Schools’ Pride Week Aotearoa is a nationwide campaign celebrating rainbow staff, students and whānau in school communities across the country.

Schools can choose to get involved by registering with InsideOUT Kõaro. Registering ensures access to resources, events, competitions, activity ideas, merchandise and other support.

Individual schools choose how they would like to celebrate this week. It can be a great chance for Rainbow Diversity Groups to showcase their leadership skills by planning events and activities, or for school staff to highlight their values of inclusion and diversity by hosting events for students.

Schools’ Pride Week is about celebrating and affirming rainbow students, as well as highlighting values such as inclusion, diversity and acceptance. Students do not need to be part of the rainbow community to get involved in Pride Week – non-rainbow students may wish to support their rainbow peers by helping out with events, or they may just wish to learn more about rainbow communities.

Schools Pride Week Aotearoa is a campaign that schools can choose to be involved with – it is not compulsory for schools to take part. Schools might like to celebrate the week with small events such as shared lunches in their Rainbow Diversity Groups, or bigger school-wide celebrations such as non-uniform days.

The curriculum won’t be changing during this week. Just like any other week of the year, schools have autonomy over the subjects and content they deliver. Whilst Schools Pride Week might be a great opportunity to highlight rainbow history in Aotearoa or celebrate diversity through literature, classes go ahead as usual and teachers will continue to choose the content of their lessons.

To find out if your school is celebrating, you’ll need to ask the school directly.

Yes, you can absolutely participate in Schools’ Pride Week by doing some activities at home or with your friends.

Some suggestions for high school age students:

• Learn about global and Aotearoa rainbow history and topics online.
• Contact your local rainbow organisation and support them by fundraising or volunteering.
• Dress up your door or a private space in your room.
• Wear some rainbow colours during pride week, even if it is discreet.
• Watch a rainbow movie or TV show
• Find a rainbow book via the Out on the Shelves rainbow reading resource

Rainbow is an umbrella term that we use to describe people of minority diverse genders, sexualities, and variations of sex characteristics. It is a more culturally inclusive alternative to the acronym LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual + more).

Takatāpui is a te reo Māori kupu (word) that traditionally means ‘intimate friend of the same sex’. It has since been embraced to encompass all tangata Māori who identify with minority genders, sexualities or variations of sex characteristics. Takatāpui denotes a spiritual and cultural connection to the past. It is best understood within its cultural context and may mean something different to each person.