This weekend, the National LGBT Federation will run research workshops in Dublin and Galway to give power to the Irish LGBT+ migrant community in defining the focus and approach of the ‘LGBT Actions to Include Migrants’ research project.

We asked NXF’s Chair of Research Chris Noone to tell us more about the project and what people can expect from these workshops.

How did the LGBT Actions to Include Migrants project come about?

In 2016, the National LGBT Federation conducted the largest and most comprehensive national consultation of the LGBT community in Ireland. This resulted in the Burning Issues 2 report. Data from Burning Issues 2 suggests that more could be done to make Ireland a welcoming place for LGBT+ migrants. To address this need, the National LGBT Federation applied successfully for funding from the Community Foundation for Ireland’s Social Change Grants scheme to carry out research on the experiences and needs of LGBT+ migrants in Ireland.

Why is it important?

The National LGBT Federation is committed to supporting all members of our community through research and education. This research will provide valuable information to policy-makers, public service workers, LGBT+ community organisations and the wider community about the lived experience of LGBT+ migrants in Ireland. The National LGBT Federation will push for the results of this research to lead to positive policy changes to support the migrants in our community.

What can people expect at the workshops?

The LGBT Actions to Include Migrants (AIMS) project will be participatory research study which will involve LGBT+ migrants and other relevant stakeholders at every step. These workshops are the first step in this. We are organising these workshops to give power to the members of our LGBT+ community who are migrants to Ireland by involving them in defining the focus and approach of the LGBT Actions to Include Migrants research project. To ensure that there are no barriers to participation, we are using accessible venues, providing lunch and covering all travel costs.

What would the outcome of the workshops? Next steps?

These workshops will shape the kind of data we will collect in this research project. The next step after the workshops is to collect and analyse the data in whatever way the workshop participants decide. The results of this research will be disseminated widely to motivate political action to further improve the lives of LGBT+ migrants.

If you are interested in attending either of these events, you can register for free here for the Dublin event on April 14th, and here for the event in Galway on April 15th.