Meetings over the future of Manchester Pride have been ‘poorly attended’ by members of the gay community since they commenced in January.
Manchester Pride Listening Groups were launched alongside Pride’s Be Involved scheme which invites members of the LGBT community to ‘get involved’ in reshaping the future of the charity.
High attendances were expected after only £34,000 was given in charity donations from their last Big Weekend, 35% lower than last year’s figure with total donations having dropped continuously since 2009.
Mark Fletcher, Director for Manchester Pride said: “Our Be Involved campaign is a hugely important step for us to re-engage with our community and gain a real understanding of our audience.
“2014 will see a strong focus on initiatives to increase the amount of donations that Manchester Pride is able to make to LGBT and HIV projects in the region.”
However, some members of the community were disappointed with the turnout including Stephen Smith, who attended a meeting at the LGF (The Lesbian, and Gay Foundation) last week which was led by members of the Pride Committee.
“It was a missed opportunity because it was the chance for people to go and have their voices heard and there were about 15 people in the group I went to,” the 33-year-old explained.
“A lot of people said they were going to go and they just didn’t turn up. I call these people keyboard warriors- those who are very quick to criticise on media sites but when they had the opportunity to air their own views in public where were they?
“If I had been sat amongst the board members of Pride I would have thought “well what’s the problem” because hardly anyone was there.”
A petition calling for the board of Pride to step down, which currently has more than 1,000 signatures, had previously been set up by Mr Smith however he was hopeful Pride will be making positive changes.
“My problem was the lack of communication that has been giving out but I was happy with how they responded in the meeting,” the service manager said.
“Ultimately though the proof will be in the pudding – everybody has put forward ideas about how the weekender can be run differently, and Pride have stated they will publish everything that has been said so they have to deliver now.”
The festival will celebrate its 24th year when it returns with a range of entertainment from August 22-25 and Mr Smith hopes charities will benefit from the ticket sales which are priced at £16 for a limited period.
“The most important target is that it raises enough money as possible for charity because that is what the event should be about,” he said.
“At the same time the community groups need to get involved and have their say and this will hopefully be done through Pride’s Collective Community listening groups.
“Pride has the potential to be a really uplifting and amazing event but the community and charity has to be at the heart of it.”
Image courtesy of anthro_aya via Flickr, with thanks.
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