About Queen’s Pride Week

The goals of Queen’s Pride Week are:

1. Remembrance: This week is the first of its kind at Queen’s University. Pride is about looking towards the future, while remembering the historical struggles of LGBTQ people around the world that have come before us. Cognizant of our privileged position in Canada, where there are many protections from discrimination - we also recognize that queer people around the world are harassed, assaulted, and murdered on a daily basis because of their sexual and gender identities.
2. Celebration: In organizing Queen’s Pride, we are acknowledging the successes of queer activists that make us able to offer an entire week of events focused on queer issues. We are especially proud to have many of our events hosted on campus, where members of the Queen’s and Kingston communities can participate in accessible locations that are familiar and welcoming to all.
3. Education: More than just a party, we hope to provide opportunities for education and debate around queer issues, on campus and abroad. Speakers, discussion groups, and open meetings will cover topics from queer scholarship to the history of Pride, LGBT issues in the Middle East, and more.
4. Community: We hope that you have fun during the week, too. There are opportunities aplenty to meet new people and party with friends - from our coffee house to opening and closing parties, Queen’s Pride Week promises to be entertaining and fun!

EQuIP feels that Pride Week should serve as an event to remember the struggles that the LGBTTSIAQ community has suffered to give the rights and freedoms to the current community today. It is also a time to celebrate the successes of activists who have made it possible to for such a week to be organized, as well as celebrate our individual identities. We feel that it is also essential to have a balance between social activities and educational ones. Through Pride Week, EQuIP hopes to foster a positive space for continued learning to promote acceptance of sexual diversity. Queen’s Pride Week also offers a time to create new opportunities for expanding community and creating social connections for everyone.

About EQuIP

The Education on Queer Issues Project (EQuIP) is a social and political group at Queen’s University, under the Social Issues Commission (SIC) of the Alma Mater Society (AMS). Our main goal is to provide a safe and positive environment for queer and queer positive students – however, all members from the Queen’s and Kingston community are welcome at our events and meetings. We host a number of events throughout the year in order to attain this goal, but Pride Week is by far the most important of these events.

Who We Are

We rely on the dedication and hard work of our volunteers, who help
to ensure the success of this week, from start to finish.