Celebrating Pride 2020: Jonathan Slater

This blog post was originally published on GOV.UK.

I had hoped that today I would have been looking forward to donning my Civil Service Pride T-shirt and attending the Pride in London Parade tomorrow (27 June), and then Black Pride, the next day. Civil servants have been supporting Pride events across the country for some years, and I am not the only one who is disappointed that we are unable to participate in the same way this year.

However, Pride is still being celebrated in the Civil Service. This is thanks to the efforts of the Civil Service LGBT+ Network, who organised PrideON, a programme of digital events throughout June. The programme culminates today in Walls of Pride, a showcase of displays in response to a call to LGBT+ people and allies to pick a wall in their house and create a scene that represents what Pride means to them.

Hats off to the network for ensuring that the Civil Service can still celebrate this important event in the LGB&TI calendar. This year, the Civil Service Year of Inclusion, Pride has a particular significance, when some of our LGB&TI colleagues have been experiencing feelings of isolation, separated from their workplaces and their usual support networks because of COVID-19.

Happy Pride – however you choose to mark it!