PrideHouse Toronto: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! Programs and Initiatives for the Games-year of the PrideHouseTO initiative
PrideHouseTO is a coalition of organizations and hundreds of volunteers dedicated to promoting LGBTQ rights and inclusion in sport. PrideHouseTO is lead by a team of 15 organizations including The 519, the Church Wellesley Village BIA, Egale Canada, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, FrancoQueer, the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA), the Ontario Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Ontario Public Service Pride Network, OutSport Toronto, Pride Toronto, Ryerson University, Toronto PFLAG and the University of Toronto. PrideHouseTO is generously supported by our Lead Partner CIBC and our funding partners, the City of Toronto, the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
PrideHouse Toronto aims to: • ensure the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/ Parapan Am Games are the most LGBTQ-inclusive multi-sport games in history • create a safe and welcoming space for all participants in the Games including athletes, coaches, delegations and visitors from across the Americas • create safe, welcoming spaces for LGBTQ events and celebrations in the lead-up to and during the Games for visitors, local LGBTQ communities and our allies • profile and celebrate LGBTQ athletes and LGBTQ inclusion in sport at the elite, amateur, school and community levels • promote LGBTQ human rights within the Americas . • raise awareness of issues related to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in sport among local and international audiences • create a community legacy from the Games, including the legacy of a stronger LGBTQ community and greater inclusion in sport at all levels.
HELLO FROM THE TEAM
Building stronger communities through the Games Sport has the power to change the world - it has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Nelson Mandela
Inclusion for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) people in our communities has grown significantly over the past decades, however the world of sport remains an unwelcoming and scary place for many. Studies of bullying and harassment clearly show that the locker room and gymnasium remain the site of significant fear and violence for our youth and one does not need to be LGBTQ to understand this challenge. Many straight men have been pushed out of sport and recreation because they don’t fit the standard mold of masculinity. Similarly many straight women have found that their athleticism has made them a target of taunts and accusations regarding their lives, their identity and their femininity. We believe that sport and recreation spaces that are inclusive for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people become inclusive for everyone. They become a place for all, in sport.
Together, we have been working for nearly two years to deliver a welcoming, exciting space for Toronto’s LGBTQ communities, our allies and for visitors from across the Pan American region to celebrate the TORONTO 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games and to raise awareness of the issues that LGBTQ people face in sport and throughout the world. We are so proud to be part of this incredible journey - a journey that started in 2010 at Vancouver’s Winter Olympic Games, and a journey that will continue beyond Toronto to Rio, Pyeongchang, Gold Coast and around the world. We are building a world where everyone can participate in sport, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, skill or physical ability. We hope you’ll join us.
The PrideHouse Toronto Leadership Team
Members of the PrideHouseTO Leadership Team parade up Yonge and Dundas Streets to begin the Queen’s Baton Relay of Inclusion, a 1.5km leg of the XX Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay.
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TRACK RECORD
Established, connected and ready to deliver
TRACK RECORD
Established, connected, and ready to deliver “CIBC is honoured to support PrideHouseTO - with thousands of visitors expected to attend the Games, there is no better time to promote diversity and encourage inclusiveness in sport and our communities.” Richard Nesbitt, Chief Operating Officer, CIBC Pavilions are a long-time multi-sport tradition a place for communities to gather and celebrate together in the spirit of the games. Since its inception at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games the PrideHouse movement has become a universal symbol for LGBTQ inclusion in sport and has been established as an essential element of the multi-sport games ecology. Toronto’s PrideHouse has set itself apart as a leader in the movement for LGBTQ inclusion. PrideHouseTO’s multi-organization model of governance is the first of its kind, ensuring broad community support for the project. As the first PrideHouse with dedicated staff, PrideHouseTO is already the best-resourced PrideHouse, having secured over $1mil in operating funding from the City of Toronto, Government of Ontario and Lead Partner CIBC. With strong partnerships and key test events behind us, we are well-positioned to deliver an exciting and dynamic series of programs in the lead-up to and during the Games and to leave a strong legacy for our communities and our partners.
