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Campus Pride – Community Advocacy Campaigns for Safe Universities is a project conducted by MozaiQ LGBT (Bucharest), Pride Romania (Cluj-Napoca) and Identity.Education (Timișoara) alongside Samtökin ’78 – The National Queer Association of Iceland which oversees the creation of a safe and welcoming space and a climate of acceptance for LGBTI students in Romania.
Despite being aware that this endeavour is far from being simple, we believe that it is vital for all current and future students that aspire towards a university of the future, one in which each and every one of our identities is accepted, respected and valued.
We’re working together for an inclusive Europe!
After a brief intermission, the project was revitalised in 2021, year which saw the unfolding of several activities and events, in Bucharest, Cluj and Timișoara, as well as online, among which:
For the 2021-2022 period we plan to determine together what are the realities within which LGBT students study in Romania. We aim to observe closely, together, the inclusion policies of the Romanian university system and to devise a system of evaluation for universities and faculties at a national level, through the use of the Campus Pride Index.
The month of October, 2015 marked the moment that Campus Pride Bucharest was set in motion (https://fb.me/e/1pyZPL9Ax), followed by several cultural events, such as Campus Pride: Queer movie night by FAQiff (https://fb.me/e/WEcdafIM), and the first of many Board Games Night (https://fb.me/e/14VJmcBry). Further, we prepared a series of dynamic events meant to bring the student community closer: Campus Pride:Student Party (https://fb.me/e/i9wawGf7n), Halloqueer by Campus Pride (https://fb.me/e/dGzc2ITxP), among many others.
In November our efforts focused on events centred around important subjects for students, starting with a debate on the topic of and adjacent to gender identity during TRANSmart (https://fb.me/e/NPbj7Voe), followed by QUEER Academy- Leadership Seminar (https://fb.me/e/4vGglP1JP) – event targeted to those that wished to become more involved in the community, and which contributed to the calendar of Queer Hisory Month in February, 2016.
In December, Campus Pride organised events aimed to aid queer students in understanding what working as an activist entails. A such, the first event of this month was a Workshop for safer universities (https://fb.me/e/3BIdG2SW8), event which provided advice and guidance not only on how they can become more involved in the community, but also on what community organising means, what can one do as to create a more welcoming environment for the LGBTQ+ community in universities, and other such things. Following, Short LGBT Films: ARES Retrospective (https://fb.me/e/1xbzlDUyN) proposes a discussion on the importance of movies and media in the life of queer students.
As the month drew to an end, MozaiQ Association brought to light a critical situation, that of the families evicted from Vulturilor street, hence the ensuing Solidarity with the people on Vulturilor (https://fb.me/e/O1Ocd86l), occasion that introduced students with activism in the field.
Alongside COC Netherlands, Campus Pride continued its series of workshops. In February, our main focus was forming LGBT Student Groups within Romanian Universities (https://fb.me/e/AdzpS70b), workshop which aimed to expand upon the ideas explored in December 2015. Finally, to end the month with high spirits, Campus Pride organised a Laser Tag Night (https://fb.me/e/2rcE9Lhy3).
A new workshop was the highlight of April, entitled How to manage an LGBT student alliance (https://fb.me/e/dqSksmZAA), the purpose of which was for students to gain an understanding on how to create a gay-straight alliance within academic institutions, how to coordonate a volunteering team and how to host an event.
PRIDE MONTH! As it often happens, Bucharest Pride (https://fb.me/e/LUlOhApl) is a long awaited event that the members of the queer community await on the edge of their seats each year. The unfolding week was full of lively events, parties and joviality, all dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. Further, because each and every one of us must feel heard, Campus Pride organised a Creative Workshop (https://fb.me/e/3jp24GDDO) which sought to aid students in creating banners and slogans to be used during the march.
Our team decided to expand its forces, which is why we organised a Recruitment Workshop (https://fb.me/e/1XTnA5RPY) for future Campus Pride members. As the process was rather complex, and especially because we wanted to find the suitable volunteers, the recruitment finalised in the following month.
