Arqus celebrates Pride Day 2025

Arqus

28 Jun 2025

Every 28 June, we celebrate Pride Day and amplify the voices of LGBTQIA+ people. Arqus is committed to equality, anti-discrimination, equal opportunities and diversity in the European Higher Education Area.

The Arqus Alliance places Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at the heart of its vision and strategy. It is not only a distinctive and defining feature of our alliance but also a cross-cutting priority that enhances our identity and amplifies our collective impact.

Thanks to the Arqus Inclusion and Diversity Hub, the Alliance is united by common principles and a shared objective: to advance and mainstream Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as we strive for academic and societal development. By embracing EDI as a transversal and strategic focus, Arqus is dedicated to cultivating an inclusive organisational culture and environment that enhances equal opportunities, fosters a sense of belonging and mutual respect and empowers all individuals to thrive. This collective endeavour nurtures creativity, innovation and success across the alliance.

The Arqus EDI Action Plan is going to be discussed at the next Rectors’ Council and filed for formal ratification. It outlines a coordinated strategy and framework for ensuring a holistic, synergistic, visible and sustainable approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. This EDI Action Plan will serve both as an inspirational vision and a comprehensive roadmap for action, promoting shared understanding, responsibility and ownership among Arqus members. This Plan will guide us as we continue to build a genuinely inclusive environment by practising equality, proactively embracing diversity and fostering inclusion and belonging.

The Arqus Alliance supports the LGBTQIA+ community, the defence of their rights and the demand for equality. This is firmly stated in Arqus Mission Statement 2022–2032, the Common Charters for Inclusion, Gender Equality, and Sustainability, and other policy frameworks that provide complementary guidance and reinforce the rationale and objectives of EDI across the Alliance.

We recognise that advancing EDI requires the active involvement and combined efforts of the Arqus entire academic community. By working together, we can drive meaningful cultural change that is cohesive, sustainable and transformative.

On the occasion of Pride Day and the tenth anniversary of same-sex marriage in Ireland, the colleagues from the Maynooth University Staff Pride Network have written this article we invite you to read:

10th anniversary of Marriage Equality in Ireland:

2025 is a year that has great significance in the Irish context. It marks the decade anniversary of Marriage Equality, a milestone in modern Irish history that has had a profound impact on the lives of people throughout the country ever since. Ireland was the first country in the world to enact marriage equality by popular referendum, with a solid majority of citizens (62%) supporting the change to the law. Together with other similar legislative events of that time, such as the Gender Recognition Act and the Children and Family Relationships Act, the Marriage Equality Referendum shifted society’s conception of Irish identity and our collective vision of what a modern, diverse Ireland looks like in the 21^st century.

As the country looks forward to PRIDE 2025, the echo of the tremendous energy in the initial campaign for marriage equality is again palpable. The Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre, in collaboration with GCN, will feature a visual timeline of the journey, from campaigning for equality to the joy of weddings, families, and lives transformed. Through photos, memorabilia, letters, and personal stories submitted by the community, the exhibit will showcase the positive impact of marriage equality while reigniting the passion that fueled the fight for justice. Also, on 22 May, the date of the anniversary, a day-long celebration event, “What a Difference a Day Made” was held in Dublin at the historic Collins Barracks. And, at PRIDE parades and festivals around the nation throughout this month and beyond, there will be the intertwining of pride in this momentous anniversary with the activist protest that is at the heart of every PRIDE march.

As we look back on the impactful victories moving us as a society forward to embrace diversity and inclusion of all people in our society, we pause to remember that these victories occurred due to the hundreds of small and large actions by our LGBTQIA+ predecessors and allies. But few, if any, might claim that the long march to full equality is complete, or, as we might say here in Ireland, “done and dusted.” The march to leave no one behind on the road to freedom continues ever forward.

Here at Maynooth University, there are a multitude of actions that we take to ensure that we can provide a safe and welcoming environment for students, staff and the larger community, while making progress on the road to equality and freedom. Some are small, like wearing ID lanyards with the Progress Pride flag or hoisting the flag on the campus quad flagpole for Pride Month. Some build community, such as the individual staff and student LGBTQIA+ groups.

It’s the ongoing production of scholarship and sharing of knowledge around Queer topics and history that resonate far beyond the stone walls enclosing this campus. It is in the ethos that we share across Europe by being an active member of the Arqus European University Alliance. Ultimately, equality, diversity, and inclusion in our communities and the greater world are not something that happens accidentally, but rather, arise from our shared commitment to work together at our institutions and networks to move progress forward… ever forward.

Happy PRIDE!