This has been one of the most exciting weeks of my life, as we launched Pride Wide Trust at Speaker’s House and with a dinner kindly hosted by the Belgian Ambassador in his residence.
We asked our guests to imagine it’s 25 years in the future. To picture a world where every LGBTQIA+ person can thrive. A world where being your true self is not a struggle but something you can just take for granted, whether you live in Leeds, Lagos or St Louis.
We explained how, with your help, we can get there. The truth is we have the tools in our hands to do it.
But today, that future lives on a knife-edge.
While we’ve won legal battles, we are losing the "media war." Misinformation is being weaponized against the most vulnerable in our community. That is why Pride Wide exists.
We aren't just another NGO. We are a team of media, tech, and communication specialists dedicated to changing the narrative.
Because:
🔹 Laws are downstream from culture.
🔹 Culture is downstream from the stories we tell.
While our opponents invest hundreds of millions in narrative change, our movement has lacked a dedicated global organization specializing in mainstream and social media. Until now.
At Pride Wide, we are betting on four things:
1️⃣ Storytelling: Using journalists and creators to show the humans behind the hysteria.
2️⃣ Technology: Harnessing AI and personalized media to scale empathy.
3️⃣ Friendship: Making each of you our messengers, winning the hearts and minds of your friends, your families and your colleagues.
4️⃣ Growth: Transitioning businesses from being "transactional allies" to authentic friends; winning them the $342 trillion that inclusion can unlock in the next 25 years.
Huge thanks to Sir Lindsay Hoyle for hosting us, our Parliamentary sponsors Kate Osborne MP and Vikki Slade MP, and Mark McLane and the team at M&G for making this launch possible. With special thanks for the Ambassador Cooreman and the Belgian and Wallonia-Brussels teams.
Thank you to everyone who came, was inspired and offered to help. The energy was phenomenal. If we work together, we’ll achieve our aims and much more.
Happy Pride in London.
We hope everyone has a great day.
Stay safe.
Thank you to @diversityriley for letting us match with her and the Diva team.
And @therealpearlmackie for this amazing pic.
#PrideWide #prideinlondon @divamagazine #drwho #lgbtq🌈
“Unless we win the media war, everything else our community tries to do will fail. This is an Information Age. Information is power. We cannot continue to allow misinformation and disinformation to win.
“We saw we needed a new, dedicated charity, made up of media, communication and information specialists, to fight for us all.
“Pride Wide has stepped up to the frontline. Now we need your help to make our shared vision a reality.”
Tris Reid-Smith @trisrs
Co-founder and CEO, Pride Wide
Can you imagine a world where every LGBTQIA+ person can thrive, regardless of where they live?
That's the vision Tris Reid-Smith, CEO of Pride Wide Trust, shared with us at a dinner hosted by the Belgian Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency, Jeroen Cooreman.
The dinner celebrated the formal launch of Pride Wide, a new global LGBTQIA+ charity dedicated to shifting public attitudes through mainstream and social media.
If we use media effectively, we can achieve global change within a generation. But right now anti-LGBTQIA+ forces are controlling the narrative and own and run many of the world's leading media platforms.
That's why we need Pride Wide. Bringing together global experts, it gives us a fresh way to fight. It will unlock the creative power of the LGBTQIA+ community to raise our voices, tell our stories and win hearts and minds.
The dinner was also a reminder of how many friends we still have as LGBTQIA+ people, even in today's polarised times.
While many organisations have backed away from LGBTQIA+ efforts, it was good to see Belgium, a strong friend to our community, supporting this vital new charity. Belgium is ranked as the second best place for LGBTQIA+ inclusive laws, so its leadership stems from real authenticity.
The message we took away was one of hope. Change is possible if we all work together. And we're proud to be part of that.
This Monday evening, we were proud to attend the official launch of @pride.wide Trust at Speaker’s House, within the Houses of Parliament.
Bringing together partners and allies committed to advancing LGBTQIA+ freedom in the UK and around the world, the evening was a powerful step forward for Pride Wide’s mission to build public support at such a critical time.
Later this week, we also had the pleasure of co-hosting Pride Wide for a gala dinner at the Residence of the Belgian Ambassador, alongside friends and partners from across our networks. We were especially delighted to welcome @erynnrobert from @federationprisme , the Walloon LGBTQIA+ Federation, whose presence highlighted the strength of collaboration between Belgium and the UK in advancing equality and human rights.
We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to such a thoughtful and inspiring evening, to @trisrs , @mrscottnunn , and the @pride.wide team; and Ambassador Jeroen Cooreman @c.jeroen and the Embassy of Belgium @beintheuk for co-hosting this night with us.
#PrideWide #LGBTQIA #Equality #HumanRights #lgbtq
A fantastic evening at Speaker’s House to celebrate the launch of @pride.wide Trust
Congratulations to @trisrs , @mrscottnunn and the entire PrideWide team, this is an exciting new journey for them and we would encourage everyone to check out the trust and see about getting involved.
PrideWide’s mission is to see a world where we are all free, Equal, visible, included, healthy and Happy!
But like all LGBTQIA causes, they cannot do it alone. Click the link below to find out more and donate
/donations/
About last night: A very special evening at Speaker's House in the House of Commons, by kind permission of Mr Speaker, The Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, for the official launch of Pride Wide Trust. @pride.wide
A lovely evening filled with very special guests, allies, and supporters - it was wonderful to meet new, talented people and reconnect with others.
Very exciting to be working with Pride Wide as an Arts Ambassador to help develop an art event and a future cultural programme. Thrilled to extend previous collaborations with @filipemotapinto to make this another successful venture!
To support changes in the narrative for the LGBTQ+ community 🏳️🌈
We want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to the amazing people who give up their time to serve on our Pride Wide boards. Last week, we met with a small group of them from the UK and USA, and it was a powerful reminder of how committed they are.
They are all-in on our mission to ensure all LGBTQIA+ people are free, equal, visible, included, healthy, and happy. Their passion and dedication are what make our work possible.
We're now deep into planning our next 12 months of activity, and you will be seeing a lot of big things from us. Stay tuned!
#PrideWide #LGBTQIA #Charity #NonProfit #SocialImpact #Leadership
@trisrs@mrscottnunn