The Pride House Movement The Pride House Movement was established at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada and has grown and evolved every year since. Following the 2010 Winter Olympics, Pride Houses have been offered at the 2012 UEFA EuroCup in Poland and Ukraine, the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. A future Pride House is under development in Rio, Brazil for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. At the heart of the Pride House model is a commitment to providing events, activities and programming that reflects the context of the LGBTQ community in the host city. Each Pride House taking on its own distinct look and feel while building on the success of previous Houses. A dedication to documenting our legacy and building international relationships between previous Pride House organizing committees and Pride Houses in development has helped to steward the Pride House movement and has informed PrideHouse Toronto’s plans.
PrideHouseTO Staff and Volunteers were joined by staff and athletes from the Canadian Olympic Committee, You Can Play, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and the City of Toronto in the WorldPride Pavilion prior to marching together in the 2014 WorldPride Parade.
Member Organizations
Project Trustee: The 519
At the heart of PrideHouse Toronto’s success is our community-based governance model. PrideHouse Toronto is a collaborative initiative of The 519, the Church-Wellesley Village BIA, the City of Toronto, Egale, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, FrancoQueer, GLISA North America, the Ontario Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Ontario Public Service Pride Network, OutSport Toronto, Pride Toronto, Toronto PFLAG, Ryerson University and the University of Toronto. These 15 organizations provide leadership and strategic oversight for the project and represent every sector of the LGBTQ and broader communities education, government, labour, business, sport, social services and advocacy organizations united in support of PrideHouseTO.
As the Trustee of the PrideHouse Toronto project, The 519 provides administrative and management support that ensures the effective day-to-day operations of the project. The Centre played a foundational role in the early development of the project, dedicating staff and organizational resources to the project before funding or other resources were available. This early investment has paid off tenfold as new grant and funding partnerships emerged as a result of the work of The 519’s staff.
In addition to strategic direction and oversight, our member organizations have a reach that extends to hundreds of thousands of people and organizations that are leveraged in support of PrideHouse Toronto promotions, outreach and partnership development.
The 519 has built a team of support staff for the PrideHouseTO project - the equivalent of 3.4 full time staff who provide support and coordination for our volunteers and who provide a consistent, accessible point of contact for our funders, partners and suppliers. As an Agency of the City of Toronto, The 519 has also enabled the project to access funding and partnerships that are exclusive to the City.
Deputy Minister for the Pan Am/ParaPan Am Games, Steven Davidson, with PrideHouseTO Staff Member Matthew Cutler and Toronto’s City Manager Joseph Pennachetti spend an evening catching Olympic action in the PrideHouseTO Winter Games Lounge during the Sochi Olympics
Funding Partners PrideHouse Toronto was the first PrideHouse to secure government funding and is the most well-resourced PrideHouse in history. This is a testament to our strong relationships within government and sponsor communities, and to the commitment and investment of our funding partners. Nearly two years prior to the opening of TORONTO2015, PrideHouse Toronto secured its first major funding partnership with the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an Agency of the Province of Ontario. This funding, combined with provincial investments through Ontario’s Celebration, Promotion and Legacy Strategy represents nearly $700,000 in funding for the project - the single-largest investment in LGBTQ inclusion in multi-sport games history.
$300,000 in operating and capital investment and has ensured a place at key consultation and decision-making tables and in City of Toronto promotions, way-finding and outreach materials. Most recently, in June 2015, PrideHouseTO was proud to announce its presenting partner, CIBC. This partnership is significant as it represents the first major sponsorship for the bank within the LGBTQ community and it aligns PrideHouse Toronto’s presenting partnership with that of TO2015 providing further opportunities for collaboration and integration within the Games infrastructure. With many partnerships yet to be announced, PrideHouse Toronto has secured nearly $1.2 million dollars to achieve its mission.
Strong Partnerships As a City Agency The 519 was able to access the Host City Showcase Program, a series of City projects and initiatives that highlight and enhance the presence and success of the Games in Toronto. As a Host City Showcase Initiative, PrideHouseTO has secured nearly
The first community-wide conversations about the PrideHouse Toronto project began in a boardroom at the TO2015 offices and our relationship with the Organizing Committee has continued since. Our relationships within various divisions of TO2015 will continue to prove
immensely valuable as PrideHouseTO extends the PrideHouse model beyond a Pavilion to include ‘live site’ celebration programming, athlete outreach and ensuring LGBTQ inclusion in all facets of the Games. We have also developed enduring relationships with the Government of Ontario’s Pan/Parapan Am Games Secretariat and are represented on the City of Toronto’s Pan/Parapan Am City Team, providing many opportunities to ensure integration, participation and support across all games stakeholders. Outside the Games family, PrideHouse Toronto has developed strong relationships with partners such as the Canadian Olympic Committee and You Can Play, partnerships that will help to extend the capacity and reach of PrideHouse Toronto in the pursuit of our shared goal of ensuring there is a place for all in sport.
