21/07/2010
News Sent - 21st July 2010
Equality Network News: Pride Glasgow; Equal Marriage Campaign; Forums News: Petition against state funding of the Pope's visit denied; Your thoughts on the National Lottery; CashBack for Communities; Barriers, Hurdles and too much Red Tape?; Talk Scotland Events: Inverness: Pink Picnic; Edinburgh: Transcendence; Edinburgh: Paradoxical Ink Snapshots; Inverness: Children of God; Edinburgh: Community Fete Bake-Off!; Glasgow: Women's Library Summer Programme; Scotland’s Third Sector: Finding opportunity in challenging times; UK News: Honorary Doctorate for Human Rights; UK Black Pride - Launch Party; Women trapped in cycle of violence by UK law; When the pound goes pink, is the financial crisis ending? International: Poland: Europride in Warsaw; ILGA launches a world Directory of LGBTI and allied organizations; Working for All: Edinburgh: Waverley Care Fundraising Volunteers; Wellcome Trust PhD Studentship: The Human Body, its Scope, Limits and Future; ESRC CASE PhD Studentship; Bord na Gaidhlig: Member appointments; Edinburgh: Employment Mentoring Scheme; LGBT Families: The gay couple who became dads; Argentina: Egalitarian marriage law;

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Equality Network

Pride Glasgow
Thanks to Pride Glasgow and to everyone who made it a really special day. Especial thanks to everyone who visited our stall and talked with us, ate our cakes, or filled in our survey on the priorities for LGBT equality. 467 people filled in the survey on Saturday - if you weren't there, it will be available online next week! More details here then. (Thanks to all who donated for a cake or a badge: we made £329.16.)
There's a small sampling of our photos (and others) on Twitter, tagged @PrideGlasgow, and more of ours will be online by next week.
All the Equality Network photos online so far.

Equal Marriage Campaign
We are looking for people who are in a relationship (living together or in a civil partnership) and who would like to be able to get married, as well as mixed-sex couples who would like to register a civil partnership. If this applies to you, and you're willing to talk to the media, please get in touch, or if you are aware of anyone who might be interested, please pass this on. We never pass anyone's contact details on to any journalist - if you let us know that you are willing in principle to talk to the media, we can contact you to let you know that a journalist wants to speak with someone who wants to get married, and give you their contact details. We always leave it up to the individual to decide how or if to make contact with the media on each occasion.
Last week's news that the Argentinian government has approved equal marriage, and this week's prediction by Simon Hughes, the deputy leader of the Lib Dems, that the coalition government would support a change in the law before the next UK General Election, shows which way the trend is going. But we need to keep in the public view that this is a human rights issue, affecting real people. If you have an interest in giving that human angle, please contact jane@equality-network.org.


Forums News
Petition against state funding of the Pope's visit denied
The petition on the 10 Downing St website to deny state funding for Pope Benedict's visit to the UK in September, was closed early and has been refused by the Prime Minister's office. (Equality Network News)
Scottish Media Monitor asks: "What about getting the following shocking and disturbing films shown in Scotland?"

LGBT Asylum seekers: Protesting the tabloids demanding 'discretion'
"Homosexuality is illegal in over 80 countries and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers are often fleeing attempted murder or rape – only to be told by the UK authorities to try being "discreet" in their country of origin." (Guardian)
Amnesty International UK say "Decision on Gay Asylum Seekers is to be applauded and is long overdue"
Paul Canning writes: Daily Express protest misses the point – and doesn't help Zac
"What the tabloids did with the gay asylum supreme court decision, which I suspect Lord Rodger deliberately created for them, should be complained about under editors' code, section 1, (i) – "inaccurate, misleading or distorted information" – because every single one of the tabloids took the judge's "right to Kylie and cocktails" comments out of context (as did even some foolish gay commentators). Read the whole thing. He used the comments deliberately "as stereotypes" to say that being gay is about more than sex."
Pat Parker on discretion: "So to you straight folks I say, 'Sure, I'll go if you go too. But, I'm polite, so - after you.'"

