Community Collective

MANCHESTER PRIDE ANNOUNCES COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE TO SHAPE FUTURE OF THE ORGANISATION

As a part of Manchester Pride’s BE INVOLVED campaign, the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) festival has invited a number of community representatives to take part in bi-monthly meetings to help shape future of the festival.

The collective, who represent a wide range of organisations within the LGBT community, will meet every other month to discuss ideas and feedback regarding the festival and its fundraising activity.

The aim of the group will be to provide a vital insight into the opinions of the local community.  Their role will be to engage with and report back to the wider community, gathering it’s feedback about the initiatives that the Manchester Pride team and the festival’s board of trustees are looking to implement in 2014 and beyond. 

Its members will also act as facilitators giving the community the chance to present their ideas regarding the festival and the events surrounding it to the board of trustees.

Anthony Cooper, who has recently been appointed as a community Patron for Manchester Pride, will take an active role as chair of the new community collective. Anthony, the general manager of Via on Canal Street, has a long history of working with Manchester Pride, and community organisations throughout Manchester, Stockport, Rochdale and the Gay Village.

Anthony is also involved with the Sparkle Transgender festival and spearheaded the National Trans* Memorial recently installed in Sackville Gardens. Also as chair and a founder member of Friends of Sackville Gardens he has helped introduce many community based events into the green space within the Gay Village Gardens.

Other groups represented within the collective so far include LGBT Youth North West, Rainbow Families & Metropolitan Community Church.  There is still the chance for those who represent LGBT groups across the region and prominent individuals from the local community to join the collective. 

Mark Fletcher, Director for Manchester Pride, comments;  “Our BE INVOLVED initiative, and specifically the Community Collective, is a hugely important step for us to re-engage with and gain a stronger understanding of the ever changing needs of our community.  We believe that this opportunity to have their say will empower the community and renew its passion for Manchester’s iconic celebration of LGBT life.” 

“ 2014 will see a strong focus on initiatives to increase the amount of donations that Manchester Pride is able to make to LGBT and HIV projects within the region.  We hope that this group will work with us to tap into the wealth of knowledge and creativity the community holds in order to further enrich this important objective for the festival.”

Those looking for more information or wishing to apply to join the Community Collective should visit the Manchester Pride website here - http://www.manchesterpride.com/getinvolved/beinvolved/liaison. 

Follow the festival on Twitter @manchesterpride.

Published: 10-Apr-2014: (2358)