Proxy forms cannot be submitted on the day of this meeting, therefore you will need to get the member representing your vote to sign the Proxy form prior to it being sent to us.

Independent Review of Name Change
Download the report on the research that has been conducted by Lou-Anne Lind.

Resolutions:
Resolutions put up for a vote at an EGM must be published to all members 21 days prior to the EGM. This is defined in the New Mardi Gras constitution and gives members time to consider the resolutions and how they would like to vote. Therefore, the resolutions put forth to date are the only ones that can be put to a vote at the EGM on 25 May.

Click here for more information on the General Meeting.

To celebrate the launch of Gaydar for mobile, you’ll get a month of free, unrestricted and unlimited access when you sign in via the mobile web site on your browser.

Gaydar on your mobile compliments the desktop and iOS app with one profile and password to all our Gaydar products.

Introducing <Find Him>, our new feature that makes it easier to pick up a guy, a partner, friends or just a conversation by intelligently filtering our 6 million men to exactly what you’re after.
Just slide down the <Find Him> filter from the Nearby screen to find guys just the way you like them.

Still want more?

• Find Him – six million men, sorted in seconds – perfect for finding Mr. Right or Mr. Right now.
• Unrestricted X rated images and videos.
• Unlimited messaging.
• Crystal clear images – Hello HD.
• Find guys nearby, over there, and everywhere – search beyond your postcode!
• Tracks – leave your mark.
• Shy? Break the ice with a wink.

Grab your mobile and visit m.gaydar.net from your browser for instant access.

Like it?
Then add Gaydar for mobile to your home screen.

In an era of slut-shaming and porn-on-demand, what does it mean for a woman to own her own body? If you pole dance for exercise and love your Brazilian, does that dent your feminist credentials? And where is the line between choice and pressure? Speaking with Jude Kelly (Southbank Centre’s Artistic Director and founder of Women of the World WOW Festival), Shami Chakrabarti (Director of UK’s Liberty), Mia Freedman (Mamamia), Ruby Wax (comedian and writer), Dale Spender (feminist, author and editor) and Jamila Rizvi (editor and columnist) battle it out, discussing one of the most divisive topics in contemporary feminism. Come and contribute your view on vajazzling, lipstick and leg hair.

To WIN a double pass to this event, email offers@swf.org.au by May 20 with the name of any  Sydney Writers Festival event taking place at Walsh Bay. Only winners notified.

To WIN a double pass to this event, email offers@swf.org.au by May 20 with the name of any Sydney Writers Festival event taking place at Walsh Bay. Only winners notified.

For more information, click here.

Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley said “Our 2013 program has more screenings of more films from more countries in more venues than even our record-breaking 2012 festival. We cover all tastes in film, with the peak best represented by our Official Competition films, made by some exciting new talents as well as masters of the form. Beyond the competition, feature and documentary programs, the 60th Sydney Film Festival features a focus on Austrian cinema, the best of British Noir, a good splattering of horror plus some downright weird works that are bound to become future cult classics.”

The program features 190 titles (19 world premieres, 5 international premieres, and 122 Australian premieres) from 55 countries at The State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Opera Quays, the Art Gallery of NSW and the new screening location at the Hayden Orpheum Cremorne. The Sydney Film Festival Hub @ Lower Town Hall returns. now open until midnight, it offers an expanded line-up of FREE exhibitions, talks, parties, performances, DJs and screenings. See the full program and buy tickets at http://www.sff.org.au

The Company and the Event Names

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) will be holding a General Meeting for all members in relation to the names of the Company, Parade and Festival.

Date:  Saturday, 25 May, 2013
Time: 11:00am
Place: 414 Elizabeth St Surry Hills NSW 2010

Presentations will be made by the board and by Lou-Anne Lind, the independent consultant engaged to conduct research. There will be three resolutions put forth by the board to be voted on by current SGLMG members.

Motions to the EGM

Resolution 1:
That the company name of New Mardi Gras Ltd is changed to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Ltd.

Resolution 2:
That the name of Sydney Mardi Gras Parade is changed to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade.

Resolution 3:
That the name of Sydney Mardi Gras Festival remains as stated.

Background

In October, 2011 the Board of New Mardi Gras commissioned an agency that specialised in branding, to work with the board and staff to review the branding of New Mardi Gras and the season and events that we stage, with a view to relaunching and reinvigorating our organisation and our events.

