Summary of things I noticed while volunteering at Toronto Pride (2015)
[Outline of Parade]
It was fun to see so many groups walking around. One of the largest festivals in North America, with 2 million visitors. Vertically, from Yodoyabashi to Shinsaibashi, horizontally from Midosuji to Yotsubashisuji, closed, street fair. There will be shops and circle booths on 11 streets, and concerts and events will be held on 10 special stages. Various events are held for about 10 days, and the last three days are the parade. Transpride and Dyke March are more political, and the gay parade at the end feels like a carnival. It seems that anyone can participate in the Trans March and the Dyke March without registration, and only registered groups can walk in the gay parade. There are said to be over 250 registrations. The parade runs from 1:00 to 6:00. More than 10,000 people walk the Trans March.
Web-based volunteer registration form designed with diversity in mind
● In the name part of the application column, the legal name and the name you want to be called (the name printed on the name tag) are separated. This is because, in the Middle East, there are cases where people have middle names and names that are long enough to span several lines, and many people, not just transgender people, have different legal names from their everyday names. No one cares if is their legal name, and they often don't know their friends' real names or full names.
● You can specify the words you want others to use when calling you in the desired third person column (He, She, They, etc. are printed on the name tag along with your name), and you can be asked about what you want to eat while cooking. do.
●In some cases, there is a column for vegetarians, vegans, etc., as well as items that cannot be eaten for religious reasons and allergies.
●It is assumed that persons with disabilities will be volunteers, such as whether they will be accompanied by a caregiver or need a sign language interpreter.
●By the way, in most cases, there is no gender column.
The foundation is a thorough anti-discrimination policy
Such considerations and concrete systems are possible because of policies. The organizers of the event and the organization of the event have set guidelines to ensure that the system is inclusive of diversity. For example, at meetings I attended, the following principles were declared: All participants are invited to respect the fact that some people are made vulnerable by social structures.
● Solidarity for social justice is based on the principle that all members are equal and deserve mutual respect and understanding, and everyone has a duty to ensure this. All forms of discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated, nor will hate speech. It is anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Semitic, sexist, racist, classist, ableist, desire liberal, deafist, homophobic, transphobic , is not limited to speech. Violation of these rules will result in dismissal.
● Ensuring accessibility for persons with disabilities and encouraging self-declaration of consideration (there is a space for this in the self-introduction or at the time of application)
• Respect for gender pronouns and encouragement of self-reporting is also spreading beyond the queer community.
●Speaking of the Canada-like part, it's about declaring land recognition at the time of the event.
“We recognize that this was once the land of the indigenous tribe ____________ and was built into a town that we are now able to use, and we are aware of the history of the hardships of the indigenous people. Show respect.” In addition, in relation to this, there are cases in which there is a common understanding that the country has perpetrated colonial rule and World War II.
Volunteer education to create an inclusive society
These are reflected firmly when volunteers actually receive training. For example, when applying to be a volunteer for the pride parade, the purpose of the event, policies, rules, job descriptions, appropriate responses to participants, etc. are made known to the volunteers at the workshop. Particular attention should be paid to the appropriate response to participants and the guarantee of ease of participation (accessibility).
●Why is ease of participation important? Because accessibility is a human right.
●Canada signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 and ratified it in 2010. If there are barriers to participation, we have to be considerate.
• The Ontario Human Rights Act, which has been in force for 20 years, proclaims the right of persons with disabilities to receive equal treatment, including participation in public life. The Ontario government has made accessibility legislation for people with disabilities. (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) This law has been in force since 2005 and aims to make society more accessible for people with disabilities.
●Therefore, in the training, you will learn how to respond to items such as people with visual impairments, people with hearing impairments, people using mobility devices, invisible disabilities/psychiatric disorders, and all people.Here is what I put together.Please use it for volunteer training.