Celebrating Traveller Pride Week in School
This year, Traveller Pride Week will be celebrated across two weeks, from September 20th until October 2nd. Traveller Pride was first founded as an annual event in 2009, in response to the sad reality that anti-Traveller racism had eroded Travellers’ belief and pride in their own identity, especially among young people.
Identity-based bullying is felt across diverse ethnicities, cultures, and religions, and notably, 27% of Traveller parents recount that their children were bullied in school because of their ethnicity.
Instead of focussing on the challenges and barriers that the community faces, Traveller Pride Week is an occasion to celebrate the richness of Traveller culture, and to honour Traveller achievements and the contributions that individuals are making to their own community, and society at large.
Traveller Pride Week is a brilliant opportunity to bring Traveller culture and heritage into the classroom. Interculturalism is a learning journey, and what better way to start learning about other ethnic minority communities, than by marking the festivals and celebrations of those groups. You can find out more about the events taking place both online and in your local community here.