Your thoughts on the National Lottery
The new UK Government has launched a consultation on how to share out National Lottery good causes cash in future. If you work in the third sector in Scotland, please respond to this SCVO survey.

CashBack for Communities
Youth projects throughout Scotland are invited to apply for funding from a £2.5 million scheme, to be administered by YouthLink Scotland, the national agency for youth work, will distribute grants of up to £30,000 over the next two years to local youth projects. Find out more on the YouthLink Scotland website.

Barriers, Hurdles and too much Red Tape?
If you work for a third sector organisation, SCVO is keen to get your views on what you believe are the barriers to your operations resulting from unnecessary government regulation by taking a snapshot of opinion from across the sector on what the greatest barriers are, why they are a barrier and what the impact is on your organisation. This survey allows you to give SCVO as many as three different examples. Click here to take the survey.


Talk Scotland Events

Inverness: Pink Picnic
1pm - 4pm, Saturday 24th July. An LGBT gathering at the Ness Islands every other Saturday. Meet at the circular seating area and remember to bring your picnic basket! All ages of the LGBT community are welcome. Contact Thomas email salsaness@yahoo.co.uk

Edinburgh: Transcendence
7pm, 28th July, Transcendence is a spirituality support and discussion group for all transgender and gender queer people. Meeting on the last Wednesday of every month at Augustine United Church in partnership with MCC.

Edinburgh: Paradoxical Ink Snapshots
6pm, Thurs 29th July, Edinburgh’s new theatre company – Paradoxical Ink - presents: ‘SNAPSHOTS’ a play about the isolation of struggling with your identity and the empowerment which self-acceptance brings. It does so by focusing on characters that are either transgendered; are dysfluent; or are unemployed – as they face life defining moments. Preview and launch night at The Argyle Bar. Two performances at 6pm on both Mon 9th August and Mon 16th August in the basement of The Street.

Inverness: Children of God
8:45pm, Thurs 29th July. From the 24th London Lesbian & Gay Film festival, this film is "Sweepingly romantic and gorgeously photographed, the film's aesthetic and emotional pleasures are undeniable. In positioning this classic tale of young love against a backdrop of violent homophobia and social unease. A politically bold examination of identity and sexuality in the Bahamas." At Eden Court, Inverness.

Edinburgh: Community Fete Bake-Off!
Saturday July 31st, 1-4pm. Have a go at home baking your favourite cakes and come along to the Health and Wellbeing Centre's annual Community Fete to see if your cake is a winner! Anyone can take part, so proudly bring along your baked goods on Saturday July 31st, and a special guest judge will award the prizes. There will be prizes for Tastiest Cake, Best Looking Cake, Most Outrageous Cake! & Healthiest Cake. For more information, please contact Jules Barnes at the LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing, jules@lgbthealth.org.uk

Glasgow: Women's Library Summer Programme
Glasgow Women’s Library offers a fun packed programme for all women over the summer period which includes arts & crafts activities, visits to Musuems, Arts Galleries and places of worship, film screenings and outdoor activities.
www.womenslibrary.org.uk

Scotland’s Third Sector: Finding opportunity in challenging times
Tues 7th September, Glasgow. The Scottish voluntary sector turns over £4.4 billion - and employs 137,000 people in more than 45,000 organisations. It has become the focus of increasing hope from policy-makers as an innovative alternative means for delivering public services, especially as economic adversity takes its toll on both the public and private sectors. Yet the voluntary – or third – sector is itself far from immune to the impacts of the spending squeeze. With the support of Scotland’s representative body for the third sector, SCVO, this CPD-certified interactive and practical one-day conference will be a great opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the third sector at a pivotal time for its character and work, and to contribute your views to a fluid and vital public policy debate.
thirdsector.holyrood.com/about


