Belong To’s Stand Up Awareness Week is a time for post-primary schools, youth services and Youthreach centres in Ireland to join us and take a stand against homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.
The week is an opportunity to take steps to make spaces welcoming and inclusive for LGBTQ+ young people. We will equip you with the resources, tools and knowledge needed to host Stand Up Awareness Week in your school, youth service or Youthreach at any time that works for you.
It is heartbreaking that one in five young LGBTQ+ people face bullying and that 76% of LGBTQ+ students feel unsafe at school.
Together we can create spaces where LGBTQ+ young people feel safe, equal and valued.
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“Who wouldn’t want to be a teacher during Stand Up Awareness Week? A time of fun, friendship, learning and solidarity. A time when the the community that schools can provide gets to shine and we get to show love, compassion and inclusion for every single member of our school.”
Lauren Comer, Mercy College Coolock, Dublin
Stand Up Awareness Week 2025 Resources
Belong To sent schools, Youthreach centres and youth services a resource pack in September including an information guide and posters.
You can download the resources for Stand Up Awareness Week 2025 here:
Check out all our education resources on the Education Hub here:
Education Resource Videos – Being LGBTQ+ Today
Hear from young people about the experience of growing up LGBTQ+ in Ireland today. These short animations, two interviews recorded with some of the young people we work with, can be used as an excellent resource in the class or group to foster understanding during Stand Up Awareness Week.
Spill the Tea
Every year for Stand Up Awareness Week, schools, Youthreach centres, and youth services around the country hold bake sales, coffee mornings, and bake offs to raise funds to support our life saving work with LGBTQ+ young people.
Our free ‘Spill the Tea’ fundraising event pack makes this simpler than ever, with a whole pack of materials, decorations and resources sent to anyone holding a Spill the Tea fundraiser, including as part of Stand Up Awareness Week.
Find out more about Spill The Tea, and get in touch to receive your free pack here:
Host an LGBTQ+ Film Viewing
Once again, Belong To is partnering with the Irish Film Institute (IFI), Dublin to offer a limited number of free, online screenings of the below LGBTQ+ films for participating schools.
Bonus Track Age Rec 15+
George is a small town high-school student, who dreams of becoming a famous musician, despite no one else sharing his conviction. His world is upended when Max, son of a star musical duo, joins the school and takes an interest in his music. Their budding friendship is something new for George, their shared love of music drawing them close. Sincere, funny with well-drawn characters, George comes to understand his growing feelings for Max, in a poignant and heartfelt journey of self-discovery.
UK • 2023 • Drama/Comedy • 98 mins • Director: Julia Jackman
Love Simon 12A
This funny and tender drama successfully changed the conversation and familiar tropes of the high school drama. As one of the first mainstream teen films centred on boy meets boy, it does not shy away from highlighting the efforts Simon will go to conceal his sexuality. Things change when he falls for a blogger who comes out online and they start to email. Once the class bully finds Simon’s emails and threatens blackmail, he knows it won’t be long before everyone knows the truth.
US • 2018 • Comedy/Drama/Romance • 110 mins • Director: Greg Berlanti
To receive your free code to screen these films in your school, youth service or Youthreach contact standup@belongto.org
Marriage Equality 10 Years On – A Resource for Schools and Youth Services
Friday, 22 May 2015 marked the historic day when Ireland became the first country in the world to achieve marriage equality by public vote.
This year we published the Belong To Marriage Equality Resource for Schools and Youth Services, designed to support young people in schools and youth services to learn more about this period in Irish history – how it unfolded, and what it meant for LGBTQ+ people then and now.
Stand Up Awareness Week Awards
In 2024, we introduced the Stand Up Awareness Week Awards to celebrate the diversity of inspiring and impactful actions that will have been carried out in schools, Youthreach centres and youth services all over the country.
This year’s awards will be open for entries from 12 November 2025, to recognise your work and efforts to foster inclusion for LGBTQ+ young people in your community.
View last year’s winners announcement below:
Get In Touch
Stand Up Awareness Week Endorsers
Thank you to our Stand Up Awareness Week funders:
Stand Up Awareness Week is endorsed by:
