Where does this pop up?
Rural Pride Australia came to the HuonValley, on the Melukerdee and Lyluequonny country, on Saturday 25th May and Sunday 26th May 2024. A national mapping workshop was held on Saturday 25th May2024 at DS Coffee House, Huonville. Our thanks to owners Dave and Steve for their support.
The workshop was attended by 18 locals from across the Huon Valley, with other conversations and interviews taking place before and after. The workshop included representatives from Huon Valley Rainbow Fruits,Far South Pride, PFLAG, Cygnet Community Hub and Huon Valley Alphabet Mafia, as well as LGBTIQA+ community members and their allies.
Before arriving in the Huon Valley, RuralPride Australia was fortunate to talk with Far South Pride (thanks to Kati) andHuon Valley Rainbow Fruits (thanks to Mitch), as well as Working It Out (thanksto Andrew, Liv and Simone-lisa) and Equality Tasmania (thanks to Rodney).
We heard that since COVID that LGBTIQA+ life has progressed in the Huon Valley, and that an emerging LGBTIQA+ ecosystem was forming locally that is built on longer-established foundations such as PFLAG, the Cygnet Community Hub and DS Coffee House. We also heard that the Huon Valley has a brutal past for local LGBTIQA+ people, and that although there has been significant progress, there are still examples of violence, abuse, harassment and discrimination for LGBTIQA+ people today.
In connecting with LGBTIQA+ community, locally we heard that LGBTIQA+ people were much more likely to thrive if they connected in with the local LGBTIQA+ ecosystem, and tended to fare much worse when not.
When we asked why it important for them to attend, participant answers included:
· to be and feel close to (LGBTIQA+) community;
· to hear more about Rural Pride and this project;
· to hear more about other rural communities and their experiences;
· to make sure queer, trans and disabled young people were represented;
· so that we’re not working in silos and can work together more; and,
· to come support local LGBTIQA+ community and network.
When asked about these ratings and the local LGBTIQA+ inclusion score of 50/100, one local leader summed up a lot of feedback of those attending the workshop:
“Well yeah, that’s about right. That’s where we are and we have more to do.”
88% of participants felt better about living in regional, rural and remote as an LGBTIQA+ person or ally as a result of this national mapping workshop. 12% of participants felt the same as before.
“Because we’re all together in this room working together and contributing to community.”
“It was good to hear from others about why they love living here.”
“The sense of positive energy about diverse groups working together.”
“It’s great that we are all working to bring community together and provide safe spaces for those less confident.”
“To see the support around my friends and family, and that they aren’t alone.”
“It reminded me that it’s important to look outward about other experiences and not just my own internal experiences when it comes to how I feel about being queer in my community.”
“This was great. It’s really required in Australia.”
“We (our community) had spoken about doing something like this in the Huon Valley, it is great that this is happening on agreater level.”
This national demonstration project is mapping three communities in every state and territory, road-testing five community factors identified by LGBTIQA+ people in regional, rural and remote areas: visibility, safety, inclusion, diversity & intersectionality, and community cohesion. We’re also trialling a five-level rating scale designed to be used by local LGBTIQA+ people (not outsiders), from No Evidence Yet through to Living the RRR LGBTIQA+ Dream. After small group discussions, the group agreed on a draft set of ratings.
Many thanked Rural Pride Australia for this work and for coming to the Huon Valley. We thank everyone for taking a risk, turning up for their local LGBTIQA+ community and investing their time on a demonstration project in its early stages.
One participant told us, “This is an important project. Unless we do something, nothing changes.” Another urged, “Don’t stop!”
Rural Pride Australia shared a report back to community for feedback, and committed to publishing these pilot community results on our website.
We'll check in with the Huon Valley from periodically to see what is the same, what’s changed and what else can be added to what we’ve collected. We’ll also update locals on what we’ve found in other communities too!