Vote for your favourite Community Group of the Year in the PinkNews Awards 2017
The PinkNews Awards takes place on 18 October 2017 at a central London location.
The event recognises the important contributions by politicians, community groups, campaigners, businesses and broadcasters towards improving LGBT+ life at home and abroad.
The Community Group of the Year Award recognises the contributions of organisations which campaign for LGBT+ rights at home and abroad.
The Community Group of the Year Award features a shortlist of incredibly important organisations which seek to change the lives of LGBT+ people through their day-to-day work.
The shortlist is available to view below, along with a form to rank your favourites.
Imaaan – Leading LGBTQ Muslim Charity
Founded in 1999 in London, Imaaan describes itself as the UK’s largest LGBTQ Muslim charity.
It is a support group for LGBT Muslims and regularly has a presence at Pride events and provides support for individual LGBT+ Muslims.
Imaan supports LGBT Muslim people, their families and friends, to address issues of sexual orientation within Islam. It provides a safe space and support network to address issues of common concern through sharing individual experiences and institutional resources.
Imaan promotes the Islamic values of peace, social justice and tolerance through its work, and aspires to bring about a world that is free from prejudice and discrimination against all Muslims and LGBT people.
In the late 1990s the need to reconcile Islam with sexuality seemed to coincide with a coming-of-age of a particular generation of gay people from Muslim backgrounds born in this country that had witnessed the growth of a gay culture in England. It was inevitable therefore that at some point they would start to ask, ‘Why should I not be able to be both gay and Muslim?
Its online presence includes message boards to provide access to help and support from other LGBT+ Muslims and their families.
Just Like Us – LGBT+ Charity for Young People
Just Like Us was founded to tackle issues faced by those growing up LGBT+ and th fact that it is still one of the most challenging experiences young people can face.
Those in charge at Just Like Us believe the best way to support LGBT+ young people is to make sure they hear powerful positive messages about being LGBT+ from other LGBT+ young people, just a little older and little wiser.
The organisation is building a national network of university student volunteers, offering them the chance to learn the skills they need to communicate with impact, and sending them into secondary schools to share their stories, bust stereotypes, and explain why LGBT+ equality is everyone’s issue.
KeshetUK – Charity working for LGBTQ inclusion in Jewish life
Founded in 2011, KeshetUK has become one of the leading organisations that work across the Jewish community to deliver training to promote the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and questioning people in all areas of Jewish life in the United Kingdom.
KeshetUK is only funded by the generosity of the community. Every penny the organisation receives enables it to do even more to promote our message.
Since its founding, KeshetUK positioned itself uniquely as an activist organisation. Activities would focus on providing education to, and raising awareness about LGBT inclusion within, the UK Jewish community.
Since then, KeshetUK has become the sole organisation that works across the Jewish community to deliver training to promote the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and questioning people in all areas of Jewish life in the United Kingdom.
Love Equality NI– The campaign for civil marriage in Northern Ireland
The Love Equality campaign is a consortium of groups and individuals campaigning for the introduction of legislation in Northern Ireland for equal civil marriage for same sex couples.
Love Equality is a consortium of Amnesty International Northern Ireland, The Rainbow Project, Irish Congress of Trade Unions Northern Ireland, Here NI, Cara-Friend and NUS-USI.
It launched fresh efforts to fight for same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland/ back in 2016, after efforts have been blocked several times by the DUP leaving NI the only place in the UK where same-sex marriage is still illegal.
Love Equality NI has also organised tens of thousands to march on Belfast to push for same-sex marriage and has also staged a same-sex wedding on the steps of Stormont.
Mermaids UK– Family and individual support for gender diverse and transgender children and young people
Mermaids, a 2016 PinkNews Award winner, fights to support transgender children, young people and their families to live a happy, normal life.
Headed up by CEO Susie Green, who has an out transgender daughter and who is also nominated for Campaigner of the Year, Mermaids raises awareness of gender nonconformity in young people and for their contact with professionals and the public.
The organisation also campaigns for more recognition and appropriate support for young people living with gender dysphoria and for professional services to provide more appropriate care for trans young people.
Opening Doors London– London-based charity offering support to older LGBT+ people
Opening Doors London (ODL) is the largest charity providing information and support services specifically for older LGBT+ people in the UK.
ODL is a membership organization providing regular social opportunities across London to help develop networks and communities for LGBT* people, aged over 50.
The organisation offers specialist training and consultancy for statutory and voluntary organisations, such as care homes, housing associations and hospitals, to help them understand the needs of older LGBT* people
Out and Proud African LGBT (OPAL) – OPAL is an African Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex rights and human rights activist charity
OPAL’s mission is to defend human dignity, freedom, justice and equality for LGBTI people in Africa.
It is an LGBT+ organisation that rose from obscurity to campaign for the rights of LGBT Africans, and now operates in co-ordination with partners with which it operates on equal terms.
Previously with a handful of members from Uganda, the organisation currently boasts a hundred plus members, representing a wide cross-section of African countries including Gabon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi , Uganda and Jamaica.
The Woman Out Work (WOW) Network – Working to Support, Guide and Connect with LGBT women at work
The WOW Network was founded in March 2017, in response to a study which found that 64% of LGBT women in the workplace felt unable to come out.
The WOW Network is a direct response to this need for a group to support, guide and connect with LGBT women in the workplace.
The WOW Network is the only network in the UK which is dedicated to supporting LGBT women in coming out at work. It is entirely run by LBGT women, to make it a safe space for this group.
It hopes to be able to change the statistics, improve women’s resilience and allow more LGBT women to be their authentic selves at work.
UK Alliance for Global Equality– A coalition of UK-based civil society organisations working together to promote and support progress in global LGBT rights
It aims to create a world where everyone can participate fully in their society whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity.
And wants to use collective resources and influence to promote the human rights and equality of LGBT individuals and communities outside the UK, to end persecution and discrimination.
The Alliance for Global Equality is made up of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, AllOut, the Commonwealth HIV/AIDS Action Group, the Human Dignity Trust, the Kaleidoscope Trust, the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group, STOPAIDS and Stonewall.
Click here for the form to vote for your favourites for the PinkNews Awards 2017
Click here for the full shortlist of nominees in all categories.
