Previous Campaigns
Since it was founded, BeLonG To has been actively campaigning on LGBT young people’s issues. Below you will find an overview of our previous campaigns.
Our commitment to building a society in which LGBT young people are valued and included means that BeLonG To’s work has always included advocacy as well as direct services. We find that homophobia and exclusion are not caused simply by individual prejudice but by structural inequalities within Irish society. We understand advocacy to be speaking out on the inequality and exclusion experienced by LGBT young people. We speak out with the aim of promoting LGBT young people’s interests in terms of policies, professional practices, and broader cultural and social change.
Our advocacy campaigns have been developed through the active participation of LGBT youth:
'So Gay’ Campaign: In 2004, young people at BeLonG To wrote and designed a booklet and poster which became the first LGBT youth awareness and affirmation campaign in Ireland. These materials went to all schools and youth projects. Young people wanted to reach other LGBT young people who might be finding life difficult and give them the message - ‘You’re ok’.
Stop Homophobic Bullying in Schools Campaign: This national campaign began in 2006 as a programme at BeLonG To. Young people decided that because they weren’t being fully supported around homophobic bullying in school they wanted to do something about it themselves. This became the largest LGBT campaign of any kind in Ireland, and one driven by young people.
Love Action: Is a collation of organisations dedicated to advancing equality for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Trans people in Ireland
BeLonG To’s advocacy campaigns were highlighted in National Youth Council of Ireland's Active Youth Participation publication (2008), as case study of best practice. IN 2009, a Committee of the Council of Europe listed the Stop Homophobic Bullying in Schools campaign as a ‘Good Practice’ in addressing LGBT inequality in schools.