Love, Hope, Justice and Joy: Celebrating Pride at Solas Project
/
This year, we wanted to make Pride a priority as an organisation and create a meaningful opportunity for young people to celebrate, connect, and feel represented. We also wanted to take practical steps to strengthen our ability to support LGBTQ+ young people through additional staff training and learning.
At our recent Pride event, Solas@School Youth Worker Eoin shared some opening remarks that perfectly captured why Pride matters and how it connects with our organisational values of love, hope, justice, and joy.
Love
Love is a natural place to begin. At its heart, Pride is about recognising that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that people should be free to be themselves and love who they love, regardless of their gender, sexuality, race, religion, or background.
Justice
Belong To's 2022 School Climate Survey found that:
69% of LGBTQ+ students heard homophobic remarks from other students.
58% of LGBTQ+ students heard homophobic remarks from school staff.
The 2024 Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland national study, conducted by Trinity College in association with Belong To, found that LGBTQ+ adolescents in Ireland are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender and heterosexual peers.
While Pride is often associated with celebration, these stark stats are a reminder that many young people continue to face barriers to feeling fully accepted and included. Creating environments where all young people feel safe and respected remains an important responsibility for schools, youth services, and communities alike.
Belong To training certificates awarded to Solas Project staff
Hope
Thankfully, there are many spaces where LGBTQ+ young people can feel seen, supported, and valued. We want Solas Project to be one of those spaces.
To help ensure this, 25 of our staff across the organisation completed Belong To's Creating LGBTQ+ Inclusive Schools and Youth Services training this year. The training provided practical tools and guidance to help us better support LGBTQ+ young people across our programmes and continue fostering an environment where everyone feels welcome.
Joy
Alongside learning and reflection, Pride is also an opportunity to experience joy together.
This week, young people and youth workers gathered in our building for a Pride event that included crafts and activities, delicious food, and a walking debate that encouraged thoughtful discussion around topics such as inclusion, stereotypes, and the history of Pride.
We were incredibly impressed by the maturity, openness, and engagement shown by the young people who attended. The event concluded with everyone signing a Pride flag as an expression of allyship, pride, and a shared commitment to creating spaces where all young people feel safe, respected, and valued.
Solas Project Pride Celebration, 2026
As an organisation, we believe that every young person deserves to experience belonging. Through events like these, and through our ongoing commitment to learning and inclusion, we hope to continue creating communities where all young people can thrive.
