Jonathan Smith Fewer than hoped-for registrations for Auckland Pride Parade entries by and for young people are not overly concerning either the Parade or Pride Festival organisers. Parade organiser Jonathan Smith says he has been trying to get glbti youth engaged but the response has not been as great as he had hoped for. "I know we've got Rainbow Youth involved and the Family float will pick up a lot of young people but I've had great difficulty engaging youth to create something of their own or individuals who want to put something into the parade," he says. But Smith sympathises with the hesitancy of young people to step up. "They've not experienced this kind of glbti celebration before and don't know what to do," he says. "Once they see this parade this year it will give them the encouragement and the incentive to do something in 2014." Glbti student group UniQ was one of those organisations whose leadership stood up at the early Pride community consultation meetings and stressed the need for youth-focused events and for young people to be involved. However, UniQ has not itself registered an entry in the parade. Pride Festival organiser Julian Cook agrees with Smith that young people may be hesitant in this first year. But, he says, there are a promising number of events for and by young people in the Festival. "Events like the Proud Party and Queerlesque are definitely getting young people engaged," Cook says. "And the free screening of Priscilla Queen of the Desert at Silo Park on the waterfront, with no age limit, is bound to attract younger folk." He says Rainbow Youth have acknowledged this by scheduling the premiere of a new clip in their WTF anti-bullying and bigotry series for that event. "And of course the person who is launching the whole Pride Festival by MC-ing the opening Gala Concert is Sam Johnson, the Young New Zealander of the Year," Cook points out. Agreeing with Smith, "It will take time for the young people to come up to speed," Cook says. "Older people have been through this a decade and more ago, they know how to organise and what is possible and how to create an event or a float. I'm sure our young people will catch on quite quickly."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 20th January 2013 - 1:23pm