Stand Up Awareness Week took place from November 4-8, 2024. Thank you to all of the post-primary schools, youth services and Youthreach centres that took part this year!
Belong To’s Stand Up Awareness Week is a time for post-primary schools, youth services and Youthreach centres in Ireland to join us and take a stand against homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.
This week is an opportunity to take steps to make spaces safe and supportive for LGBTQ+ young people. We will equip you with the resources, tools and knowledge needed to host Stand Up Awareness Week in your school, youth service or Youthreach at any time that works for you.
It is heartbreaking that one in five young LGBTQ+ people face bullying and that 76% of LGBTQ+ students feel unsafe at school. Together we can create spaces where LGBTQ+ young people feel safe, equal and valued.
Stand Up Awareness Week Awards
This year, we are introducing the Stand Up Awareness Week Awards to celebrate the diversity of inspiring and impactful actions that will have been carried out in schools, Youthreach centres and youth services all over the country.
The Stand Up Awareness Week awards are dedicated to recognising and honouring outstanding contributions to LGBTQ+ visibility, advocacy and education during Stand Up Awareness Week.
Award categories include:
- Stand Up Awareness Week Impact Award
- Stand Up Awareness Week Theme Award
- Stand Up Awareness Week Visibility Award
- Stand Up Awareness Week Creative Expression Award
- Stand Up Awareness Week Photography Award
- Stand Up Awareness Week Youth Participation Award
Nominations are now open, the deadline is 29 November, and the awards assessment ruberic is available here
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“Who wouldn’t want to be a teacher during Stand Up Awareness Week? A time of fun, friendship, learning and solidarity. A time when the the community that schools can provide gets to shine and we get to show love, compassion and inclusion for every single member of our school.”
Lauren Comer, Mercy College Coolock, Dublin
Stand Up Awareness Week Resources
Belong To will send schools, Youthreach centres and youth services a resource pack including an information guide and posters in mid-September 2024.
You can download the resources for Stand Up Awareness Week 2024 here:
Additional resources from previous Stand Up Awareness Weeks are available for download here:
Host an LGBTQ+ Film Viewing with Belong To and the IFI
Belong To is delighted to once again partner with the Irish Film Institute (IFI), Dublin to offer a limited number of free, online screenings of a selection of LGBTQ+ films for participating schools. We will provide your post-primary schools, Youthreach or youth service with a code so you can screen one of two films during Stand Up Awareness Week.
To screen these films in your school, youth service or Youthreach during Stand-Up Awareness Week, email standup@belongto.org to receive your activation codes. We will respond with a link to the films and an activation code for you to use for each film. The codes will be available between 11th October – 30th November.
This year there are two films on offer:
Dating Amber (1hr 32min, 15A)
Set in Kildare in 1995, Eddie and Amber decide to stage a relationship in order to stop everyone speculating about their sexuality. Eddie is keen to follow his dad into the military, while Amber dreams of moving to the liberal hub of London. The plan seems solid, but as their arrangement begins to fall apart, Eddie’s denial gets deeper as Amber realises that a perilous future awaits her best friend unless she intervenes.
Handsome Devil (1hr 35min, 15A)
A music-mad 16-year-old outcast at a rugby-mad boarding school forms an unlikely friendship with his dashing new roommate.
Spill The Tea
Every year for Stand Up Awareness Week, schools, Youthreach centres, and youth services around the country hold bake sales, coffee mornings, and bake offs to raise funds to support our life saving work with LGBTQ+ young people.
Our free ‘Spill the Tea’ fundraising event pack makes this simpler than ever, with a whole pack of materials, decorations and resources sent to anyone holding a Spill the Tea fundraiser, including as part of Stand Up Awareness Week.
Find out more about Spill The Tea, and get in touch to receive your free pack here:
‘Standing Up in our Communities’ – Classroom Activity
The theme of Stand Up Awareness Week 2024 is ‘Standing Up in our Communities’. A great way to develop an understanding of the communities that an individual is connected to is creating an ecomap demonstrating the interconnection between different communities.
Find a sample lesson plan below for this activity that can be used for an interactive Stand Up Awareness Week classroom based exercise:
Get In Touch
Stand Up Awareness Week Endorsers
Thank you to our Stand Up Awareness Week funders:
Stand Up Awareness Week is endorsed by:
