We celebrate Pride month to publicly include and acknowledge all members of our families and communities who identify as LGBTQ+ and in the past had to hide who they were.
Pride month is also about acceptance, equality, celebrating the work of LGBTQ+ people, education in LGBTQ+ history and raising awareness of issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
It also celebrates the Stonewall riots in New York, acknowledged by many as a significant part of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
Many Pride events will take place across the UK, Ireland, and many other countries over the month of June while they may seem fun and light-hearted the very series message at their heart is one of visibility and raising awareness of our existence.
Over the past few years’ members of the MKP UK&I GBTQ+ community and our allies have worked to make MKP more welcoming and inclusive for us. Most of our events are aimed primarily at those who use the pro-nouns he/him/his.
Initiatives include –
RICC (Rainbow Initiated Connection Circle) – A connection circle that takes place on the third Monday of each month specifically for GBTQ+ identifying members of MKP UK&I and other MKP communities. This is a space for us to connect and support each other in our journeys.
ROCC (Rainbow Open Connection Circle) – Takes place on the fourth Monday of each month. Once again, this space is specifically for those who identify as GBTQ+. Unlike RICC, ROCC is open to anyone who identifies as GBTQ+ and is a great introduction to the work that we do within MKP.
To ensure that we are sensitive to the needs of our attendees ROCC’s facilitators also members of the GBTQ+ communities.
You can sign up for the next event HERE.
Gateway NWTA for GBTQ+ - The first gateway NWTA for GBTQ+ took place in October 2023. It is identical to our flagship training the New Warrior Training Adventure (NWTA) but has been tailored to empower GBTQ+ individuals. Most participants and staff on the GBTQ+ Gateway NWTA are from the GBTQ+ community.
The next Gateway NWTA for GBTQ+ is scheduled to take place in October 2024 at Unstone Grange (for more information https://mankindprojectuki.org/nwta-register-gbtq-gateway-wp ).
It’s been an exciting couple of years for us going from never even imagining that we could organise a GBTQ+ training based on the NWTA to working towards making the second one a reality. It’s also been a great opportunity to connect and work with other GBTQ+ folks from other centres.
For more information about the above initiatives or how to sign up for the GBT+ Gateway please get in contact HERE.
