The Rainbow Alliance is a school group dedicated for all students at the ISHilversum who wish to participate in open discussion and support for all matters relating to gender, sexuality and the LGBTQ+ community. It is a group for students run by students. As a school, we believe strongly in offering students of all genders and persuasions, the opportunities to inquire, listen or just to be present in such matters. The Rainbow Alliance meets every week, organises events - such as the annual 'Purple Friday' celebrations - and works with the school leadership to maintain the school's atmosphere of acceptance and celebration.
"In the beginning, I did not want to join the rainbow alliance, because I thought that I am not the person who should be involved in something proactive like this. However, my friend invited me to participate in a first meeting, and after that, I changed my mind. During the first meetings, we introduced ourselves and discussed different subjects related to the LGBTQ+ community. What I liked a lot was that we were in a quite big group of people of different age and different background, most of us never met each other before and we still had a very nice and supportive discussion, everybody was included. Before the meetings I did not know a lot about the LGBTQ+ community, it was some sort of ignorance from my side. So the rainbow alliance is a great opportunity for me to learn more about the world, meet new people and participate in school activities. Now we are looking forward to Purple Friday."
- Grade 9 student, ISH
