We held our first digital social...

Last Thursday we held our first ever digital social. Thank you to all our fantastic members who joined. We had lots of fun and we hope you did too! We also joined together at 20:00 to #ClapForOurCarers.

The digital social had high interest with over 100 members signing up and 70 joining the Zoom call. We used breakout rooms to facilitate virtual teams, which not only enabled members to participate in the quiz, but to enjoy social time with fellow team members.

Read the reflections below from the event organisers:

James Jefferson, Vice Chair:

What I really loved about the event was the breakdown of our usual spatial barriers. It was great to see so many different departments and areas covered. I also really enjoyed everyone’s enthusiasm during the social, especially towards the ‘break out’ rooms. I know many members made new friends and built new connections - hopefully everyone managed to exchange contact details to keep in touch during this period.

As the Civil Service LGBT+ network, I want us to be able to facilitate more of these digital socials in the future, so if you have any ideas for the next one, please do let me know. If anyone wants to help with organising, then also please get in touch.

Astrid Crowley, Bi+ Lead and Vice Chair:

Trying out a digital quiz for the first time was really exciting, and I’m constantly amazed how much we can do online now. Not only were we able to bring colleagues together, but we were able to do so between people from different regions and departments, who may never have had the chance to meet by traditional means.

Now is a time for a sense of community more than ever, and I’m looking forward to the precedent this sets for keeping the Civil Service LGBT+ Network engaged and supporting each other, even after these stormier times pass.”

Jordan Ledger, Events Coordinator:

I had so much fun (with just little bit of stress) organising this quiz with Astrid and James! I was certainly nervous about inescapable technical issues, but thanks to A&J’s great planning it ran pretty smoothly, especially for our first attempt at something like this. I hope you all had a great evening and your hangovers weren’t too bad!

I know that feeling anxious, or depressed, or lonely are things we in the LGBT+ community have to face more than other people at the best of times. At the moment, many of us may feel cut off from our usual support networks, and I know a quiz won’t solve everything, but I hope it helped and I hope you all made new friends too.

I look forward to doing more virtual socials in the coming weeks. If you have any ideas that you think people might enjoy - please do reach out to us.

Is your departmental network hosting an online event that is open to all civil servants? Please let us know and we will share it on our website. 

For all the latest digital events, please check out our events page