Test Events Test events have played a vital role in the development of the PrideHouseTO Gamesyear programs and initiatives. Through these events, we have developed our team dynamic, built our understanding of ‘what works’ within the PrideHouse Toronto context and have developed systems and structures to assist us in delivering the plan over the next year.
and partnership development while raising awareness of the challenges LGBTQ people face in the host country.
Queen’s Baton Relay In the lead-up to the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow the Queen’s Baton travelled to 71 nations and territories across the globe. During its 5-day visit to Canada, the Baton visited PrideHouse Toronto. In partnership with Commonwealth Games Canada and Glasgow 2014, PrideHouseTO delivered the ‘Relay of Inclusion’, a 1.5km relay that began at Yonge and Dundas Square and ended with a reception at The 519, home of the PrideHouse Toronto Pavilion. Relay participants included the Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes, OC, Jamaican Paralympian Toni Greaves and Michelle DuBarry, a legendary drag queen who appeared as Her Majesty during the relay. The Baton Relay marked the first time an LGBTQ organization had been given the opportunity to program a torch or relay race for a multi-sport games and highlighted our capacity, professionalism and raised the awareness of PrideHouseTO among key Games Family stakeholders.
Winter Games Lounge The Winter Games Lounge was an outdoor games-watching activation during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Over 16 days, thousands of LGBTQ people, members of the Ryerson University community and the general public passed through the PrideHouseTO Winter Games Lounge which included an ice rink for skating, a licensed lounge with food, beer and hot drinks and a giant screen playing both live and pre-recorded Olympic action. Though the Lounge, we developed a better understanding of event logistics, programming best practices, volunteer engagement strategies
PrideHouseTO Volunteer Tedd Konya and his family carry the Commonwealth Games’ Queen’s Baton down Yonge Street.
WorldPride Pavilion In June 2014, Toronto played host to WorldPride, a ten-day celebration of activism, education, and the history and culture of LGBTQ communities. For the final three days of the festival, PrideHouseTO transformed The 519 into the PrideHouse Pavilion, welcoming hundreds of people through our doors for workshops on sport inclusion, World Cup match viewing and installations on LGBTQ sport history. The Pavilion was an important opportunity to test overlay plans for The 519 building, strategies for street-level public engagement and evaluating event, volunteer and other logistics in advance of 2015.
CIBC Soccer Nation Freestylers pose outside the PrideHouseTO WorldPride Pavilion, a test event coinciding with the World Cup.
PRIDEHOUSE PAVILION
Creating a space to learn, play and to celebrate
PRIDEHOUSE PAVILION
Creating a space to learn, play and to celebrate “We can’t dictate how other nations behave but we can promote the principles we believe in – of a fair and open society.” The Right Honourable Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during a visit to the PrideHouse Glasgow Pavilion
The PrideHouse Pavilion is at the centre of the PrideHouse movement. As a dedicated space for LGBTQ people and their allies to gather, celebrate, learn and grow together. The Pavilion will operate for the full duration of the games, open to the public 7 days a week.
A hub of welcome and information For the duration of the Pan/Para Pan Am Games in July and August of 2015, the PrideHouse Pavilion will be a one-stop shop for the media, volunteers, partners and supporters of PrideHouse Toronto. Located at The 519, the Pavilion will offer a wide array of information and services to visitors and guests including information on refugee asylum in Canada, a dedicated space for media interviews, free wi-fi, charging stations and a space for volunteers to check-in and rest before and after their shift.
A purpose-built lounge Located in the CIBC Ballroom at The 519, the PrideHouse Lounge will become one of the best
places to catch Games action and a beverage among the athletes, sponsors, dignitaries and friends of PrideHouse Toronto and TO2015. This licensed facility will play host to parties for sponsors, partners and targeted communities throughout the week and on the weekend will offer a more exclusive space for our very important guests during PrideHouse Celebrates! programming.
Daily programming The PrideHouse Community Programs Initiative aims to engage community groups, regular building users and program staff at The 519 to offer Games-specific programming to animate the building throughout its time as the PrideHouse Pavilion. Community groups and existing programs at The 519 will be invited to offer programming that will augment our initiatives - the Family Resource Centre will become the PrideHouse Family Space, offering daily recreation and cultural programming, and 12-step programs will offer a safe space for people in recovery.
