FOUR organisations have partnered on a project aimed at educating the community on how to be a good ally to LGBTQIA+ young people.<\/p>\n
Allied4\u2019em is a two-part State Government funded project combing the lived experience of young LGBTQIA+ people aged 15 to 24 living regionally with the expertise and passion of Goldfields Libraries, Bendigo PRIDE, Arena Theatre Co and Castlemaine Youth Theatre.<\/p>\n
Currently editing participants\u2019 short films, the first part of the project, is 21-year-old project officer Saskia Peachy who said it was important to listen to the often-ignored voices.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne participant said that a lot of their stories don\u2019t get told and they don\u2019t get listened to a lot of the time because they\u2019re facing the barriers of being from an area like Bendigo that doesn\u2019t get represented as much as somewhere like Melbourne,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to make some inroads into making yourself understood and respected is really important particularly for communities that do exist a bit outside of the mainstream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leading the team is Robin Pearson who said \u201cit\u2019s great to start hearing different and new perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an absolute pleasure for me to look at my community through the eyes of the generation that\u2019s coming behind me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n