Active Rainbow is an educational platform and community of people that celebrate personal growth and inclusivity.
Our Vision
We contribute to the creation of a world where diversity is welcomed and celebrated as a value.
Our Mission
We are committed to strengthen the implementation of Human Rights and improve the quality of LGBT+ spectrum education, by offering learning opportunities for people to grow and thrive.
Our MOTTO
Learning made simple, yet significant.
The platform was founded in 2014 and started at first as a self-organized initiative with its first international project in the Netherlands. We are active in the field of youth work and implementation of learning programs already for the past 7 years, working on a local, national, European, and international level through direct cooperation with different organizations, collectives, and informal groups.
Since March 2020, the platform has its first registered branch as an organization in Latvia. Through our work, we contribute to the field of inclusive education for LGBTQIA+ youth and sustain an engaged and connected network of organizations and individuals, who aim to strengthen capacities and foster cooperation and cross-cultural exchange.
OUR OBJECTIVES
At a local, national, European, and international level:
- Support (young) people in their learning, personal and professional development – equipping them with lifelong skills
- Offer safe and inclusive educational environments for everyone without discrimination, especially to LGBTQIA+ people
- Promote and participate in the development of youth work and the training of youth workers and educators
- Promote the initiatives, projects, and activities of young people
- Increase the visibility of non-formal learning as a type of activism
- Offer and foster volunteering opportunities, building young activists and social changemakers
- Develop and sustain an engaged and connected network of organizations, fostering international cooperation and cross-cultural exchange
- Create a more inclusive and cohesive society to ensure equal opportunities for all to achieve full potential in life
TEAM
CATHY MANOUSAKI
Cathy (they/them) are a professional youth worker, trainer, facilitator, project designer and manager, coach and mentor, non-formal educator – a creative free spirit, who love working with people and contributing to their growth. They are the Founder of the platform, a Human Rights activist, an experiential learner, and a life explorer.
ELINA PRIMAKA
Elina (she/her) is a visual and graphic designer – a creative human being, who loves movement, development, and constant activity. She has been part of Active Rainbow since 2015 working on a wide range of visual materials. Starting from the creation of visual identities for projects till photo and video reportages during the youth projects.
ANASTASIJA LAIZANE
Anastasija (she/her) is a youth worker, facilitator, trainer, non-formal education enthusiast and professional project manager. She is passionate about non-formal education, personal development, human rights, outdoors, environment, active citizenship, activism and much more. She has been part of Active Rainbow since 2019.
VOLUNTEERS
Our local volunteers’ community in Latvia currently consists of 20 young people (ages 16 to 30) who are the heart of our organization. They contribute in diverse and meaningful ways to the work, mission and the development of the organization. They support and help organise its activities, while creating and bringing to life their initiatives and project ideas, growing, and learning from each other.
INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNITY
Our community consists of inspiring young activists from around the world and especially from Europe, who participate in our projects and events and are ambassadors and multipliers of Active Rainbow in their local realities – Latvia, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Germany, Portugal, Italy, and more.
PARTNERSHIPS
PARTNERS & COLLABORATORS
Over the years of our work, we have built valuable connections and networks with more than 40 organizations and informal groups across Europe, including other specific LGBT+ organizations. We are grateful to all our partners for their support and cooperation. Especially to those, who have powered the platform from the very beginning, and those with whom we have collaborated directly to bring our international projects to life.
NETWORKS WE ARE PART OF
Since 2014, Active Rainbow is a proud member of the informal International Synergy Network, which was founded in the Netherlands in 1991 by the Olde Vechte Foundation, the first home of the platform.
Since 2021, we are an associated member of the Latvian Youth Council (Latvijas Jaunatnes padome – LJP), the umbrella organization of youth organisations working with youth in Latvia.
Since 2021, we are a member of the youth-led Solidarity Network Y!? involving activists, organisations, and collectives from the Baltics.
Since 2021, we are part of the Eurodesk and Eurodesk Latvia networks as an information point for promoting mobility opportunities for young people within Europe.
Between the years 2016-2020, the platform has been a part of the Coordinating Commitee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) and its Raising Peace Campaign.
FUNDING
To fund our activities and events, we work and collaborate directly with different funding institutions and grant programs that are European or local here in Latvia. Those grants also include the Educational programs by the European Commission: Erasmus+, and European Solidarity Corps, Council of Europe, and the European Youth Foundation.
We have cooperated with the administrative National Agencies, such as Erasmusplus Jeugd (Netherlands), Youth and Lifelong Foundation – INEDIVIM (Greece), Jaunatnes starpautisko program agéntūra (Latvia), MOVIT (Slovenia), Agencia National Española de la Juventud (INJUVE).