A Blog from Cheswold Park’s Pride Group members on their recent co-produced Pride History Month presentation.
On February 22nd, 2023, we delivered a presentation around LGBTQ+ history as part of LGBTQ+ History Month.
What did we do?
The presentation was co-produced by service users who attend our Pride group. It follows on from a similar, smaller workshop that we held last year which focused on historical events and homophobia awareness. We wanted to share some of the discussions we have had within our Pride Group with other service users and staff within the hospital and identified that a presentation was the best way to do this.
How did we do it?
The Pride group started meeting at the beginning of our winter term. As part of our first couple sessions, we looked at key areas of LGBTQ+ history and we decided on 4 areas of discussion that we wanted to talk about. We mind-mapped a structure, then agreed between ourselves what content to include. As well as working in the group, we also used our own time to research topics and content to include. Based on previous experiences, we also included a couple of activities that kept the group engaged and energised, and this helped us move away from the traditional PowerPoint presentation format. We practiced and practiced, making sure we were confident talking about our topics, and the evening before, we enjoyed pizza and chips while we held our “dress rehearsal”.
How did it make us feel?
While we were working on the key areas we found that there was a lot of information that made us feel proud to stand up and identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community in today’s society, but it also made us think of, and reflect on, the things that we have had to fight for and the challenges that the community still face on a daily basis. It made us very proud that we were able to talk about the parts of history that saw LGBTQ+ people persecuted and the progress we have made as a society to wave goodbye to these acts. Co-Producing the presentation made me feel confident in standing up and talking to a room full of people. It also made me feel that even though I am in hospital, I still have a voice that his heard and valued. We also gained certificates as part of the AQA Unit Award Scheme for Workshop Facilitation and Co-Production skills as an added bonus!
