 We wanted to give you an idea of what it is we do at Bi+ Ireland and while, yes, this has a lot of details, it is far from a complete look at the work of Bi+ Ireland. We have many quick explanations of Bi+ Ireland, but we wanted a more comprehensive post as well.
Who are we? Bi+ Ireland is an all island wide community organisation, that is run solely by volunteers. Bi+ Ireland is a social and community space for bi+ adults based in, from, or closely connected to Ireland. The bi+ umbrella is inclusive of all non-monosexual orientations including, but not limited to, bisexual, biromantic, pansexual, panromantic, and non-monosexual queer people. What do we do? Bi+ Ireland provides a safe and welcoming space for all adults that fall under the bi+ umbrella - be they bi, pan, queer or any other identity under the bi+ umbrella. Bi+ Ireland aims to create a space where bi+ people can make friends, access peer support and reduce any isolation they may experience. We aim to increase the visibility and presence of bi+ people in Ireland and to create diverse, vibrant and welcoming communities. Bi+ Ireland provides support, community and advocacy for bi+ people throughout the island of Ireland. Both our volunteers and members work to bring about a more inclusive LGBTQIA+ community and a society where all of us are valued equally. Bi+ Ireland helps increase bi+ visibility by hosting bi+ events, providing an online presence and selling badges on our website. How do we do it? At the core of all Bi+ Ireland work two of our main priorities are consensual interactions and inclusivity. We are committed to creating a welcoming, accessible and safer space for all members of the bi+ community, and affirming the many other factors which impact our lives. We want to be radically inclusive and accessible - no if, buts, maybes or lip service. We are aware that this is a complex task, which we'll be working on and improving as long as Bi+ Ireland exists. Accessibility isn't just a wheelchair ramp. That's part of it, yes. But we know that lighting, sound, location, event timing and affordability, as well as many other factors, affect your ability to attend, participate in and enjoy our events. It's really important to us that we do everything we can to account for as many aspects of accessibility as we possibly can. Inclusivity isn't simply about venues and event hosts. We care deeply about ensuring that this community, both online and off, is open to everyone who needs it. That means taking a radical intersectional approach to everything we do, and constantly educating ourselves and reaching out both within our community and into other communities who are often ignored by mainstream organisations. So many of us have faced exclusion in our lives, both as bi+ people and because of the other aspects of our lives. In Bi+ Ireland, we are determined to not repeat that. We are feminist, anti-racist, anti-cisnormative, anti-classist, anti-ableist and we want those values to permeate everything we do. How to join Bi+ Ireland? To be a Bi+ Ireland member you must fulfil these three criteria:
To be a Bi+ Ireland member means to be a part of one of our closed groups and/or attending our events. There is no financial or time commitment required. How much and how you engage in the activities or online platform(s) is completely your choice. What activities and supports happen in Bi+ Ireland? Closed Facebook group Bi+ Ireland Community is a place for us to join one another and have a chat. There is always plenty of peer support and casual conversations. Whether that is our weekly mental health check-ins, the occasional selfie threads, conversations about hobbies or looking for help, the group is a safe place to have many different conversations. Discord Another platform for us to engage in regular conversations with one another. Though Discord has the added bonus of being able to opt in and out of different topics via the channel set up. Online Meet ups This year we finally started having online meetups after hoping to do so for a while now. Since the start of June we have had 4 online zoom video calls and we are enjoying them. We plan to keep online meet ups a regular occurrence in Bi+ Ireland, as they open a door for many more members to attend, especially those who struggle to go to physical events due to barriers such as location and energy availability. We hope to run a variety of events via zoom such as general chats and board games. Physical Meetups Prior to physical social distancing we hosted regular physical meetups. In the past we have hosted events in Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Galway. These events had many different forms, for example, chats in coffee shops, cinema trips, family picnics, variety talent shows and board games. We do hope to return to physical meetups, when it is safe to do so. We Exist Stories With We Exist Stories, Bi+ Ireland invites bi+ people to tell their stories and experiences of being bi+. These stories help illustrate that Bi+ people exist, we may be highly visible or we might not be. But we exist and we are valid. Education Bi+ Ireland have led many educational workshops around topics such as bisexuality 101 and bi erasure. These workshops and talks have been given in third level institutions, workplaces and even to other LGBTQAI+ organisations. Prides and Bi Visibility From June to September, Bi+ Ireland is normally very busy. From June to the end of August there are many prides throughout the island of Ireland. Bi+ Ireland do our best to be involved in as many of these Prides as we can. We know how important bi+ visibility is at Pride events and try to have our banner marching at many prides. Then jump into September where we have International Bi+ Visibility. We always try to mark the occasion in some way. Advocacy Bi+ Ireland regular advocates for bi+ inclusion within LGBTQAI+ services and events. Both our volunteers and members work to bring about a more inclusive LGBTQIA+ community and a society where all of us are valued equally. Bi+ Ireland can be found at several protests throughout any given year, for example at pro choice protests, sex education protests and trans rights protests. How can you support us? Facebook Page Regardless if you are bi+ or not, we would love it if you could give our Facebook page a like. This will help you stay up to date with the work we do. Twitter Page Regardless if you are bi+ or not, we would love it if you could follow our Twitter account. This will help you stay up to date with the work we do. Please note: All pages and supports, even the shop, is run solely by volunteers that work very hard at balancing everything in their life. Although we try to be as responsive as possible, sometimes things take longer and unfortunately occasionally things fall through the cracks. We appreciate patience but do understand if you need to send gentle reminders and we do apologise for this. We do our best to protect our community and as such we have community guidelines we expect anyone who interacts with our platforms or our events, to adhere to and that must be read in advance before requesting joining our closed groups. Our guidelines can be found here http://tinyurl.com/irlbiguidelines Useful links Public Facebook page Bi Ireland https://www.facebook.com/biirelandnetwork/ Public Twitter @irlbi https://twitter.com/irlbi Website http://www.biireland.com/ News and Events Blog http://www.biireland.com/news-and-events We Exist Stories http://www.biireland.com/we-exist-bi-ireland-series.html Shop https://shop.biireland.com/ Closed Facebook group Bi+ Ireland Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/BiIRL/ Closed Discord Server To join message Bi+ Ireland via facebook page or Twitter page Public Calendar of events Not only do we post Bi+ Ireland events here, but also events we think may be relevant to our community. http://www.biireland.com/calendar-of-events.html Public Calendar of events for Google sync Not only do we post Bi+ Ireland events here, but also events we think may be relevant to our community. https://calendar.google.com/calendar/b/1?cid=Z2FqN2FraTd0dm81cXE3dDExY2k4ZnZwdXNAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ
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This organisation is run 100% by volunteer coordinators. We welcome donations and promise 100% transparency with our spending. Learn more here.
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Bi+ Ireland is a network of people who fit somewhere under the bi+ umbrella, and who have close ties to Ireland. We are community group run by volunteers. You can reach us at biirelandnetwork@gmail.com.
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