Welcome to the Queer Youth Town Hall! We are excited to have you join us for this open forum where you can share your thoughts and ideas with others. To make the most of your experience, please read this guide to understand the format of the event, how to structure your interventions, and our safe space policy.

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Format:

The Town Hall will be held over Zoom. The event will start with a brief introduction and the facilitator will explain the structure of the town hall. Then, participants will be invited to sign up for the speaker list. Participants who have signed up for the speaker list will be called upon to share their intervention. Each participant will have a limited amount of time to speak, typically 2-3 minutes, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute equally. The Town Hall will conclude with a summary and closing remarks from organisers. Speakers will be called to speak via the chat box and, if no response is given, they will be removed from the speaker list.

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Language:

This session will be opened through English and the main floor language of the meeting will be English. We will be unable to provide live language interpretation. Speakers may deliver their intervention through the language of their choice. The meeting will be recorded to enable post-meeting translation and follow-up.

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How to structure your interventions:

During the Town Hall, you will be given the opportunity to share your intervention. This format is not required, rather it is provided as a guideline for those who are unsure. You can structure your interventions in any way that you feel comfortable.

• Introduce yourself. You can share your name, pronouns, your region of focus for work, which communities your activism serves, and/or recent LGBTIQ+ advocacy activities. Perhaps share reflections on the interventions of the person who preceded you.

• Share details of issues experienced by LGBTIQ+ young people as it relates to:

  • Education: Accessing educational spaces, inclusion in curriculum content, positive representation of LGBTIQ+ identities, safety and security in school.

  • Digital Citizenship: Digital harassment, over/under moderation of LGBTIQ+ issues, exposure to violence, misinformation, doxing, lack of access to technologies and digital spaces.

  • SRHR: barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services and information, discrimination and stigma from healthcare providers, lack of resources to support LGBITQ+ SRHR needs.

  • Meaningful inclusion in civil society: limited opportunities to participate in advocacy and activism, discrimination and marginalization from mainstream organizations, fears of violence due to being a visible LGBTIQ+ activist.

  • Inter-generational advocacy: difficulty building relationships and collaborating with older generations, generational gaps in knowledge and understanding, differing systems of operation for activism across generational gaps.

  • Global Activism: navigating different cultural contexts and political systems, limited access to resources and networks, risks to safety and security.

• With each issue, experience, or item shared you are encouraged to share actionable suggestions, refer to additional sources or resources, or propose some form of next step.

• Share any final reflections before you hand over to the next person on the speaker list.

• With time being a consideration, you are asked to share follow-up contact information, links, or other resources in the chat box rather than in your speaking time. You are not required to share information in the chat, all speakers will be independently contacted by the organisers for follow-up.

 

 

Global Queer Youth Network Community Agreement

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We want to ensure that the queer youth town hall is a safe and supportive space for all participants. To that end, we have established the following community agreement:

• Respect: We ask that all participants respect each other's experiences, identities, and opinions. Disrespectful or discriminatory language or behaviour will not be tolerated.

• Confidentiality: We ask that all participants keep the discussion and personal information shared during the town hall confidential.

• Listening: We ask that all participants listen actively and refrain from interrupting others while they are speaking.

• Trigger Warnings: We ask that all participants provide trigger warnings before sharing personal stories or experiences that may be triggering to others.

• No Hate Speech: We do not allow any hate speech, including but not limited to, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or ableist language.

• Moderation: We reserve the right to moderate the discussion and remove any comments or participants who violate these guidelines.

 

 

Thank you for joining us for the queer youth town hall. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas!