Photo by Eunick Nobe
One of the most anticipated events of the LGBTQ+ community each year is the Pride March, which is typically held in June. The event commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, which paved the way for modern LGBTQ+ social movements. In the Philippines, Pride has been held as early 1996 and it has steadily increased in popularity through the years. Last year saw the biggest crowd with 70,000 attendees, becoming the largest and oldest Pride demonstration in Southeast Asia.
Of course, with the threat of COVID-19, a march will not be possible this year. But that doesn’t mean members of the community and its allies won’t be able to proclaim their pride. This 2020, Pride@Tech is launching a technologically ingenious way for people to march for pride from the safety and comfort of their own homes.
They’re launching Pride March From Home: United for COVID Relief, an online platform that lets people everywhere do a virtual pride march from home to support LGBTQ+ communities who are most in need in these trying times.
To join, all you need to do is go to www.marchforpride.com and choose your virtual Pride route. Pick a rainbow color, then make your march count by pledging a donation or by sharing it online with the hashtags #Recreate #Pride2020 #PrideMarchFromHome. Remember to keep your address private!
Pride March From Home: United for COVID Relief will officially take place on June 27 at 3PM. All proceeds will go to LGBTQ+ communities affected by COVID-19, via iVolunteer, the Philippines’ first volunteer portal built by volunteers for volunteers to spread the passion of volunteerism in the country.
“It is important to use our Pride parade platform to fight for our rights, it’s even more meaningful this time because it also helps members of our community who have been affected by the pandemic. And tech is able to help us do this despite the situation we’re in,” says Raymund Sison, Creative Chief at Propel Manila. “Actually we did this effort in 2019 to address the problem of some supporters who wanted to support, but couldn’t make it to the Pride Parade. We didn’t know it would even be more helpful, more meaningful today.”
Propel Manila is part of the team bringing Pride March From Home to life. They are joined by Google, Facebook, Globe, GCash, IBM, and Analog Labs.
What do you think? Share your thoughts below!
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