News

Graduate Attributes Programme launches Proud Ally campaign for students

17 May 2023

Inspired by the work of the UCC LGBT+ Staff Network’s Rainbow Alliance, GAP is proud to now launch a Proud Ally campaign and network for students. The Proud Ally campaign aims to educate and empower everyone to harness core attributes and values to become effective and proud allies to the LGBTQ+ community.  

On May 17th, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, the Proud Ally website and resource hub, including a downloadable pack of Proud Ally digital assets, officially launched. The website hosts information on becoming a Proud Ally to the LGBTQ+ community and aims to inform students about what LGBTQ+ allyship is. We aim to support our students in becoming respectful, compassionate, socially responsible, and effective global citizens who advocate for their LGBTQ+ peers. 

An LGBTQ+ Ally is someone who actively supports the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community and works to end discrimination and promote equality through acting as an advocate for LGBTQ+ individuals. Allies believe that all individuals regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression should be treated with dignity, respect, compassion and integrity.

The Graduate Attributes Programme have been proud to work with many wonderful people and organisations to develop this campaign, including the UCC LGBT+ Staff Network, the UCC EDI UnitCork Work with PrideUCC Sport, the Mardyke ArenaTENI (Trans Equality Network Ireland), and student representatives from the UCC Student’s Union Equality Working Group and the LGBTQ+ Society. 

Being an effective Ally goes hand in hand with developing core attributes and values. To be a Proud Ally you need to educate yourself on the challenges LGBTQ+ individuals face, and spend some time reflecting on who you are, what matters to you, and how you respond to different situations in your life. You need to understand, acknowledge, and challenge your own prejudices. 

Attributes are traits that define our personality and how we approach different situations in our lives. Being a Proud Ally means you have well-developed attributes and are: 

  • Socially Responsible and therefore take on a personal responsibility to act in the best interest of your community and society. 
  • An effective global citizen who recognises and challenges inequality. An effective global citizen is aware of and understands the challenges facing others and takes an active role to make our society more fair and just. 

Your values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work.

To be a Proud Ally you must have respect for others and how they live their lives. You must support them to be their true selves. You must have compassion for the challenges and discrimination minority groups face. Being a Proud Ally means you need to have well developed integrity. Integrity comes with being a trustworthy and dependable friend and confidant. 

The Proud Ally student website hosts information on: 

  • What an LGBTQ+ Ally is 
  • Why it is necessary to be an Ally 
  • Statistics on the discrimination members of the LGBTQ+ community still face
  • LGBTQ+ terminology
  • Correct use of pronouns 
  • History of the LGBTQ+ community in Ireland 
  • Resources and Supports 
  • Informative video library 

Click here to visit the resource hub and learn more about how you can be a Proud Ally. 

UCC staff, if you would like to join UCC's Rainbow Alliance supported by the UCC LGBT Staff Network, please click here

Are you a Proud Ally?

The Proud Ally campaign aims to educate and empower everyone to harness core attributes and values to become effective and proud allies to the LGBTQ+ community.  

This campaign was inspired by conversations at the Cork Work with Pride conference in July 2022. What started as a small idea to do a social media campaign has grown into a multielement, collaborative and impactful campaign. 

The Graduate Attributes Programme have been proud to work with many wonderful people and organisations to develop this campaign, including the UCC LGBT+ Staff Network, the UCC EDI Unit, Cork Work with Pride, UCC Sport, the Mardyke Arena, TENI (Trans Equality Network Ireland), and student representatives from the UCC Student’s Union Equality Working Group and the LGBTQ+ Society. 

 

For more on this story contact:

Adel Coleman 

Graduate Attributes Programme Manager: adel.coleman@ucc.ie 

 

Graduate Attributes Programme

5, Brighton Villas, (First Floor) Western Road, University College Cork, T12 EC95

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