Federation celebrated Wear It Purple Day with plenty of purple and rainbows on the last Friday in August.
Staff and officers of the union joined with Teachers Health to demonstrate our support of young rainbow (LGBTIQA+) people by hosting a morning tea to reflect on the purpose of the day and come together to visually show support by wearing purple.
The day is all about developing safe, supportive and accepting environments for rainbow young people. And the message from Wear It Purple to other young rainbow people is clear, you have a right to be proud of who you are.
This year’s theme was “Empower Together” to recognise that it is the work of many that leads to supportive and accepting environments.
The Wear It Purple organisers say: “By empowering together, we are able to gain a new perspective on the lives of others around us, foster respect, unite, educate ourselves, appreciate others, have a sense of pride for the diversity in our environment, challenge our thoughts or beliefs, and most importantly, contribute to the creation of safe and supportive environments for all people, irrespective of how they identify.”
Federation was heartened to see the support of many schools for Wear It Purple Day that engaged in a range of activities to support rainbow young people in their communities.
Environments that visibly respect and acknowledge diversity improve life, health and community connections for all LGBTIQA+ people and particularly our young people.
— Mel Smith, Officer attached to the LGBTIQ SIG and Restricted Committee