Title	REMEMBER THE RAINBOW
Brand	BELONG TO YOUTH SERVICES, IRELAND.
Product/Service	BELONG TO YOUTH SERVICES LGBTI+ YOUNG PEOPLE IN IRELAND.
Category	A07. Not-for-profit / Charity / Government
Entrant	IN THE COMPANY OF HUSKIES Dublin, IRELAND
Idea Creation	IN THE COMPANY OF HUSKIES Dublin, IRELAND
PR	IN THE COMPANY OF HUSKIES Dublin, IRELAND
Production	IN THE COMPANY OF HUSKIES Dublin, IRELAND
Post Production	IN THE COMPANY OF HUSKIES Dublin, IRELAND
Additional Company	BELONG TO YOUTH SERVICES Dublin, IRELAND

Name	Company	Position
Emily Blaney	in the company of huskies	Designer
Jonathan Forrest	In the company of huskies	CEO
Jane Fortune	in the company of huskies	Head of PR
Fiona Cunniffe	in the company of huskies	Senior Account Manager
Brian Daly	in the company of huskies	Head of production
damian Hanley	in the company of huskies	Creative Director
Greg McGloughlan	in the company of huskies	Copywriter
Gavin Feiritéar	in the company of huskies	Designer
Chris Flynn	in the company of huskies	Designer
Jane Fortune	in the company of huskies	Head of PR
damian Hanley	in the company of huskies	Creative Director
John Mathews	in the company of huskies	Finance Director
Greg McGloughlan	in the company of huskies	Copywriter

Background

Irish Charity 'Belong To Youth Services' recent research highlighted that 73% of LGBTI children still feel unsafe at school. More than a third reported being shoved or pushed because of their sexual orientation, while over one in 10 reported being punched, kicked, or injured. Homophobic bullying occurs in every area of life but it starts in school & the playground. Commenting on the research Professor Oren Pizmony-Levy of Columbia University says: “As countries make progress with LGBT+ rights, we need to pay attention to schools where the next generation is learning to lead us toward a more equitable and inclusive world.” Every child deserves to feel safe, especially at school. Creating an inclusive school culture is key and many of the tools for teachers to address this are targeted at secondary schools. We wanted to give primary school teachers a way to tell young kids about the importance of tolerance.

Describe the strategy

We wanted to help the next generation become agents of change. Teaching children to respect each other is the cornerstone of creating a more tolerant society and our strategy was to give kids a story that celebrates diversity. Kids become aware of differences at about 7/8 years old and according to psychologists, this is the time to intervene before their values become ingrained. In every classroom, there is a picture of a rainbow and for decades teachers have been teaching kids the colours of the rainbow usually with the rather gruesome mnemonic Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain. We felt it was time to reinvent how kids remember the colours in the spirit of what the rainbow stands for. We developed a new mnemonic to help kids learn the seven colours – Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet – Respect Others. You Grow By Including Variety.

Describe the execution

We made a story about it –The Colours Who Didn’t Want to Mix: We developed a two-minute educational video and resource materials for schools. The animated film tells the story of how things didn’t go well for the colours when they stayed apart, but in the end, they came together and created one of the most beautiful things in the world – a rainbow. To help it be adopted by schools we created a website with school worksheets and teaching guides. It was a challenge to launch it during the pandemic with all the schools closed and even pride marches cancelled. With no budget, we launched it during Pride week knowing our success was very reliant on engagement with social media and educational groups. We achieved our goal of getting it endorsed by the Irish National Teachers organisation and listed by the Department of Education as an official resource.

List the results

With practically a zero budget, we reached a domestic and overseas audience of over 5 million people (coming from a country with a population of less than 4.9 million). It was broadcast on our national RTE’s school hub, and it is on BBC Teach – the UK hub for teachers and schools. It was shared by Government Ministers, including Minister for Education and Minister for Culture. Other influential groups in encouraging equality, such as Educate Together and ISPCC, shared the campaign. It has even been put on Ireland's Department of Education’s official portal for Irish education. We also got coverage in the USA, Latin America, Australia, and the UK, delivering global awareness for the initiative and the charity Belong To. Remember the Rainbow is now as an official Irish teaching resource which we hope will help foster a kinder and more empathic culture in schools and society.