The language of love is universal. Much like grammar, however, we sometimes need to be taught to understand.
Our City of Colours, a non-profit founded in March of 2011, brought together 11 board members from backgrounds as diverse as Chinese, Persian, Filipino and Latin American, who all felt that there was a need for their cultures and families to be more accepting of LGBTQ people and that there could be better LGBTQ resources in other languages in Metro Vancouver.
The fledgling team, comprised of a variety of students, parents and newcomers, struck all the right chords with their first project a poster campaign in November of last year showing LGBTQ singles and couples of various ethnicity, describing themselves in English and their second language.
The OCC meet-and-greet launch event this past May attracted upwards of 80 people.
They have since gained the support of the City of Burnaby, BC Teachers Federation and Vancouver School Board along with many local organizations and businesses.
And while they originally recruited faces for their campaign through advertising and asking friends, volunteers are now stepping forward, asking to be on the posters.
Outreach and logistics chair Simon Lam speaks about bridging the gap: Vancouver is always talked about as both LGBTQ-friendly and multi-cultural, so there is the responsibility to make both these claims true in all of Vancouvers diverse communities.Although there are resources for LGBTQ people and resources for different cultural backgrounds, there arent many resources or organizations that focus on both the LGBTQ background and the cultural background. We find that many LGBTQ resources are written in English and arent catered to specific cultures.
Theyre currently working within the Chinese, Persian, and Punjabi communities but have plans to expand to include Filipino, Latin American, Vietnamese, Russian, and French.
Even though Vancouver established an LGBTQ Advisory Committee in 2009, Lam feels there is still more outreach work to be done here, and in neighbouring communities such as New Westminster, Richmond and Surrey.
When you start looking at LGBTQ resources outside of Vancouver, there isnt much available and we would like to see this change in the future.
Our ultimate goal is a place with inclusive and supportive communities that accept, understand, and respect the existence and experiences of people from all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.
Despite some negativity on the internet, Lam says the response from the public and the families of their volunteers has been overwhelmingly positive.
We have nothing but appreciation and respect for our volunteers who have agreed to be the faces of our campaign, he adds. They are truly brave and amazing. It also shows that there are many people who share our mission of increasing visibility of LGBTQ people in cultural communities.
Look for their newest round of posters, stickers and buttons being distributed during the Vancouver Pride Parade on Aug. 5. To learn more or volunteer: Facebook.com/ourcityofcolours
