Join us for LGBTQ+ History Month Events
As we celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, we are excited to invite you to participate in the series of events organised by our LGBTQ+ Network. This month is not only an opportunity to recognise the rich history of the LGBTQ+ community but also a time to come together, learn, and foster a sense of inclusion and understanding.
Trans Training
Complete — thank you to everyone who joined us.
Movie night
Complete — thank you to everyone who joined us.
HIV Awareness
Let's amplify our understanding of the ongoing challenges faced by people living with HIV. Engage in open dialogue, dispel myths, and empower ourselves with knowledge to foster a supportive and informed community. Together, we can break down stigmas, promote awareness, and stand united in the fight against HIV.
Recording will be added shortly
Open LGBTQ+ network meeting- Pub Quiz
Complete — thank you to everyone who joined us.
Seminar: Trans services for young people in Birmingham and the future
Bio from the speaker: I am a Systemic Family Psychotherapist and Systemic Supervisor UKCP registered. I have worked in the NHS for over 20 years and with children and families for over 25 years. I specialise in relational work in gender identity, having worked in child gender identity for seven years and subsequently in adult gender services.
I am an experienced systemic trainer and a Clinical Supervisor and Tutor for the Birmingham MSc Family Therapy training course. I have also worked on the Leeds Systemic Family Therapy training and the Oxford Clinical Psychology doctorate course. I continue to be a Visiting Lecturer at these universities and the University of Birmingham.
Date: 19/02/2024 | Time: 12:30 pm | Location: Online – Teams | Register here
Dr. XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology - Behind the Scenes Discussion
Join our intimate seminar and screening of DR XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology with Dr Raviv Piccus to discuss the inspiration and creative process behind the film.
Brought to you by XYZ Projects (CIC), Dr XYZ is a satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s. The purpose of the project is to act as a training film for the current NHS England staff, equipping them to give trans and non-binary patients the level of gender-affirming care they need and deserve.
XYZ Projects is a newly established trans+ film collective based in Birmingham, concerned with community healthcare archiving and collaborative filmmaking. El Jones (they/them), an independent filmmaker/community archive facilitator, and Dr. Raviv Piccus (he/they), an NHS doctor/researcher, are co-directors of the collective.
Date: 22/02/2024 | Time: 10:00am | Location: Online - Times | Register here
LGBTQ+ History Month conference
Our annual LGBTQ+ History Month conference continues in 2024 with 5 great sessions to promote knowledge and inclusivity in our organisation.
Date: 27/02/2024 | Time: 09:45 am | Location: Online – Teams | Register here
Share your story
Our network is attempting to create educational materials to help reach out and connect with more people. We believe that harnessing the power of personal narratives will promote education and equality.
We invite you to participate in our Story Submission initiative, where your personal experiences can catalyse positive change. By sharing your story through our online form, you contribute to a collective narrative that aims to reach people, break down barriers, and promote education and equality.
Your presence at these events will contribute to the success of our LGBTQ+ History Month celebration. Feel free to bring friends and colleagues who may be interested in joining the festivities.
Let's make this LGBTQ+ History Month a memorable and enriching experience for everyone!
LGBTQ+ digital art exhibition
The network has organised a digital art exhibition to showcase the rich and diverse narratives of the LGBTQ+ experience.
We believe that art has the power to tell stories, challenge norms, and celebrate identity. Your unique perspective and creative expression can contribute to a collective celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month. We seek various artistic submissions, illustrations, digital art, photographs, articles, poems, lyrics, music, etc.
Progress with the genome by Madeline Paul, Head of Occupational Therapy.
Madeline has created a video showing a timelapse of the process of making a quilt that was inspired by images of the human genome and the progress pride flag.
Maddy explains more
"Our DNA makes us all human and is 99% the same across all of the humans on the planet, however, it is also what makes us completely different from each other and is responsible for our diversity.
My submission is capturing the process rather than the finished product. Much like the genome tells scientists how we are built we are still only just understanding which step affects which aspect of human life. Making a video through Timelapse is similar to DNA and quilting, small component parts, put together in the correct sequence become a whole, with meaning, purpose and function.
Piecing fabric together reminds me of how we are built of lots of elements, and how we are put together is the story that our DNA tells. But DNA doesn’t tell all our story and who we become and the relationships we build come from the patchwork made by the environment around us and the relationships that we have throughout our lives. Stitching fabric forms relationships between pieces and builds the structure of the quilt like relationships with family, friends, partners, colleagues and strangers forms much of the structure in our lives.
DNA is a code, it’s a message that nature understands and uses as instructions to form life and I also thought about the messages formed in fabric through flags and quilts. Shapes, colours, and patterns can tell a story, and form an identifier for a person, a group, or a country. In the quilt, there are coloured sections intended to be similar to the visual representations of the human genome but using the colour pallet and order of the progress pride flag. There are also stitched lines down the coloured sections that form a message ‘143’, which has been used to communicate ‘I love you’. Due to homophobia, transphobia and intolerance, being able to freely communicate love, attraction and identity has been and can continue to be unsafe. Coded communication such as Polari has been used to allow LGBTQ+ cultures to communicate without disclosing their sexuality to those outside of the community.
Although not secret, the progress pride flag also communicates a message on several levels, recognisable when used to demonstrate support of LGBTQ+ as well as each colour representing different groups of people, recognises intersectionality, remembers those lost to AIDS and includes other elements important to the political movement of LGBTQ+ political movement"