60-plus group to expand presence in Pride parade

The 60-plus group will have a larger presence in this year’s Pride parade, mbl.is reports. The group will take part with two vintage cars, a pickup truck and DJ Andrea Jónsdóttir.

A wide range of events took place during the week-long Hinsegin dagar festival on Friday, including rainbow golf, a rainbow cake competition, a youth quiz, a bar quiz and an intergenerational discussion at Iðnó. The discussion was led by the 60-plus group.

Ragnhildur Sverrisdóttir, one of the organisers, joined Samtökin ’78 in 1979 and became the first woman elected to its board in 1983. She said members of the 60-plus group had recently begun meeting once a month again after many had had little contact with one another in recent years.

The group’s meetings often include educational sessions led either by members or invited guests. Friday’s discussion focused on the organisation’s educational work over the years.

Ragnhildur recalled how the educational programme began in the early 1980s, when Þorvaldur Kristinsson contacted secondary schools and offered to hold introductory meetings about the organisation. Groups of three to five people would visit schools, sometimes speaking to only a few students in one class and at other times addressing the entire student body.

Sara Dögg Svanhildardóttir, the first education officer hired by the organisation, and Tótla I. Sæmundsdóttir also shared their experiences. During their tenures, the educational work became more professional and established, including through cooperation with local authorities. Andrea Rói Sigurbjörns was due to discuss the current situation.

Ragnhildur said the group expected lively discussion after the presentations and that anyone interested was welcome to attend.

The 60-plus group joined the Pride parade last year and will be even more prominent this year. Members have prepared shirts bearing the slogan “Öldungis hinsegin”, roughly meaning “entirely queer”. Last year’s shirts carried the message “The rainbow does not fade with age”.

Ragnhildur said she had learned that 50 entries had registered for this year’s parade, compared with 38 last year. She said the increase was likely a direct response to an obvious backlash and more hostile language directed at the queer community.

She also welcomed the number of people who wanted to carry the Icelandic flag in the parade, saying it was important that other forces did not claim it and undermine its role as a symbol of solidarity for everyone, just as the rainbow flag represents the queer community.

Ragnhildur said the backlash against the rights of queer people was visible to everyone in the community.