Celebrating Pink Shirt Day on 16 October
Pink Shirt Day is about working together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting positive social relationships.
It’s about creating a community where all people feel safe, valued and respected, regardless of age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, or cultural background.
Celebrated annually around the globe, Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students, David Shepherd and Travis Price, took a stand against homophobic bullying after a new year 10 student was harassed and threatened for wearing pink.
We’ve been celebrating Pink Shirt Day in Aotearoa since 2009 and the campaign grows stronger and larger every year. You can learn more about Pink Shirt Day.
How you can celebrate Pink Shirt Day
While it’s difficult for us to come together this Pink Shirt Day, there are still many ways to celebrate this year:
- Wearing a pink t-shirt is a great way to show you're committed to making Aotearoa a place where everyone feels safe, valued and respected regardless of age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, or cultural background
- Keep an eye out for the R U OK? Advisor team who will be on campus during the week with giveaways, stickers and talking about diversity and inclusion at AUT
- Look out for the Pink Shirt Day displays around campus where you can share your words of support for the campaign
- Have a Diversi-tea party with your friends/family/colleagues. Download and print out Korero starter cards to complete as an activity over morning tea to get to know each other and celebrate each other’s similarities and differences
- Spread aroha – create a compliments box in your classroom, flat or office and encourage people to leave compliments for each other
- Host a Pink Shirt Day morning tea and serve all things pink, and organise a gold coin collection and donate the proceeds to Pink Shirt Day (Mental Health Foundation)
- Take some time to read and learn about others experiences of bullying. Learn something this week about how to be more inclusive and understanding of others. E.g. Learn how to become a trans and non-binary ally
- If you feel comfortable, share your bullying story on social media and use the hashtag #PinkShirtDay
- Learn how to be an upstander