Over 100 schools from various cities and towns in Poland will celebrate Rainbow Friday. The aim of the campaign is to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ people at school. This year, the organizers want to reach communities in smaller towns.
This year’s Rainbow Friday is organized by the GrowSPACE Foundation, which encourages young people from schools to build a safe space in their school and draw attention to the presence of LGBTQ+ people in school communities.
– Our goal is to stop the chilling effect that we have seen in Polish schools in recent years, support young people to feel that they can be themselves, and break taboos – says Aleksandra Stube, coordinator of the Rainbow Friday project.
When talking about the “chilling effect”, he means projects such as Lex Czarnek and government actions aimed at LGBTQ+ people.
“Every day we should celebrate a little Rainbow Friday”
About 100 schools across Poland will take part in the campaign to support LGBT+ youth. – It shouldn’t be just one day. Every day we should celebrate a little Rainbow Friday in schools and support LGBTQ+ youth, because this support depends on the entire community – emphasizes Dominik Kuc from the GrowSPACE Foundation
Data from the GrowSPACE Foundation indicate that in Polish schools, as many as 93 percent of the community knows about the presence of LGBTQ+ people in their school. More than half (53%) believe that their situation is difficult or not good enough.
The aim of Rainbow Friday is to make young LGBTQ+ people visible in the school community. This year – as the organizers emphasize – it is particularly important to reach small towns with Rainbow Friday where LGBTQ+ people are more exposed to discrimination. – I’m from Podkarpacie and I’ve never had Rainbow Friday, so I want to give it to all of Poland. Hence my determination to include everyone without exception when planning this year’s Polish Rainbow Student Festival, says Mateusz Trzaska from the GrowSPACE Foundation.
Young people from all over Poland can send photos from events they organized in their schools. The competition jury, which included, among others: Przemysław Staroń, Julia Sobczyńska, Aleksandra Herzyk and Kacper Potępski will choose the best ones and award them with unique, rainbow prizes.
Last year, the list of participants in the campaign was hidden
The project is coordinated by the Campaign Against Homophobia. – Rainbow Friday has been included in the school year calendar since 2016 and cannot be erased! – emphasizes Anna Maria Linczowska from the Campaign Against Homophobia.
Last year, the list of schools participating in the KPH campaign was not published. – Because it ended very unpleasantly due to the campaign of conservative politicians and various right-wing organizations, it was not pleasant and it was not safe – Justyna Suchecka, a journalist at tvn24.pl, explained on tvn24.
Main photo source: Campaign Against Homophobia