The Victoria Pride Society Youth Council invites everyone to a night full of intersectional 2SLGBTQ+ activism. Amazing locals will speak on everything from self-empowerment to social justice issues. Dinner will be provided. Secure your spot before space runs out!

This year's speakers are:

-Polaris will present Autism and Queer Identity: an introduction and exploration of Autism, a disability that is statistically common in the trans community, and that comes with many of the same experiences. The purpose of this workshop is to inform who might have dealt with it's affects for years without knowing, and people who don't know much about it who could make their spaces more accommodating. If there is a question you (the audience) has ever wanted to know about autism, welcome to the show.

Polaris (aka Remi Johnston, @polaris_draws, www.remijohnston.weebly.com) is an Agender Autistic person living on Lək̓ʷəŋən territory. They're passionate about diving into their disability to better understand xyrself, and to help others understand a heavily stigmatized and ridiculed part of who xe is. When they aren't doing that, they're either deep in a sketchbook or a box of comic books, which are xyr’s special interest and hopefully their carrier.

-Robin McGeough will present ACT UP! - the past, present and future of intersectionality in Pride. When it comes to talking about 2SLGBTQ+ rights, everyone deserves a seat at the table. However, many people living with overlapping identities such as race, ability, and gender don't feel like they belong. In this workshop, Robin McGeough invites you to explore how privilege and identity play in to feeling 'inside' and 'outside' of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Through a tour of important historical events and leaders in Queer history, we will reflect on what these intersections mean for the future of the 2SLGBTQ+ movement.

Robin (@icavictoria) is an uninvited settler gratefully living on Lekwungen-speaking territory. He has a passion for community collaboration and social justice, particularly when it comes to youth and 2SLGBTQ+ initiatives! During the day, he works as a Settlement Youth Worker running youth and 2SLGBTQ+ mental health programs at the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria. By night, he likes going for long runs and dreaming up the perfect playlist.

All participants at the Kick-Off are responsible for keeping this event a safe space. There is zero tolerance for oppression or harm of any kind. Please also keep this space completely substance-free.

Don't forget to check out our other Pride Week event: The Youth Pride Kick-Off (youthpridekickoff.eventbrite.ca).

Contact us at vpsyouthcouncil@gmail.com or @vps_youthcouncil on Instagram.

This VPS Youth Leadership Council acknowledges that it organizes and works on the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples, and that the land's historical relationships with the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples have existed since time immemorial.

Image credits: growthgal on pexels.com (Women Sitting on Chairs Inside a Room), slaiden on unsplash.com (Speaker).