SGRainbow

SGRainbow is the one and only non-profit independent activities based group for young gay and bisexual men in Singapore.

Its vision is to be Singapore's leading young gay and bisexual men group, advocating rights, self acceptance and acceptance of young gay and bisexual men in the society.

SGRainbow's mission is to provide a platform for young gay and bisexual men aged between 18 to 25 - giving room for self acceptance, grow as individuals in the community, and to raise awareness of our existence and rights in the society.

With this mission, the group's tagline is - Self, Growth and Realise.

=History=

SGRainbow was founded in June 2008 as an online platform for youths to share ideas through discussions and opinion writing. It was founded by a gay and lesbian teenager who believes in change and wants to have their say in the community. This was in the form of online blogging. It was known as ‘therainbowlifestyle’ when it started.

Soon, 2 more contributors joined in and each shares on issues that are personally important to themselves. There was space for youths to express concerns but there wasn’t any following to it; probably due to the lack of publicity.

In January 2009, therainbowlifestyle was rebranded into SGRainbow. Under the new name, an outreach sub-group was also set up by one of the contributors who believed that the youth community is in need of such a close bond.

To reach out to the community, especially the young gay and bisexual men, the outreach group aims to be a platform provider for them. This can come in the form of events that the group organises or in other similar forms.

Currently, the group is headed by 2 Senior Executive followed by 3 other Executives. (correct as of November 2012)

=Focus=

The group has 2 focus namely Advocacy, and HIV/AIDS Awareness.

=Functions & Departments=

Despite being a non-profit group, SGRainbow runs professionally in terms of its organisational culture.

There are 4 sub committees in SGRainbow as depicted in its "Terms of Reference":

The Marketing & Creative Sub Committee is responsible for the publicity, and the Internet presence of SGRainbow. The committee will actively search for grants, corporate sponsorships, and maintain good public relations with stakeholders of the community and the society-at-large. The committee will establish good contacts with both local and international grant bodies, and organizations.
 * Marketing & Creative Sub Committee

The Human Resources sub committee is responsible for the manpower needs of the activities, and events held by SGRainbow. The committee will recruit general volunteers, and nominate persons to the SGR Exco in accordance to the TOR.
 * Human Resources Sub Committee

The Logistics sub committee is responsible for the execution of the activities, and events of SGRainbow. The committee will seek, provide and manage resources, and funding. The committee will serve the role of treasurer, and facilitate funding mechanisms.
 * Logistics Sub Committee

The Operations sub committee is responsible for the development of the activities, and events of SGRainbow. The committee will research, study, and plan the activities in line with the strategic planning and annual work plan of the group.
 * Operations Sub Committee

=Archive of Events=

Here are the various events that SGRainbow have organised since its debut.

With the birth of SGRainbow, it organises its first Ambassador Hunt (AH) to find the face of SGRainbow and to spearhead community campaigns. Held over a month of photoshoot and activities, AH proved to be a success with Mohd Fazil, winning the title at PLAY Club on 4 July 2009. The event was sponsored by PLAY Club, DYMK, SportsmenAsia, Action for Aids & PLU Cafe.
 * 4 July 2009 - Ambassador Hunt 2009

Coined from the term 'Bear' and 'Perspectives', Bearspectives is an exhibition of teddy bears drawn and decorated by youths from all walks of life on how they perceived the gay community to be like. It was exhibited in PLAY Club during the IndigNation month.
 * 13 - 15 August 2009 - Bearspectives (in support of IndigNation 5)

After the success of AH1, the committee decided to run it again for the second time, this time with better prizes and bigger chances of doing good for the community. AH2 finals was held in Taboo Cafe & Bar for the first time and saw an increase in the number of participants and publicity alike. Arthur Lee won the night with the majority of the votes for him. However, he fell out from the Ambassdorship a few months later citing his personal commitments. Muhd Raimi, thee 1st Runner-up took over. The event was sponsored by Taboo, SportsmenAsia, Fridae.com, Inle Myanmar Restaurant, Mango Travel, Action For AIDS & Oogachaga.
 * 3 July 2010 - Ambassador Hunt 2010