Through community programs, PrideHouse will expand its daily program offering and maximize resources.
representing a diversity of art mediums and to include community-engaged art projects as well as installation and/or performance pieces.
Education and History Installations
Commissioned art will be installed or performed at PrideHouse Celebrates!, in the PrideHouse Pavilion, and in partner Pavilions depending on the nature of proposals.
Education and History Installations on LGBTQ rights in the Americas and LGBTQ inclusion in sport will take a prominent place on the walls and in the spaces of the PrideHouse Pavilion. Building upon previous installations by the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation and the Equality Network, PrideHouse will continue the tradition of offering educational, museumstyle installations throughout the building. These installations will build on our broad global history within the movement, while adding additional Toronto, Canadian and Pan-American content.
Big Ideas and Conversations Our café series will engage our communities in critical conversations shaping the reality of sport in today’s multi-faceted society. PrideHouse will host five cafés from September 2014 through to May 2015 providing an opportunity to think through issues in ways that guide PrideHouse Toronto’s policy and advocacy around “inclusion” in sport and the 2015 Pan Am/ParaPan Am Games in Toronto. In June 2015, PrideHouse will partner with The 519 Sport and Recreation Project to offer a four-day summit on sport inclusion, bringing together international leaders, including our colleagues from across Pride Houses past and future.
Arts and Culture Installations Through a call for proposals, PrideHouse Toronto will commission public art projects that will serve to highlight, through diverse mediums, our inclusion narrative both in sport and the Americas. Artists will be selected through their submissions with a goal of
PrideHouse Toronto’s Lounge in the WorldPride Pavilion provided an opportunity to test event concepts and venue design.
PRIDEHOUSE CELEBRATES
A live site that celebrates diversity and welcomes all
PRIDEHOUSE CELEBRATES
A live site that celebrates diversity and welcomes all “Too often, homophobia and transphobia prevent members of our LGBTQ community from living active, healthy lives in our communities, province and across the Pan-American region.” The Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario Toronto’s LGBTQ community knows how to throw a party, and our celebration during TORONTO2015 will be one to remember.
Celebration Zone Located in Barbara Hall Park, surrounding the PrideHouse Pavilion, the Celebration Zone will form a Games ‘live site’ featuring opportunties for Toronto’s LGBTQ communities, their allies, and the Pan American community to watch the Pan Am Games on large screens, watch performances by Pan-American and LGBTQ artists and will provide a space for the public to engage in fun, culturally relevant activities and arts events.
multi-sport and Pan American cultural activities and other age-appropriate activities, engaging youth-serving and sport organizations to assist in delivering programming.
Sports Zone Extending from the Pavilion at Church and Wellesley down to Alexander Street, the Sports Zone will fill Church Street with opportunities for LGBTQ people and their allies to play and to become involved in LGBTQ-friendly sports leagues in Toronto.
A licensed venue, the Celebration Zone will open to celebrate the Opening Ceremonies of the Games and will open each weekend from Friday to Sunday until the Closing Ceremonies of the Pan Am Games.
From basketball to soccer, yoga to table tennis, the streets of the Church Wellesley Village will celebrate the Open Streets philosophy and turn roadways into places for recreation, play and community engagement. The Sports Zone will also provide on-street opportunities for sponsor and member outreach and activation throughout the weekends of the Games.
With a splash pad and a direct connection to the PrideHouse Pavilion Family Space, the Celebration Zone will also provide opportunities for LGBTQ families and youth to engage in
The Sports Zone will be open for each of the three weekends during the Pan Am Games and will be delivered in partnership with key LGBTQ and provincial sport organizations.
During the XX Commonwealth Games, Glasgow Green served as one of three Live Zones featuring Opening and Closing Ceremony concerts, food and beverage vendors, live Games-watching screens, sponsor activations and activities for families.
