Skeiv Verden has visited Herøy municipality and given lectures to participants in the qualification centre in addition to an open lecture at the Herøy public library.
Maruwa Ibrahim and Joseph Mardelli from Queer World visited Herøy municipality from 3 to 5 January 2023 and gave lectures at the qualification centre and Herøy public library under the auspices of Skeiv Kompetanse intro and family network.
The visit was carried out in collaboration with the qualification centre in Herøy and involved offering information to participants in adult education about Norwegian society, norms and gender and sexuality diversity. Both Joseph and Maruwa worked all day with participants who came to Norway from all over the world.
At Herøy Qualification Centre, we had great and engaging discussions with a total of 51 participants from different backgrounds. We greatly appreciate the collaboration with Herøy Qualification Centre and thank you for the invitation and engagement.
Joseph Mardelli in discussion with participants at the Qualification Centre. Photo: Melissa Nerland Paulsen
In addition, the qualification centre arranged a theme evening in collaboration with Herøy Public Library. The theme was young queers, and among the speakers, journalist Geir Egil Eiksund from Vestlandsnytt was invited to talk about the book "Kampen" that he wrote. The same evening, Maruwa Ibrahim gave a talk about young queer people with minority backgrounds. Ibrahim shared her experiences and gave tips to parents of young queers with a minority background.
We feel that this topic is particularly important to address at such gatherings in places where there may not be many social activities aimed at this target group. Being able to meet people who care about this topic and who want it to be more widely accepted is something that shows the value we stand for.
The project Queer Expertise is supported by the Norwegian Directorate for Integration and Diversity (IMDi), and aims to create a safer space for queer people with a minority background without any forms of negative social control, discrimination or bullying, and for all queer people with a minority background to live freely at home, at asylum centres and in adult education.
Read more about our visit to Herøy municipality here!
