Phoebe Hooper is proving small towns can change.
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Katherine’s loudest LGBTQIA+ activist, Mr Hooper said people often assume there will be a certain level of bigotry in a small town.
That small towns often get passed off as unchangeable, he said.
“It was a pretty negative environment before.”
But Mr Hooper is seeing a positive shift in Katherine, thanks mainly to the efforts of his organisation Keep Talking and Rural Pride Festival, which is in its second year of building a positive culture.
“Rural Pride is not just about making the LGBTQIA+ community feel welcome, but about making everyone feel welcome,” Mr Hooper said.
The colourful festival commences tonight with Basics Training – Connectedness workshops developed by Mr Hooper to increase awareness and inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Knowing how to engage with different types of people in our community is something we should be focusing on,” he said.
One Connectedness workshop has already had a run at Katherine High School, effecting positive results.
A survey revealed students felt safer and more connected to their peers after the workshop.
“A teacher emailed me after and said her grade eight class didn’t usually talk to each other at all but after we ran the workshop the students started to communicate because they realised they had things in common.”
Mr Hooper is pushing for the workshops to become a permanent part of school education.
And the NT Government is already showing an interest, he said.
This year, Rural Pride Festival is raising funds for NT Friendship and Support, an organisation which works with youth and minorities in Katherine.
Running over two weeks pride festival will be drenching Katherine in colour, with a showing of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, art and music in the park and a rainbow masquerade ball.
There is a large LGBTQIA+ community, but most of Katherine doesn’t know about it.
- Phoebe Hooper
This is the last year Mr Hooper will be running Rural Pride Festival in Katherine.
The event is going to be “memorable and life-changing for as many people as possible”, but it is not the end of the road yet.
“This is not just going to be another event that is forgotten.
“I won’t be here… but I will make sure someone carries it on.
“I would like people to leave [Rural Pride] with a more positive view about Katherine and the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I want to showcase the [people] in Katherine that are accepting.
“I want to build a positive culture in using LGBTQIA+ language in everyday life so people don’t feel afraid of getting things wrong.
“And I want to show people how to be a better ally, how to publicly support someone without making it about you.
“There is a large LGBTQIA+ community, but most of Katherine doesn’t know about it.”
Although, Mr Hooper is seeing positive changes, that is not to say there is still work to be done.
“We need to get to the point where people don’t need to feel afraid.
“People need to be able to be themselves in the community and not feel reduced to something they are not.”
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