venue at Phipps was seen as a positive in addressing this, as it provided a little privacy which may have attracted more cautious or wary members of the LGBTQ community.

Projects and events need to be owned by the community as opposed to being dumped on them in order to be successful and long lasting.

Members commented that some events can be overwhelming. There is only one gay bar in the town that many LGBT people do not feel comfortable going to. The town is missing spaces that provide opportunities to share stories and talk with like-minded people.

There is a need for more spaces that are Gay friendly and focussed where people feel comfortable. That used to be the UFO festival but possible it has grown too big to meet this need.