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A Day In Hand
Gay hand-holding campaign founder presented with award at Downing Street
The founder of A Day in Hand, the campaign to encourage LGBT people to hold hands in public, has been presented with an award from the Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK)at a ceremony at Downing Street.
David Watkins won the Social Inclusion Award, which honours those who "break down social barriers" and "tackle social disadvantage and inequality". SMK was established in 2005 "to help develop a new generation of campaigners who are tackling the root causes of injustice".
Watkins and other award winners gathered on Wednesday evening to meet Gordon Brown at Downing Street, where he received his award from Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, a patron of the foundation, and Shami Chakrabarti, the chief executive of Liberty.
"It's great that an activist who fights for LGBT rights is being recognised by the prime minister," Watkins said. "Homophobia is a human rights issue and increasing visibility of LGBT couples will help to ultimately challenge discrimination.
"Gaining support from the Sheila McKechnie Foundation and the prime minister enables me to more visibly fight for the rights of LGBT people to express their love openly in public without fear or abuse."
A Day in Hand asks LGBT people to hold hands in public on the last Saturday of every month, as a gesture of affection, visibility and solidarity. Last month, Watkins described the campaign as "a silent revolution for LGBT people, because nothing needs to be said; no bold speeches, no reactive arguments, no war of words. Each LGBT person has the power to change the hearts and minds of people in their local community, quietly, subtly, by simply holding hands publicly and owning their space. However, hand- holding is a simple, powerful gesture that can happen anywhere, at any time."
The next Day in Hand will be Saturday, October 31, and full details of the campaign can be found at www.adayinhand.com
