Norwich Pride celebrated its 18th birthday this year and researchers, scientists and staff from Norwich Research Park were at the forefront of marketing this important date.
The Norwich Pride march and events took place in the city centre and was full of glitter, noise and colour, with a range of flags from across the LGBTQ+ acronym on show. The march followed its usual route through the city, with large celebratory crowds lining the streets, finishing in Chapelfield Gardens for a range of live entertainment.
This year’s celebrations were felt by many to be somewhat more of a protest than in previous years, highlighting the issues the LGBTQ+ community are facing within the current political climate. However, as always, members of the community from across the Park’s campus came together to take part in the Pride march and to show that they are proud of who they are
Norwich Research Park has a long-standing commitment as a supportive and strong ally to the LGBTQ+ community across its campus, running numerous activities across the year. Participation in Norwich Pride is an effective culmination of the community togetherness that has been established over many years.
Martin Lippiatt, co-chair of UEA’s LGBTQ+ group, said, “As part of our ongoing collaborative work between UEA, the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) and the Norwich Research Park tenant community, we put on a wide variety of ‘open-to-all’ events throughout June and July. Key highlights included UEA’s Allyship Amplified panel event, focusing on ‘Behaviours, Bravery, and Belonging’ in the LGBTQ+ community, where Dr Sam Rowe of the Centre for Microbial Interactions provided his insightful and inspiring views.
“This was followed by a highly engaging and popular talk organised by the Norwich Research Park LGBTQ+ network co-chairs and delivered by Gab Astorga, who works at the Quadram Institute, about building community and finding joy by using social media for good. Gab has a fast growing online following thanks to his clever, funny and insightful way of engaging the public with STEM subject matter.
“I’d like to thank all of those who joined us and took part in the march from across the Norwich Research Park tenant community.”
In July, the NNUH hosted its popular Unison-led Pride event, where stallholders from LGBTQ+ charities, creative artists and workplace networks set up to engage with hospital staff members, patients and the wider public.
The final event to take place before Norwich Pride itself was UEA’s LGBTQ+ Short Movies collaboration with the Norwich Queer International Festival of Film (NQIFF).
Amelia Wilkins, co-chair UEA’s LGBTQ+ group, said “This proved to be very popular, highlighting a mix of homegrown talent and international film making. Having proven to
be a big success, we plan to continue these movie events on an academic term basis, where all are welcome to attend.”
