Celebration Event 2021

Live Out Loud

Live Out Loud: Celebrating LGBTI+ Youth event, from the Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth, was live streamed from the National Opera House, Wexford, on 25 June as part of Dublin Pride 2021. This event was a national celebration of LGBTI+ young people and shows how LGBTI+ youth are visible, valued and included across Irish culture, society and sport.

The Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth showed the valuable contribution of LGBTI+ young people to the nation, with a showcase of stories of LGBTI+ youth in culture, sport, youth clubs, schools and communities. TV personality, Stephen Byrne hosted the event, with special guests including indie-rockers, Pillow Queens.

LGBTI+ young people featured creatively telling their stories from such iconic locations as the National Library of Ireland, The Hugh Lane Gallery and the National Photographic Archive.

The event was the culmination of the Live Out Loud national campaign that celebrates LGBTI+ youth as part of the LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy - a world first national strategy for LGBTI+ young people. Since the campaign launched on National Coming Out Day in October 2020, the team has collected some incredibly positive stories of those who are influencing, educating and inspiring every sector of society for LGBTI+ young people.

How to watch

The event replay is on the Facebook and Youtube pages of the Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth.

Where did it all begin?

Live Out Loud is a youth-led action that has been developed by the LGBTI+ Youth forum. The Youth forum is a group of LGBTI+ young people, aged from 16 to 22 that support implementation of the LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy. The Youth Forum keeps young people at the heart of strategy implementation and gives them an opportunity to participate in decision-making on issues that affect them.

LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy was published by the Government in 2018 and is the first of its kind in the world. The mission of the Strategy is that all LGBTI+ young people are visible, valued and included.

Three strategic goals are identified to support the achievement of this mission:

• Goal 1: Create a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for LGBTI+ young people.
• Goal 2: Improve the mental, physical and sexual health and wellbeing of the entire LGBTI+ community.
• Goal 3: Develop research and data environment to better understand the lives of LGBTI+ young people.