Civil service marks Pride month by hosting a range of digital events and celebration for the LGBT+ community

Credit: Ian West/PA Wire/PA Images

Celebrating Pride is “as important as ever” during the coronavirus crisis, civil service LGBTI+ champion Jonathan Slater has said, as officials are invited to join a programme of digital events celebrating Pride.

In a video introducing a series of events organised by the civil service LGBT+ network this month, Slater said the staff-led group was “determined” to celebrate Pride even with social-distancing measures in place.

“This year, of course, we can’t organise events in the way we normally would, but Pride is just as important if ever, if not more so, in these times. So we are determined to celebrate with our LGBTI+ colleagues,” Slater, who is also permanent secretary at the Department for Education, said.

The LGBT+ network’s annual programme of events has therefore moved online this year under the banner of “PrideON”, with talks, videos and digital content to be published throughout the month.

Panel discussions organised by the volunteer network will take place throughout the month, with the first on “being out and safe in the civil service”, to be live-streamed on 15 June. Later discussions will cover topics including LGBT+ families and intersectionality.

The events will also include a talk on LGBTQ+ homelessness and Q&A by the Albert Kennedy Trust, a specialist youth homelessness charity.

More light-hearted events will include quizzes, a bake-along and a watch party for an exercise video recorded for the occasion by 1990s fitness guru Mr Motivator (pictured above).

Beginning next week, the network will also publish digital content across its channels, including a playlist, podcast, and a series of blog posts on relevant topics.

More information on the PrideON events can be found here.