In October we created Ally Week (https://fb.me/e/2mz03wgfj), event which aimed to bring together the queer student community and the one of allied students. The Campus Pride university year begins (https://fb.me/e/33gSbc26B) with the event “The only choice is in regard to the attitude” in which we discussed the realities and experiences of LGBT students in the university medium in Bucharest. Further, as our team aims to aid students in their multidisciplinary development, we prepared Exhibition- Opening Ally Week (https://fb.me/e/1vLElt2fU), Forum Theatre & Storytelling (https://fb.me/e/1qDKp5311), Debate – On taking on the ally label (https://fb.me/e/13XPSZK6A) and Human Library (https://fb.me/e/1rnDlP0VB). Further, since we know how beneficial leisure time is for studying, we organised BoredGays Night (https://fb.me/e/3TQpMI6Hf), Quiz Night (https://fb.me/e/WICJawvP), Karaoke Night (https://fb.me/e/2t9hTt52M) and Queer Party (https://fb.me/e/49qlW4LEC).
Because the queer community comes in all shapes and colours, Campus Pride celebrates the diversity of the human spirit during Intersex Solidarity Day (https://fb.me/e/3RycmnD99), Transgender Day of Remembrance (https://fb.me/e/19OoiXxQf) and Asexual Visibility Day (https://fb.me/e/17U0F0vvC). And, since we’re passionate about cinematography, we prepared, alongside CineMacaz, a watchparty of The Danish Girl (https://fb.me/e/171IjAoh1).
Because queer persons never sleep, How Queers Stole the Chrismas (https://fb.me/e/4hQlpCym7) was the perfect occasion to ease the worries that sudents often have in the time of holidays and exam sessions.
After experiencing the Queer Prom, our team was eagerly waiting to meet again the queer student community at a part worthy of the first months of the year, Campus Pride Party (https://fb.me/e/e9DIPPiNr).
The month of May started with a Workshop on SexEd for young LGBT adults (https://fb.me/e/IhvloLSf) which provided resources and materials offered by sexual education experts on subjects such as sexually transmitted diseases, risks, methods of protection, social norms and other such topics. Further, on the 21st of May the Campus Pride team prepared an After Pride Brunch (https://fb.me/e/3GqtidUhH) at Volum 4, a delightful occasion to relax after the PRIDE march.
“What should we do when seeing a person being verbally harassed on the street?, How can we decide if it’s appropriate to intervene in such a situation?, How can we ensure that our intervention will not escalate a (potentially) violent situation?” were some of the questions answered during our discussion entitled How to intervene in cases of physical and verbal violence (https://fb.me/e/M0SwsE7S).
To sweeten the student’s return to school in October, Campus Pride prepared a Back to School Party (https://fb.me/e/2Jol33gcE). Following, during this academic year we aimed to increase our contact with the student body and transform this social group into a genuine community. As such, we brought into discussion the topic of LGBTQ+ persons within academia, at a watch party of the comedy movie Geography Club (https://fb.me/e/dii0b43o9).
To celebrate the spooky season together, we prepared the HallowQueer (https://fb.me/e/13JJCYOfc) party on the first weekend of November.
Homophobic incidents, marginalisation and a general lack of tolerance and acceptance are just a few of the many problems that LGBTQ+ students face each and every day. It is for this reason that Campus Pride aims to help such students through the creation of safe spaces, informing sessions, cultural and social events in which students can have the opportunity to make their voices heard. All of which starting, as per usual, with a party – PROUD ✰ Campus Pride Party (https://fb.me/e/19uyrkr2G).
In the first half of December, Campus Pride organised the Unlock your Cultural Intelligence (https://fb.me/e/43CdTZy6G & https://fb.me/e/Ec1FOHoB) workshop meant to challenge the generally accepted perceptions and mentalities within society, while also aiming to create a bridge between people that may be different, but share the same purpose. Lastly, Brave to be me (https://fb.me/e/3fR) provided the perfect circumstances to grasp the experiences that queer students face while in university and school, as told by the photo gallery of 8 such students.