About Us
The Rainbow Project aims to address the physical, mental and emotional health of gay and bisexual men in Northern Ireland.
History of The Rainbow Project
The Rainbow Project was established in 1994 by a group of volunteers who were concerned about the spread of HIV within the gay male population of Northern Ireland. These volunteers carried out research within the gay- and bisexual communities in order to find out what type of information and support services were required to improve the physical and mental health of gay- and bisexual men.
The Rainbow Flag
The Rainbow Flag was designed in 1978 in San Francisco by Gilbert Baker in response to the need of a symbol for the city's gay community. The initial design had eight stripes: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet representing sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony and spirit. This was later simplified to the six colours you see today.
The Rainbow Project, like the six colours in the Rainbow flag, has six objectives:
Red – Information and Support
To provide information on behalf of and to gay and bisexual men and support individual men on issues around sexual orientation.
Orange – Education and Training
To provide education and training to gay and bisexual men and other community, voluntary and statutory agencies across Northern Ireland.
Yellow – Health Promotion
To prevent the further spread of HIV and other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) amongst gay and bisexual men and promote physical and mental health.
Blue – Counselling
To provide counselling services to gay and bisexual men.
Green – Advocacy
To advocate on issues relating to the mental, emotional and physical health needs of gay and bisexual men.
Violet - Research
To complete regular social research into issues affecting gay and bisexual men across Northern Ireland.
The Rainbow Project is the only only gay- and bisexual men's health organisation in Northern Ireland. The project has offices in both Belfast and L’Derry.
