An Invitation for Popular History Presentations

Schools OUT UK is delighted to announce the Invitation for History & Archival Presentations for the 4thNational Festival of LGBT History to be celebrated at Regional Hubs throughout the country during LGBT History Month (February) 2018.

This year we are delighted to invite individuals and groups to showcase either:

  1. A historical reading of the past, or
  2. An archival source and personal oral testimonies, sets of photos, or significant documents and the stories behind them
  3. A researched presentation on a piece of unknown LGBT history

Your historical presentation/reading/interpretation might be a presentation/explanation of a past – local, regional or national:

  • event or related events of direct relevance to the Human/LGBT Rights agenda & experience
  • history of a group or a specific campaign
  • an account of a personal journey that includes a number of view-points

The theme for LGBT History Month 2018 is Geography: Mapping the World. This is to enable us to reach out to a more international audience and link the concept of mapping ideas, experiences and concepts with a LGBT focus. While we would love presentations on the theme, we are not exclusive of other ideas and themes such as 2018 is the 30th anniversary of section 28!

Each festival presentation will be no more than twenty minutes long, followed by a ten-minute Q&A session.We are particularly keen to showcase past experiences and history presentations from those sections of our community from whom we too rarely hear, such as:black and ethnic minority, disabled and bisexual people, and their history.

OUTing the Past 2017 (aka National Festival of LGBT History) presentations included: Mark Hignett, “Soldiers in Love, Park Hall Camp, Oswestry in WW2”; Kate Hutchinson, “Blurring the Lines: Trans representation & gender expression in rock music”; Hilary McCollum, “Sapphic Suffragettes: The key role of lesbians in the fight for Votes for Women”; Jane Hoy & Helen Sandler, “The oldest New Woman and her incorrigible Welsh friend”; Peter Purton, “Trade unions championing LGBT equality“; Gwen Farrar and Norah Blaney: Our love is a thing apart”; Caroline Paige, “True Colours, Trailblazing Transgender Service in the British Military”.

Your presentations source might be:

  • A testimony about a personal or collective experience
  • A set of campaigning leaflets/publicity and the story behind them
  • Personal or other photo-images and the stories behind them
  • A letter or document that again provides a reading of that past commonly ignored or denied.

What all categories of presentations have in common is that they help educate the general public about the neglected understanding of past attitudes towards sex and gender

Closing Date for invitation of Presentations:1st September 2017

The Application Form (please contact us should you require any clarification/advice)

Your Name
Contact Address
Contact Phone Number
Email Contact
Organisation representing (if applicable)
The Title of Your Presentation
Is your presentation:
a) A historical presentation?
b) An archival presentation?
If (A), what evidence is it based on (e.g. records, personal archive, oral testimony, etc.)?
How does your presentation add to our understanding of LGBT History (e.g. untold story, hidden history, etc.)? Please provide a brief description.
If your Presentation is accepted, will you require access to: / (Please tick appropriate boxes)
Data projector
Sound system
Other (please state)
In which of the Regional LGBT History Festival Hubs would you like to present? / (Please highlight, circle or tick to denote the Hubs you are interested to present at.)
OUTing the Past: Bedford / Saturday 17th Feb. / Yes – No
OUTing the Past: Birmingham / Saturday 24th Feb. / Yes – No
OUTing the Past: Liverpool / Saturday 3rd Feb. / Yes – No
OUTing the Past: Manchester / Thursday 8th Feb. / Yes – No
OUTing the Past: London * Bishopsgate, LSE, National Maritime Museum, National Archive& British Museum / Fri. 9th Feb., Sunday 11th Feb.,Thurs. 15th Feb., Sat. 24th Feb. & Wed. 28th Feb. / Yes – No
OUTing the Past: Cardiff / Saturday 10th Feb. / Yes – No
OUTing the Past: Belfast / Sat. & Sun. 17th & 18th / Yes – No
For more information, or to submit your presentation offer, please fill-out the attached form and return to: /
Or a competed hard copy sent by post to: / Call of Presentations (4th National Festival of LGBT History),
Schools OUT UK, BM London, WC1N 3XX

Schools OUT UK Registered in England as a charitable Incorporated organisation number 1156352

Our Distinguished Academic Patrons: Alison Oram (Professor in Social and Cultural History, Leeds Becket University), Harry Cocks (Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, University of Nottingham) , Matt Cook (Professor Matt Cook, History & Gender Studies at Birkbeck, University of London), Sheila Rowbotham (Professor, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester),Charles Upchurch (Associate Professor of History, Florida State University), Jeffrey Weeks (Research Professor, Arts & Human Sciences/Social Sciences, London South Bank University), Stephen Whittle (Professor of Equalities Law in the School of Law, Manchester Metropolitan University).