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 28 January 2022.

Invasion Day perspectives

The 26th of January goes by many different names: Invasion Day, Survival Day, the Day of Mourning, and others. All of these commemorate the impact that colonialism has had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – the first people to live on the land we now call Australia.

Here are some articles to read to learn more about this day and how you can be an ally to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

• NITV: How to be a good Indigenous ally
• NITV: Sydney Invasion Day rally recreates historic march
• AIATSIS: History of the Day of Mourning
• NITV: A short history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy – an indelible reminder of unceded sovereignty

Events

• Thursdays: Join Living Arts Therapy for a Queer Art Therapy group every Thursday evening! Sliding scale tickets are available.
• 1 February: FAMS is holding a webinar with special guest Bobbie Trower about supporting LGBTIQA+ young people.
• 1 February: The Older Person’s Advocacy Network (OPAN) is holding a webinar panel about supports for ageing LGBTIQA+ populations.
• Sundays starting 6 February: Join Sandy King for some free online Yin Yoga classes!
• 9, 16, and 23 February: Twenty10’s next online PRISM LGBTIQA+ inclusivity training is open for registrations! Join us over 3 mornings as we learn more about supporting our communities.
• 16 to 17 February: Are you aged 16 to 24 and trying to find a job? Check out the Learn2Earn workshop from Inner West Council Libraries and Mission Australia.
• 19 February: The awesome folks at CrossFit Play are raising money for Twenty10 at their Pride Fitness Festival!
• 26 February: We’re partnering with Mardi Gras Film Festival on this Community Screening of Hetero, a film about a group of young people trying to keep their school’s Gay-Straight Alliance afloat by befriending their straight classmates. Tickets are only $10!

Articles and other cool stuff

• Autostraddle: Sex With An X: The Perils Of Performative Spelling
• ABC: How a wheelchair helped 18-year-old Mac embrace his true self

Opportunities

• headspace Miranda and Hurstville are looking for young people aged 16-25 to join their Youth Reference Group.
• The current Aurora Small Grants Round is open until 4 February.
• eSafety is establishing an Online Safety Youth Advisory Council for young people aged 13 to 24 years. Head to the link to find out more and sign up to receive updates.
• Youth Action are taking expressions of interest for young people to participate in a workshop about issues facing young renters. Participants will receive a $100 gift voucher as compensation.
• Attention aspiring fashion designers aged 12 to 18! Burwood Council is holding free sustainable fashion workshops in February and March for a runway show during youth week in April. If you want to participate, register by 5pm on 11 February by emailing youth@nullburwood.nsw.gov.au or calling 9911 9905. Check out the flyer (PDF) for more info.

Surveys, studies and consultations

• 3Bridges will be hosting an open forum around the services planned for the Summer Hill Neighbourhood Centre. The Summer Hill community is invited to offer feedback around the types of services and programs the community would like to see available at the Centre. Complete their survey to express interest in attending.
• Sydney WorldPride 2023 are planning a Human Rights Conference for next year, and they’d like to hear your thoughts on what you’d like to see there!