Our working groups:
- provide an opportunity for many people to take on a task, make a contribution, meet other people and learn new skills with a small time commitment and without having to attend long committee meetings that deal with lobby-wide issues;
- enable the Committee of Management to focus on strategic issues, leaving operational issues and the day-to-day work of the lobby to working groups; and
- enable the lobby to greatly expand the amount of work it can get done.
Current working groups include:
- Administration and Finance
- Alliance Strengthening
- Communications
- Campaign Groups such as Equal Love
- Fundraising and Events
- Policy Development and Strategy
- Volunteers and Membership Support
Admin and Finance Working Group
The Admin and Finance working group is lead jointly by the Secretary and Treasurer and convened where necessary for the purposes of Administration and Financial duties. The group ensures effective liaison between Committee members and ensures they are kept up to date with current financial issues, activities and campaigns inside and outside of the VGLRL. The Secretary and Treasurer are responsible for incoming correspondence, meeting Minutes and Financial statements. The Admin / Finance group convenes to conduct mail outs or other activities as required and as a result does not meet regularly. The group also responds to requests from other working groups to assist with Admin or other activities
Alliances Working Group
The Alliances working group aims to forge links both among the LGBTIQ community, and also with progressive human rights, activist, religious and community groups.
The working group operates on the philosophy that progressive people and organisations need to work together to build a working and strong political community. We believe in solidarity and cooperation among LGBTIQ groups and beyond.
The purpose of the communications working group, led by the decisions and advice of the Committee of Management, is to:
- Engage with a wide range of media, keeping them informed of the activities, events and opinions of the lobby.
- Gather and present the opinions of the lobby.
Facilitate the flow of information to the membership of the lobby, our community and the broader community. - Lift the image and profile of the lobby in our community.
The communications group has adopted the following strategy to achieve the above outcomes as required by the Committee of Management:
- Design, maintain and update the lobby’s website.
- Produce a monthly newsletter for distribution to our membership and database, as well as posting on our website.
- To archive all press achieved for the lobby.
- To prepare and distribute the Annual report of the lobby.
- To submit to the press a weekly release of information pertaining to events and information of the lobby.
- To access and send to the database of members and volunteers pertinent information or calls to action from the lobby.
- Other ad hoc communications and media requirements as directed by the Committee of Management.
Fundraising and Events Working Group
The Events working group recruits community members interested in all aspects of events production: from creating agendas for events that influence cultural change through to project planning.
Their mission is to present a regular calendar of events that will:
- Maintain a visibility of the VGLRL and its individuals;
- Enable the Lobby to continually engage with the community/membership;
- Deal with current community/member perceptions of the VGLRL;
- Educate and entertain those coming along, discouraging apathy and encouraging involvement; and
- Celebrate who we are.
The annual Events calendar ‘mix’ will be made up of:
- Three celebratory events, including member ‘get to know each other’ nights, that act to remind the community/membership where we’ve been and where we are heading;
- A minimum of two Educational events, based on current policy issues/how to lobby/get involved; and
- ‘Presence’ style event utilising the bigger gay and lesbian community events that are scheduled (sponsoring of a MQFF session, an event or stall at Midsumma/ChillOUT/PRIDE, etc).
Policy Working Group
The Policy Working Group researches, develops and proposes policy on a range of issues faced by the GLBTI community. We focus on identifying areas of discrimination against gay men and lesbians and aim to bring these to the to the attention of our community, the government and the wider public. Areas of particular interest include human rights, anti-vilification and anti-homophobia measures, discrimination in provision of superannuation, social security, health services and taxation. We also advocate for improved recognition of same-sex relationships at both the federal and state levels. Members of the Policy Working Group sit on the Victorian Attorney General's Ministerial Advisory Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues as well as the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Gay and Lesbian Health. We welcome volunteers to attend our meetings, which are held on the second Monday of each month at the British Crown Hotel, Smith Street, Collingwood.
Volunteers and Membership
The lobby is a membership-based organisation. Our ability to influence outcomes depends on the number of people we can organise, and their volunteer commitment. The membership and volunteers group:
- Actively encourages membership and volunteerism, and provides the means to become members and volunteers
- Keeps accurate and accessible records about members and their commitments to the lobby
- Provides practical assistance (including training) to other working groups about the effective use of volunteer resources, and the responsibilities of working groups and their convenors to volunteers.
The group aims to make being a member of the lobby and volunteering with the lobby an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
News & Resources
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