As part of Project Uplift (the refurbishment of the Rainbow Room) a documentary was produced by the Office of the Clerk/Parliamentary Service to tell the story of the room. The individual interviews were also published online under a Creative Commons licence CC-BY 4.0. A special thank you to the Office of the Clerk/Parliamentary Service for allowing Judy's interview to be reproduced. The mp3 files on this page contain just the audio element of the video interview.
Summary
During a presentation recorded at the Rainbow Room in the Parliament buildings of Wellington, New Zealand, Judy O'Brien, a trustee of the board for Outer Spaces, discussed the organization's commitment to supporting gender and sexually diverse young people. Outer Spaces, dedicated to fostering community, education, development, and advocacy, advances its mission through three primary youth-focused initiatives: Schools Out, Transform, and Naming New Zealand.
Schools Out targets school-aged individuals between 12 and 18, offering them after-school programs where queer youth can connect, share experiences, and discuss pertinent issues that impact their lives in educational environments. Transform, meanwhile, concentrates on individuals from 14 to 30 who are gender diverse or exploring their gender identity, addressing a multitude of topics in their evening gatherings ranging from legal name and gender marker changes to broader subjects such as sexuality education, consent, and healthy relationships.
Naming New Zealand, a charitable arm of Outer Spaces' efforts, assists young people in the arduous process of amending their identity documents—ensuring their names and gender markers are updated on essential records like passports and birth certificates. The organization recently held a law clinic, facilitating access to information and resources for youth in Schools Out and Transform regarding legal document adjustments, thereby reducing the risk of discrimination.
The vision of Outer Spaces is characterized by the pursuit of universal acceptance pertaining to body, identity, and sexuality diversity. The Wellington region serves as the operational base for their groups, which receive support from various local organizations including Inside Out, Te Whanau Whanau, and Rainbow Youth in Auckland. Emphasis was placed on the crucial issue of bullying and the heightened vulnerability of gender-diverse students within schools. Statistics reveal that these students face unsafe conditions, with one in five experiencing bullying on a weekly basis.
The creation of safe spaces, such as the Rainbow Room in government facilities, is heralded by Outer Spaces as an essential message of inclusivity and celebration of the LGBTQI+ community. The existence of such rooms not only imparts a sense of acceptance to LGBTQI+ youth but also inspires them towards realizing their full potential, including aspirations like becoming parliament members.
Reflections on personal experiences emphasize the importance of visible role models, such as New Zealand's Georgina Beyer, the country's first transgender Member of Parliament, who marked a trailblazing presence for gender diverse individuals. The presenter ties this inspiring legacy to the continuing fight for recognition and rights within legislation, highlighting its correlation with the reduction of youth suicide rates among the gender and sexually diverse population.
This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.
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