Through this process, the agency recommended using the name Sydney Mardi Gras for Parade and Festival and changing the company name back to the company name last used by the former organisation, reclaiming that name and refreshing our brand to be more embracing of the increasing diversity within our communities with a message of infinite love for all.

New Mardi Gras Ltd was the entity created after the former Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras organisation went into administration. One of the reasons that the name New Mardi Gras Ltd was originally chosen was to distinguish the new company from the former legal entities.

Our Mardi Gras Parade and Festival; has been called various names throughout its 35 year history, including:-

• Day of International Gay Solidarity
• Gay Solidarity Week
• Mardi Gras
• Gay Mardi Gras
• Gay Pride Mardi Gras
• Sydney Gay Mardi GrasSydney
• Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras (since December, 1988)
• Sydney Mardi Gras

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras as an organisation will continue to advance gay and lesbian rights here and abroad and to showcase our pride to be whoever we are or want to be. But we also, because it is the right thing to do, and because it is in our constitution, will advance the rights of bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex communities.

Other reasons the board endorsed this recommendation included the following:

• A name should be easily identifiable and recognisable and bring with it a feeling. It should reflect the richness of the diversity within the event and organisation.
• We wanted Mardi Gras and what it stands for to endure, to continue to generate interest in Mardi Gras Parade, Festival and Party and our communities’ causes from new generations.
• As society evolves and the lines between the heterosexual and the LGBTQI community integrate, we believe we have the opportunity to broaden the event’s appeal and reach new audiences, without losing sight of our core mission to embrace our LGBTQI community interests here and amongst our sisters and brothers around the world.
• We wanted our community to feel that their history and struggles are always acknowledged and their creativity and unique expression is celebrated.
• We wanted to invite the whole city to be part of our unique celebration of the power and beauty of the diverse identities within our communities.
• We believe that Mardi Gras contains a powerful message for everyone in our community, Sydney and the rest of the world. It is not just freedom from discrimination but that all people should be free to celebrate the loving relationships they have formed. Mardi Gras is strongest when it talks about both our rights and the world we want to live in.
• We wanted our community, generations into the future to be proud of our evolution and to see it as solidifying the advances already made.
• We wanted this to be a message that goes around the globe, showing that Sydney has made a unique transition: one where LGBTQI pride and civic pride have become uniquely entwined.

This was the essence and reasons for our event brand change to Sydney Mardi Gras, an event for all of Sydney that we embrace with a core message that “Mardi Gras inspires the world to love each other by celebrating the power and beauty of diversity.”

The Board also made the decision to change the name of our organisation to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to make it clear that Mardi Gras springs from its history and heritage.

After the announcement of the name changes, vigorous discussion and debate took place in the community and in the press and a process of reviewing the name change began. The Members and Community Advisory Group (MCAG) was formed and charged with providing advice to the Board about the name change. After an initial survey was completed, MCAG and the board endorsed the decision to engage an independent consultant to lead a process that included further consultation forums and surveys.

The various survey results indicate a preference of those that responded to the survey to use the name Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for the Company, the Parade and the Festival.

The breakdown of the demographics in the surveys shows a preference skew towards the traditional name of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in older male respondents, with younger respondents, women and those identifying as something other than gay or lesbian skewing towards the new name of Sydney Mardi Gras although still favouring Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Arguments for and against the Motions

Resolution 1: That the company name of New Mardi Gras Ltd is changed to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Ltd.

For:

• Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras reflects the history of Sydney Mardi Gras.
• A change of the name of the current legal entity to the name of the former legal entity restores an historic name of the former organisation, ensuring ongoing visibility of the heritage of the movement.
• After more than a decade, New Mardi Gras Ltd is no longer New and the need to distinguish it from the former entity is no longer relevant.

Against:

• There is a cost to lodge the change of name with ASIC of $357.
• It doesn’t really matter what the company is called – it is about the events.

Resolution 2: That the name of Sydney Mardi Gras Parade is changed to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade.

For:

• ‘Gay and Lesbian’ in the name reflects the history of the parade and the origins of Sydney Mardi Gras.
• The parade receives national and international coverage and having ‘Gay and Lesbian’ in the name ensures that viewers know the parade is about gay and lesbian people.
• The parade continues to represent the struggle for equality and participants make political statements about the current state of affairs regarding mainly gay and lesbian people.

Against:

• The parade is inclusive of all LGBTQI people and their allies. Using only ‘Gay and Lesbian’ in the name does not reflect the diversity of those participating in the parade event.
• Sydney Mardi Gras Parade has become a recognisable icon of LGBTQI pride and inclusion and does not need the words “Gay and Lesbian’ in the name to reflect this.
• The parade continues to represent the struggle for equality and participants make political statements about the current state of affairs regarding mainly gay and lesbian people regardless of the name of the Parade.

