Community Calendar is your fortnightly look into what’s coming up for the LGBTIQA+ communities in Greater Sydney and NSW! This is our post for 22 April 2022.

Did you see our videos for Youth Homelessness Matters Day?

Events

• Until 30 April: Youth Week at Inner West Council has some amazing event!
• Starting 26 April: Switchboard’s LGBTIQA+ suicide bereavement support groups are now open to LGBTIQA+ people in NSW and Victoria who are 21 or older.
• 29 April: Wellways Australia is launching their new UrHere platform, designed for young people aged 12 to 25 years old. The free launch party is happening at Doltone House in Pyrmont!
• 29 April: Join Inner West Council at Ashfield Aquatic Centre for Trans and Gender Diverse Swim Night!
• 30 April: PACT House has partnered with PYT Fairfield to present TEMPLE, a day long celebration of ballroom culture at PACT in Erskineville! Free tickets are available to trans BIPOC – send an email here.
• 30 April: A Queer Medieval Faire is happening at a secret Inner West location!
• 4 May: The UNSW Centre for Social Research In Health is presenting a webinar: Exploring the role, impact and value of peers in HIV and LGBTQ health responses.
• 5 May: Join Equality Australia and representatives from the Coalition, Labor and the Greens for a discussion of the issues that matter to LGBTIQ+ people this election.
• 12-13 May: The Leadership in Action: LGBTIQ+ Suicide Prevention Forum is a community-focused forum that brings advocates together to discuss various types of leadership in Australian LGBTIQ+ suicide prevention.
• 13 May: Inclusion without Borders is a series of sessions held in Albury/Wodonga focusing on enablement, networking, best practices and new research.
• 14 May: SECC Family Fun Day has a range of fun activities in Eastlakes for folks of all ages!

Groups and Services

• The Muslim Peers Project is a collaborative group and Instagram page with a secret Discord channel for LGBTIQA+ Muslim folks aged 14 to 35. Connect with them on Instagram to get involved! They are also having a Queer Iftar on 25 April.

Articles and other cool stuff

• Positive Life: Outing the Myths
• SBS Portuguese: Our bodies don’t define us: Jakob begun transitioning as a teen with his family’s support
• LGBTIQ Health Australia: 2022 Federal Election Priorities
• SBS: Why community sport matters so much to me as a trans woman
• Equality Australia: Rainbow Votes: LGBTIQ+ Voters and the 2022 Australian Election

Opportunities

• Young people! WhyNot wants to hear your unfiltered thoughts – and they’re willing to pay you $50 if you get published! Right now they want to hear your thoughts on the upcoming election.
• All Together Now and headspace Camperdown have put together 3 workshops to be delivered online (via Zoom) throughout April and May for young people aged 14-21 examining the rise of racist/hateful fake news, conspiracy theories and how that intersects with things like power, privilege and identity. As well as gaining important and relevant skills young people will also receive a $60 Westfield’s voucher for completing the program. See the Agent C Flyer (PDF) for more info, and register for Agent C here.
• Closes 29 April: MYAN is looking for Youth Ambassadors!
• Closes 29 April at 5pm: Sydney World Pride is offering Creative Project Funding for artists and performers.
• Closes 6 May: headspace Bondi Junction is looking for new members for their Youth Reference Group (pdf). Applications are open to young people aged 16 – 23 who work, live, study or play in the Eastern Suburbs. The group is also keen to hear from Indigenous young people, young people from different cultural backgrounds, from rural and remote areas, who identify as LGBTQIA+, or who have been homeless.
• The NAPCAN Art Activity for National Child Protection Week is now open! All artworks will be displayed on the NAPCAN website, and one artwork received before 20 May will be used as a national poster for Child Protection Week.
• Closes 31 July: Inner West Council’s Young Creative Awards is open for submissions of writing and artwork from folks aged 12 to 24.

Surveys, studies and consultations

• Have your say on a LGBTIQA+ social and cultural place strategy for Oxford Street.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) is planning a new survey, which will ask people questions about their sexual health. These questions will eventually be asked of many people in different countries around the world. To make sure everyone understands the questions and understands them the same way, and to make sure people are willing to answer the questions, Australia has been asked to trial these questions with a variety of people. Find out more about the WHO survey and how you can help here.
• The International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience (INQYR) is exploring LGBTQ+ youth’s positive and negative experiences of video gaming and video gaming communities, and how this relates to wellbeing. They are seeking participants aged 14-29 years old living in Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia, or Mexico who identifies as a sexual or gender minority person and plays video games regularly on any platform to take part in a survey taking approximately 20-30 minutes. Participants may enter a raffle to win one of ten $55 Amazon Gift Cards and may also be eligible to participate in an interview with a further incentive.
• MCC Welfare Services wants to hear about your experiences with loneliness.
• Researchers at University of Sydney want to hear from people aged 16 to 26 who identify as a migrant or refugee and live in Western Sydney about their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• Transcend wants to hear from young trans people aged 13-17 about sexuality and relationships education.
• A researcher at University of Sydney wants to hear from LGBTIQ+ stroke survivors and/or their partners. They especially need more responses from female participants.
• Walkern Katatdjin – Rainbow Knowledge wants to hear from LGBTIQA+ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 14 to 25.
• Western Sydney University researchers and batyr Australia are conducting a study looking at how young people (16 to 25 years) in the Western Sydney region support friends during tough times. We want to hear more about your experiences giving support – the positives and the challenges. If you would like to be part of a focus group, please fill out this short form here: Informal Help-Providing Screening Survey. Everyone who joins a focus group will receive a $50 gift voucher for their participation.