Jan 11 - ERG Hands Pride 2016 To An Independent Committee
Two years after it first started, the Equality Rights Group will be handing the organising of this year's Pride event to an independent committee.
In an official public statement issued today, the ERG said: "Two years ago, we celebrated the first ever Gibraltar Pride event, with the full sponsorship of the Chief Minister, the Minister for Equality and the Gibraltar Government. It was an unqualified success, bringing together civil society from right across the whole community.
"Having tested the concept in practice, and as part of our commitment to encouraging and stimulating independence and creativity, ERG is now handing over the organisation of the annual Pride event to a wholly independent and experienced Committee headed by Donahue Cortes. ERG will be happy to participate as one more member of our community, but it is our policy and conviction that civil society should gain full autonomy as the event develops.
"We have set only two conditions for the handover," explained Chairman Felix Alvarez. "And those are that participation and membership of the Committee should be open to as wide a representation of the Gibraltar Community as is reasonably practicable, and that the event should continue to be named 'Pride’, in honour of the importance we give to diverse individuals of all kinds standing in solidarity with each other in Gibraltar.
"‘ERG is very pleased, therefore, to announce that the Pride Committee team will now be fully responsible for organising Pride 2016, and that we can continue to count, as before, on the full support of the Government of Gibraltar in developing this event this year and beyond. Full advance details of dates and events will be made public by the Committee at the appropriate time. We wish the Committee and all members of the many hard-working groups in Gibraltar all the best for a wonderful Pride event later this year."
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