UK News

Tatchell: Honorary Doctor for Human Rights
Peter Tatchell is to receive an honorary doctorate from Sussex University in recognition of 43 years of campaigning for human rights. Tatchell, best known for his campaigns for LGBT rights and for his attempted arrest of Robert Mugabe, said he was initially hesitant about the honour but has chosen to accept. He said: "My decision to accept was partly because the initiative for this honorary doctorate was a grassroots one, from the staff and students. I am honoured by their recognition of my human rights work.”
Sussex University's Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, will confer the award of Doctor of Letters on Tatchell at Brighton Dome on Friday (23 July). (Ekklesia, Pink Paper, PinkNews)
Earlier this week, a US human rights organisation, HRW, made a public apology for personal attacks and false allegations made against Peter Tatchell since 2005.(Gay City News)

UK Black Pride - Launch Party
WORK (11-4am weekly, Tinworth St Vauxhall), London’s busiest weekly LGBT urban party welcomes the Board of UK Black Pride and Friends of UK Black Pride to celebrate the launch of the UK Black Pride this Wednesday with an all star showcase of some of what is in store on Saturday 14th August at Regents College for the 5th Annual UK Black Pride festival.

Abused partners trapped in cycle of violence by UK law
Some immigrants are trapped in an abusive relationship and denied access to basic levels of protection and support because of the "no recourse to public funds" rule, trapping them in a cycle of abuse. A pilot programme to protect such victims of domestic violence has been promised funds to continue by Teresa May, the new UK equalities minister. (Amnesty International UK)

When the pound goes pink, are the hard times ending?
Jamie Tabberer, a journalist at the Pink Paper, reviews a Pink Lunch offering at a Fulham restaurant and muses "Aah, that old chestnut, the pink pound. It’s almost as if the last three years never happened. When businesses start banking on it again, you know the end of the financial crisis must be nigh."


International

Poland: Europride in Warsaw
Europride was staged in Eastern Europe for the first time this year, culminating with parade through the streets of Warsaw on Saturday 17th July. Around 8,000 people took part in the march despite temperatures near 40C. The Warsaw parade's main demand was that Poland pass a civil-partnership law for same-sex couples.
More than 200 anti-gay protesters, threw bottles of water, rocks, eggs and Bibles at the parade, and according to one witness "two large, homemade percussion-style bombs over the police line and onto our float. When the second exploded, pieces of it struck both (my boyfriend) Frank and I and left me deaf in one ear for about an hour."
Welcome to the Poland you don’t know! Welcome to Kingdom of Tolerance! - A Postcard from Gay Poland, by Lukasz Palucki
Europride in pictures (Pink News, Pink Paper, Guardian, Independent)
The Warsaw Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation on the assault of a policeman by a homophobic protester during Europride over the weekend. (Polskie Radio: thenews.pl)

ILGA launches a world Directory of LGBTI and allied organizations
ILGA is a network of over 600 groups from 111 countries fighting since 1978 for equal human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex and transgender people This service which lists ILGA member groups as well as non members also includes trade unions, women's or human rights organizations in an attempt to create bridges with NGOs which are not working specifically on LGBTI rights but include or support this agenda. ILGA's membership includes for example the city of Barcelona and Amsterdam or multi-million member global trade union Public Services International. The unique world directory which was created thanks to a grant of IBM, is free and open to all. It aims at capturing the diversity and richness of the many groups and people of good will in the world campaigning for the equal rights of LGBTI people.
www.ilga.org/directory/en


Working for All

Edinburgh: Waverley Care Fundraising Volunteers
Waverley Care are currently asking for volunteers available to shake buckets at the Pleasance during the Festival (August 6 to August 30). If you are available, shifts are from 1830 to 2230, but half-shifts (18:30-20:30/20:30-22:30) are also possible: or if you prefer to do a daytime shift, from 1230 to 1830, again half-shifts are possible. If you’d like to help Waverley Care with their work, please e-mail Matthew at protocol.rain@gmail.com with times and dates you could be available.
www.waverleycare.org

