Celebrating Pride Week at RRU
Happy Pride!
In July, we celebrate Pride Week at Royal Roads – a time to honour and uplift people of all gender identities, sexual orientations and relationship structures. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the vibrant diversity within in our community, and to stand together in our shared commitment to equity and belonging. You belong here today and every day.
The Pride flag flying proudly atop Hatley Castle is a visual beacon of our commitment to an inclusive university community. This year, you’ll notice a new design, the Two-Spirit Intersex-Inclusive Pride flag, to further encompass the intersectionality of 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion and Indigenous representation. I invited MA in Global Leadership student Gabriela Rangel Macias to join me in raising it atop Hatley Castle. Visit our Pride page to learn more about the meaning of this new design.
Watch this video to see the new Pride flag design unveiled and hear members of our campus community reflect on what belonging means to them.
Creating a culture of belonging is an ongoing process, and together, we must continually learn, reflect and grow. We’re grateful to have welcomed Kai Scott from TransFocus Consulting to lead a Gender Diversity workshop for our community. The session focused on building understanding and awareness while sharing practical tips and tools for fostering respectful, inclusive interactions and being an active ally. If you missed the session and are interested in watching the recording, you can reach out to People and Culture.
Continuing in the spirit of celebration, learning and belonging, we have a number of Pride events coming up:
- July 8: Online Pride Keynote with RRU Doctor of Business Administration student Coltan Fagan: From Comfort to Courage: Leading Through Times of Change
- July 9: On-campus Pride Social with refreshments, entertainment and interactive tables hosted by RRU Proud and the Diversity Action Group
- July 12: Walk, ride or roll and join RRU in the Victoria Pride Parade
Learn more about upcoming events, resources, news and more on our Pride webpage.
We are living in times where inclusion initiatives and 2SLGBTQIA+ rights are facing growing challenges. At Royal Roads, we remain committed to fostering a community where everyone feels heard, seen and valued. While Pride Week is a special moment of recognition, our commitment to 2SLGBTQIA+ people and communities is year-round — because creating a welcoming, affirming space for everyone is work we carry forward every day. This work takes courage and collective resolve and I’m grateful to be part of a university that continues to show up and speak up.
With Pride,
Philip