Business Patio Extensions Thoughout the weekend street closures, PrideHouse Toronto will invite neighbourhood business to extend out into the streets and to welcome visitors into their establishments. In partnership with the Church Wellesley Village BIA, PrideHouseTO will support and encourage business to offer storefront, indoor entertainment and open-air experiences to compliment the various activities of the broader Festival and the Community Hub. PrideHouse Toronto will provide consistent fencing, brand signage and other materials to support the businesses and ensure a cohesive look-and-feel throughout the Celebrations.
to meet the context of the local community and may include movie nights, games-watching opportunities and sport participation events. In addition to administering transfer payments to these organizations, PrideHouse Toronto will produce a ‘PrideHouse in a Box’, containing key materials for local activations.
Regional Celebrations Regional Celebrations will provide local opportunities for LGBTQ people and their allies in six to eight communities across Ontario to celebrate the Games and LGBTQ inclusion in sport. Led by trained Inclusion Ambassadors and local organizations, these events will be developed
Newly-renovated Barbara Hall Park will play host to the Celebration Zone for PrideHouse Toronto.
PRIDEHOUSE AMBASSADORS
Inviting the world, expanding our reach
PRIDEHOUSE AMBASSADORS
Inviting the world, expanding our reach Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. Olympic Principle #4 PrideHouse Ambassadors Community-based Outreach will help to ensure the activities, goals and priorities of PHTO are shared throughout the games, the province and the sporting community by providing a PrideHouseTO presence in a variety of community events, festivals and information fairs. This volunteer-intensive initiative will provide trained volunteers to animate our outreach and information booths with the goals of inviting visitors to our events in 2015, increasing support for the PrideHouseTO project, sharing our advocacy messages with a broad audience and increasing our brand value.
At the Games PrideHouse Ambassadors will also work to ensure that visitors to the TORONTO2015 live sites and pavilions will have quick access to programming information about PrideHouseTO throughout the Games. This will include outreach kiosks at Nathan Phillips Square, Exhibition Place, and the Ontario Pavilion at Harbourfront Centre.
Across the province PrideHouse Toronto gathered nearly twenty Inclusion Ambassadors from 7 different communities across the province in Toronto during WorldPride. These Ambassadors participated in a week-long, intensive residential training program, learning about a variety of sport inclusion topics including parasport, gender identity in sport and women in sport. These Ambassadors will work to deliver sport inclusion workshops in their home community, as well as supporting the Regional Celebrations. PrideHouse Toronto will train more than twenty new ambassadors over the next year to bring the total to 40 and these ambassadors will offer nearly 100 sport inclusion presentations to schools, community organizations and sport leagues within their local community.
In Ontario’s Schools School-based Outreach will extend the PrideHouse message of inclusion to elementary and secondary schools across the province.
The PrideHouse Inclusion Ambassadors kicked-off their week of training by attending the World Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Championships at the Mattamy Athletic Centre at Ryerson University.
Through an art program called “PrideHouse that Kids Built” a professional visual artist will develop a house sculpture made out of individual cardboard panels decorated by elementary school children featuring “words of wisdom” expressing ideas and thoughts about how to make sports and recreation more inclusive. This will be complemented by a program of LGBTQ athlete visits to highschools across the province promoting the PrideHouse message of inclusion.
With the Athletes PrideHouse Ambassadors Athletes Village Outreach will ensure information about PrideHouse and its goals is shared with the Games Family who are resident in the Athletes Village. Through outreach to Chefs de Mission, Games Family Allies and working in partnership with TO2015, PrideHouseTO will work to ensure every member of the Games Family will have access to information about LGBTQ inclusion throughout the games.
Led by a sub-group of current and former elite athletes, this initiative will aim to include materials in lounges and information packages, PrideHouse presence in the International Zone, a welcome ceremony and other initiatives.
Building the Team The PrideHouse Ambassadors Community Sport Inclusion Fund aims to promote and advance the values and goals of PrideHouse Toronto through micro-grants to LGBTQ sport and community organizations. Through a formal grant application process, LGBTQ sport and community organizations will be invited to propose initiatives that will increase access to and inclusion in sport and recreation or that increase a community’s ability to participate in PrideHouse Toronto and the Games. In addition to extending our brand and promotional reach, the fund will provide programmatic legacy from PrideHouse throughout the community.
PrideHouseTO is a coalition of organizations and hundreds of volunteers dedicated to promoting LGBTQ rights and inclusion in sport. We are working to make the 2015 Pan Am/ParaPan Am Games the most LGBTQ-inclusive multi-sport games in history. From parties and celebrations to conferences and workshops, we’re your connection to LGBTQ communities and issues during and leading-up to TORONTO 2015.