The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, has announced Phase Two of the LGBTI+ Capacity Building Initiative. Funding is being provided through this phase to support LGBT+ young people throughout the country.

The funding will provide for organisations working with young people to undertake training, mentoring, coaching and development of policies to work with LGBT+ young people. It aims to support the development of better, more supportive services nationwide for LGBT+ young people, through the sharing of knowledge and expertise.

The Initiative is part of the LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy, which is the first of its kind in the world. A key action from the Strategy is to “create a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for LGBTI+ young people”.

The Strategy was developed in association with a Youth Advisory Group, which included young people who could bring the reality they face every day at home, in their schools and communities to bear.

The overall goal of the strategy is to work toward the continued improvement of safe, supportive and inclusive spaces for LGBT+  people living in Ireland. The strategy, which was launched on June 29, 2018, is a world first as it strives to achieve the full inclusion of young Irish LGBT+ people. The Youth LGBTI+ Youth Strategy’s mission is to ensure that all young people are visible, valued and included.

The youth organisations who were given the grants included Foroige, Youth Work Ireland, GAISCE, Focus Ireland, Irish Red Cross, Girl Guides, LGBT Ireland, BeLonG To, GOSHH and Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI).

Speaking about the funding, Minister Zappone said that:

“Through this funding, we are continuing to work towards the improvement of safe, supportive and inclusive spaces for LGBTI+ young people in all walks of life. We are committed to ensuring that LGBTI+ young people are widely supported and have the confidence to be themselves and actively participate in all aspects of society without fear of harassment and discrimination”.