News
Foundation Awarded Proud Scotland Gong
Tue 6th June 2023
The Foundation was delighted to pick up the gong in the Community Ally category at the Proud Scotland awards recently for our work promoting diversity and inclusion.
The Proud Scotland awards recognises the work and commitment of individuals and organisations supportive of the LBGTQ+ community and the Community Ally category recognises those who support the community and have gone above and beyond for LGBTQ+ equality.
Our Diversity Wins programme was one of the initiatives which helped the Foundation secure this coveted award. Launched in 2018, it was one of the first programmes of its kind in the UK and delivered LGBTQ+ inclusive education to school children across Glasgow.
The programme focused on interactive anti-sectarianism and LGBTQ+ awareness sessions and was delivered in the Ibrox Community Hub to around 600 P7 pupils each year.
Workshops were designed to break down barriers between young people, promote anti-bullying and motivate pupils to share the messages they learned with families and friends.
Our current Diversity Wins project built upon the success of the initial programme and was expanded to include both P6s and 7s across Glasgow. The programme focuses on discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping, with a new focus on these areas in relation to employability.
The programme features interactive workshops and delivery has expanded to reach over 800 pupils in 26 schools during 2022 and 790 pupils in 2023 so far. In total to date, LGBTQ+ inclusive education has been delivered to over 4,700 young people as a result of our programmes.
Following the 2022 course, 89% of pupils indicated they had gained a good/excellent understanding of what discrimination and prejudice is, how it can look, and the impact it can have on people.
One teacher commented: “Really enjoyed the Spaceship activity and the discussion around stereotypes. I thought the children got a really good understanding of what discrimination is and how it can so easily happen on a daily basis, even without malice.”
Another added: “This is an area where many pupils have personal experience. The course provided a platform for them to openly share their views.”
We are also currently involved in the planning stages of a brand new Diversity Wins Show Racism The Red Card project with eight European football clubs that will focus on LGBTQ+ issues. This exciting new initiative will include educational deliveries in schools and a campaign to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion in football.
The Foundation recently signed up for the Scottish LGBTI+ Rainbow Mark. The ‘mark’ is a visible symbol which can be displayed to show a social space is welcoming to LGBTI+ people, and applies to all the Foundation’s facilities and programmes, including the Ibrox Community Hub and Ibrox Community Complex, as well as our range of more than 20 programmes.
The Foundation also marches annually in Glasgow’s Pride Mardi Gla celebrations, is involved in Rangers FC’s ground-breaking ‘Everyone Anyone’ campaign and was instrumental in supporting the set-up of the first official Rangers LGBTQ+ Supporters Club, Ibrox Pride.