Resolution 3: That the name of Sydney Mardi Gras Festival remains as stated.

For:

• Sydney Mardi Gras Festival is an eclectic blend of all things Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex, including events that appeal to that broad target audience. The words ‘Gay and Lesbian’ limit its meaning and reach and don’t reflect the breadth of its content.
• The Mardi Gras Festival brand is fresh and new and stands on its own as an arts and events festival unique to Sydney and the inclusive, sexually diverse community it reflects.
• If the parade name includes ‘Gay and Lesbian’ in the name to reflect the history and origins of Mardi Gras, the Festival doesn’t need it and can reflect the inclusivity of the broader community that participate in the festival events.

Against:

• The festival has grown around a parade that owes its history to the struggles and celebrations of the gay and lesbian community, thus the festival title should contain the words ‘Gay and Lesbian’ to honour that connection.
• People attending the Sydney Mardi Gras Festival may not realise that it is a ‘gay and lesbian arts and cultural festival’ if we don’t have the words gay and lesbian in the festival name.
• The individual events in the festival like Fair Day, Queer Thinking, Women Say Something, Drag Races, etc. need the umbrella term ‘Gay and Lesbian’ to describe the overall festival.

Conclusion

The Board has considered the arguments for and against each of these motions and strongly supports changing the Company name to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Ltd and recommends that members vote for Resolution 1.

The Board respects the voices of the community and our members, expressed in the forums and surveys, in respect of the Parade name change and understands the reasons that have been expressed and have, for that reason, proposed Resolution 2.

The Board has heard the views on the name for Festival and strongly support maintaining the name of Festival as Sydney Mardi Gras Festival and recommends that members vote in favour of Resolution 3 in order to acknowledge the diverse and inclusive nature of our community.

Proposed Constitution Amendments

Assuming that Resolution 1 is passed

For all references within the constitution:

“New Mardi Gras”

is replaced with

“Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras”

The Sydney Film Festival, in partnership with ABC TV Arts, will present William Yang: My Generation at 7pm on Saturday 8 June at Dendy Opera Quays cinemas, followed by William Yang: In Conversation at the Museum of Contemporary Art, hosted by Vivid LIVE.

William Yang’s first solo exhibition in 1977, Sydneyphiles, caused a sensation because of its frank depiction of the Sydney gay party scene. Later these photographs became part of a larger exhibition, Sydney Diary, which was published in 1984. In the mid-’80s, William Yang began to explore his Chinese heritage which had hitherto been lost to him by his complete assimilation into the Australian way of life. He documented an era in Sydney that was “especially decadent. There were many colourful characters and parties were so much fun. It was in the days following women’s liberation, sexual liberation and gay and lesbian liberation so it was a time of great change.”

Tickets are available for the film, the In Conversation, and packages including both events here.

Watch the trailer here.

Have your say on the SMH poll - “Do you think the state government was right to rip up Oxford Street’s rainbow crossing?”

On the back of their their superbly crafted infectious new release ‘Heartthrob’, the much-loved Canadian indie-pop duo will perform a career-spanning set in what’s sure to be a euphoric Opera House debut!

Having sold nearly 1 million albums during their 13-year career and toured with acts from The Killers to Neil Young, Tegan and Sara’s on stage chemistry, incredible musical abilities and direct connection with their audience has won them an avid global following of fans and fellow musicians alike.

Their unique ability to bridge the pop and indie worlds has allowed their music to cross all traditional boundaries of genre, from being covered by The White Stripes to collaborating with superstar DJs such as Tiesto and David Guetta.

To get your hands on a double pass, email festival@mardigras.org.au with “TEGAN AND SARA” in the subject line.

Winners will be notified by return email.

Click here more info and to buy tickets.

Competition closes 5pm Monday, April 22, 2013.

We are now about to commence a second stage of this with quantitative research in the form of a questionnaire. We have engaged with the consultant and research company StollzNow Research to conduct an impartial and independent survey on a pro-bono basis.

We encourage your participation and hope that you appreciate the independence of this approach that is designed to obtain your true feelings on this subject.

To vote on the future name of the Sydney Mardi Gras Festival and Parade at the upcoming EGM, you must be a Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Member. To become a member, click here.

To launch the Survey, click here.

NB – Survey closes 5pm Friday 19, April

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras