Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is commemorated internationally on 27th January each year.

This year's theme is "The Legacy of Hope".

QueerSpace marked Holocaust Memorial Day 2010 with a film event on Wednesday 20th January at 7.30pm in the LGBT Centre, 9 - 13 Waring Street.

We screened the award-winning documentary film Paragraph 175, followed by an informal discussion.

Paragraph 175, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, and narrated by Rupert Everett, chronicles the lives of several men who were arrested by the Nazis for homosexuality under Paragraph 175, the sodomy provision of the German penal code, dating back to 1871.

It is believed that between 1933 and 1945, 100,000 men were arrested under Paragraph 175. Some were imprisoned, others were sent to concentration camps. Only about 4,000 survived.

To find out more about the commemorations, visit the Holocaust Memorial Day website.

Belfast Pride is celebrating its 20th year in 2010 with a special Anniversary Dinner in the Hilton Hotel on Saturday 26th June at 7.30pm.

Pride is just as important now as it was twenty years ago. As a community, we have made great progress in these twenty years, but the struggle for full equality goes on, and Belfast Pride is at the forefront of public recognition of the LGBT community. Run entirely by volunteers, Belfast Pride is the largest LGBT festival in Ireland, and one of the largest in the British Isles.

You are now invited to purchase tickets for what promises to be a special event, falling as it does on the anniversary month of the very first Belfast Pride parade in 1991.

There will be a sumptuous three course meal, an Awards ceremony, and live music. The Awards will be presented to individuals and organisations which have made notable contributions to Belfast Pride and to the LGBT community. The work of individuals who have championed the cause of LGBT rights will also be celebrated.

Tickets for the Dinner are priced at £37.00, but as a special incentive, a table for ten people can be booked for £350.00. Places are strictly limited to 120.

If you would like to buy tickets, please visit the Belfast Pride website.

Unite against Hate is a new campaign which aims to see an end to hate crime in Northern Ireland.

The campaign brings together partners including the PSNI, and the Community Relations Council with those in wider society such as the community sector, sporting bodies and the media. Its objectives include promoting diversity and creating a climate of zero tolerance for hate crime and discrimination.

QueerSpace wholeheartedly supports the Unite Against Hate Campaign. We will continue to work with all sectors of society to combat homophobia and all other forms of hate.

We can all play our part in creating a Northern Ireland society which is peaceful, inclusive and fair for all. Start today by signing the petition and pledging your support. Together, we can make a difference.

Visit the Unite Against Hate website to find out more.

After many happy years in Cathedral Buildings in Donegall Street, this summer QueerSpace moved to a new home, just down the street and closer to the city centre.

At the start of July, we re-located (along with our landlord, Cara-Friend) to the 1st floor of the Old War Memorial Building, 9 - 13 Waring Street, Belfast BT1 2DX. The building is beside Clanmil Housing and opposite the Premier Inn hotel.

The move has brought long overdue improvements to QueerSpace's accessibility for users - the new space is bigger and has modern lift access, as well as accessible toilets on the same floor.

QueerSpace's weekly collective meetings continue on Wednesday evenings at 7.30pm in the Waring Street building, and as always, you're welcome to come along and get involved.

And the InSpace Coffee Lounge takes place on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month from 3 - 6pm.

Come down and make QueerSpace YourSpace!

Belfast Pride 2009 ran from Saturday 25th July to Saturday 1st August and was a wonderful success.

The festival was a week of community events including public debates, arts performances, a church service and a sci-fi discussion, all culminating in the Parade & Party in the Square on Saturday 1st August.

[top]

And QueerSpace was certainly in the thick of it. Our main Belfast Pride event took place on Wednesday 29th July in the Black Box. "Love... and Marriage?" was an opportunity to discuss civil partnership and gay marriage with guest speakers including Ailbhe Smyth from the National Lesbian & Gay Federation in Dublin, Reverend Chris Hudson and couples who have tied the knot themselves.

Shannon Sickels opened the evening with a moving recital of why civil partnership is so important to her and her wife Grainne. Then the discussion was ably chaired by respected local journalist and commentator, Fionola Meredith.

But the evening had a light-hearted side too, with a performance by Quire: Belfast LGBT Singers and QueerSpace’s version of the gameshow ‘Mr & Mr/Mrs & Mrs’ with our very own Fern and Phil!!!

Thanks to Fionola and Patrick Sanders, to Shannon, Ailbhe, Chris, Isabella, David, Vincent, Geraldine, Orla and Quire for making the event so special.

And a huge thanks to everyone who joined us in the Black Box on the night - if you missed it, here are the photos.

QueerSpace volunteers were also busy at the Pride Parade and Party in the Square on Saturday 1st August.

QueerSpace has joined the YouTube age! Well done to Ken for putting together this movie which charts the history of QueerSpace and gives you a flavour of what we're all about - volunteering, collective action, events, LGBT activism and above all, FUN!

Feel free to share the movie on your own social networks, whether Facebook, Bebo, MySpace etc and help spread the message. There's more video in our Belfast Pride 2007 photo gallery.

[top] 

Have you suffered an assault or attack because you are gay? Did you know you can report it to the police as a homophobic incident? You didn't? Well you can.

If you are the victim of any crime and you think you were targeted because of your sexuality, then the police want to know about it. When you report the crime to the police in the normal way, make sure you tell them that you want them to fill in a Form 80 about the incident. If you don't want to report it to the police directly, or you want to remain anonymous then you can report it via Cara-Friend, GLYNI, Lesbian Line, Rainbow or NIGRA (visit our links page for full contact details).

All incidents should be reported as this will help the police and the community to spot any patterns in the crimes and could also help ensure that more resources are given to combat homophobic crimes in Northern Ireland.

As part of Belfast Pride 2003, the Institute for Conflict Research launched its study: An Acceptable Prejudice? Homophobic Violence and Harassment in Northern Ireland at Clanmil Housing on Tuesday 29th July. One of the authors, Neil Jarman, appeared on various media outlets during the day, highlighting the findings of this important report.

You can download a copy in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format here.

[top]