Wellcome Trust PhD Studentship: The Human Body, its Scope, Limits and Future
Full-time PhD studentship commencing 1st October or as soon as possible thereafter. Part of the Wellcome Trust Biomedical Ethics Strategic Award programme. Student based in the University of Edinburgh CRFR and associated with the CPHS, as well as having close links with iSEI at the University of Manchester. Deadline Friday 6th August 2010. Informal inquiries can be made to Sarah Cunningham-Burley (sarah.c.burley@ed.ac.uk) before 30th July 2010, or Martyn Pickersgill (martyn.pickersgill@ed.ac.uk) before 4th August. (More information)

ESRC CASE PhD Studentship
Applications are invited for this fully funded, full-time Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC - http://www.esrc.ac.uk/) CASE studentship starting 1st October. The project will explore illness behaviour amongst people with self-limiting conditions who telephone NHS 24. NHS 24 provides comprehensive health information and self care advice for people in Scotland. Deadline Friday 6th August 2010. Interviews on Wednesday 25th August 2010. Informal inquiries to Sarah Cunningham-Burley (sarah.c.burley@ed.ac.uk) before 30th July 2010. (More information)

Bord na Gaidhlig: Member appointments
Bòrd na Gàidhlig is responsible for safeguarding the future of Gaelic in Scotland, for promoting the use and understanding of the Gaelic language and for developing and supporting Gaelic education and culture. Scottish Ministers are seeking three enthusiastic and committed individuals who would like to be considered for appointment as board members. Remuneration £6,200 pa, minimum time committment 3 days per month. Bòrd meetings held at various locations across Scotland. Arthur Cormack, Chair, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, can discuss appointments in confidence with interested candidates: call 07702 674143 or e-mail art@gaidhlig,org.uk. Deadline 13 August 2010.
www.appointed-for-scotland.org/Current-positions/Member---Bord-na-Gaidhlig

Edinburgh: Employment Mentoring Scheme
Volunteer Centre Edinburgh’s Employment Mentoring Scheme helps people who are volunteering to build on their experience and move on into paid work. If you have a volunteer who could benefit from this scheme please contact Barbara Matheson on 0131 225 0630 or email barbara.matheson@volunteeredinburgh.org.uk for more information. The mentoring scheme is free of charge, and can last from a couple of weeks to 6 months and can even continue beyond finding paid employment if that is of benefit to the mentee. Initially it would be expected that mentees would meet with their mentor (also volunteers) once a week for around an hour. This is a great opportunity to develop your volunteers and help them to achieve their employment goals.
www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk


LGBT Families

The gay couple who became dads a decade ago
Ten years ago, before any of the changes in the law allowing same-sex couples to adopt jointly and requiring adoption agencies to assess same-sex couples as potential adoptive parents, Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow chose to start a family together with a surrogate mother and donor eggs, after having been repeatedly turned down as adoptive parents, apparently because of their sexual orientation. (Guardian)
In 2002, they said in an interview in the Independent "This is not about being gay. It should be about giving a home to a child and giving it the right start in life and the right family values. And those values have changed over the years because the family has evolved."
Tonight (21st July) at 9pm, Channel 4 screens a Cutting Edge special about Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow. The Pink Paper's poll asks "Did they help the gay parenting movement - or hinder it?"

Argentina: Egalitarian marriage law
In what is being described as a domino effect, two of Argentina's neighbors, Paraguay and Uruguay, will consider bills to lift the ban on same-sex couples marrying. (On Top Mag)
Gloria Careaga, co-secretary general of ILGA: "This triumph is the result of a long struggle as well as the social changes pushed by the LGBTI community. This conquest not only protects the rights of same-sex couples but it also shakes the whole social structure. Latin America and the whole world welcome this historic achievement with pride."
Download ILGA-LAC map on gay and lesbian rights.

The Equality Network’s website for information on all aspects of LGBT family law – including civil partnership, cohabitation, having children, breaking up – is www.lgbtfamilies.org

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