Wishing for Mr Right to be there for you or hoping for the community to be a better place to live in? I Wish A Wish was organised to do just that. Organised in conjunction with IndigNation 6 and a collaborative effort with Unique Vandalism, the half-month long campaign aims to allow youths to pen down their wishes online where their wishes will be collated.
 * 1 - 15 August 2010 - I Wish A Wish (in support of Indignation 6)

There is a growing number of young gay and bisexual men who are trying to adjust to the community but unsure of how to do so. Check-In aims to allow youths who are uncertain about the GLBT or GLBT-friendly places to know more about them and where they are located. Check-In 1 received great feedback that the second run was organised. The activity was supported by thekube MP3 Player.
 * 15 January 2011 - Check In (in support of UN International Year of Youth)

Following the successful run of Ambassador Hunt 2010, Ambassador Hunt 2011 aims to be bigger and better, and it did! Spanning over a few months of advocacy training, music video making and photoshoot, the finalists had a wonderful time learning from the community. Derrick Lee won the competition by a huge margin. The event was sponsored by Youth LEAD, Taboo, SportsmenAsia, Fridae.com, thekube, Inle Myanmar Restaurant, Action for AIDS & Oogachaga.
 * 2 July 2011 - Ambassador Hunt 2011

To reach out to more youth in hoping for them to get to know the GLBT organisations and places in Singapore, the Check-In series was proposed. It was also during Check-In 2 that participants get to hear from one of the Pink Dot organiser on how Pink Dot Sg started. This activity was supported by NoFrillsFactoryOutlet.com
 * 16 July 2011 - Check-In 2

The “Change Your World: Proud to be ME!” Youth Forum is a one off informal talk session open to all ages by a panel of youths who are from different backgrounds but have the same vision – to be part of the growing community. It was also through this forum that we have gay and bisexual youths talk about their experiences being an “activist”, as well as how they project the future of the youth generation to be like. This event was organised in conjunction of IndigNation 7 and was supported by NoFrillsFactoryOutlet.com
 * 13 August 2011 - Change your World: Proud to be ME!

Check OUT, a similar activity to Check-In, was organised for a group of heterosexual youth, who have zero background of the GLBT community to be aware of the gay history, movement and the people who are behind the community.
 * 27 August 2011 - Check OUT

Check-In 3 aims to provide an insight to the gay community; through the introduction and visiting of the various gay landmarks and places; as well as the faces behind gay activism in Singapore. This activity also allows youths to make new friends and expand their network. The best run of Check-In so far, this activity was sponsored by NewUrbanMale.com and ZAPI shoes.
 * 15 October 2011 - Check-In 3

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, SGRainbow organised a private queer film screening for youth. Aside, watching the films, participants were also treated to a free flow of snacks and soft drinks, as well as a short discussion on HIV/AIDS. This event was organised with support from rainbowartsproject.
 * 26 November 2011 - Double Bill (Asian Queer Film Screening)

In celebration of Christmas and the New Year, Night’s OUT is a gathering for all participants to make new friends in a fun and safe setting. Made to be informal, the event received an overwhelming response in the first week of its registration. Participants were treated to ice breaking games, BBQ food and free flow of soft drinks. They also exchanged presents through a 'shameless' Secret Santa game. This activity was supported by NoFrillsFactoryOutlet.com
 * 22 December 2011 - Night's OUT

=Upcoming events=

Visit SGRainbow's webpage to find out more about the upcoming events.

=Other involvement=


 * SGRainbow is the focal point for Singapore in Youth LEAD, a project initivative by 7Sisters (Coalition of Asia Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS).


 * SGRainbow is a Managing Regional Partner of Rainbow Card.


 * SGRainbow is a member of the Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association (GLISA).

=Links=
 * SGRainbow Web Portal
 * SGRainbow Twitter
 * SGRainbow Facebook page
 * SGRainbow Youtube Channel
 * Ambassador Hunt 3 details
 * Ambassador Hunt 4 details