Press release from ACON Media
Aussie musician Darren Hayes, British actor Sir Ian McKellen, comedians Margaret Cho and Julia Morris and many of Network Ten’s top presenters are the latest celebrities to sign up for a TV and online campaign to reduce discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people.
The celebrities will appear in a new Network Ten community service announcement (CSA) encouraging people to get involved in This Is Oz, an online art project and social justice campaign where participants can upload pictures of themselves with messages that challenge homophobia and transphobia or celebrate diversity and social inclusion. The web address is www.thisisoz.com.au
This is the second year that Network Ten has supported the campaign which is produced by NSW’s leading GLBT health organisation ACON. This year, Darren Hayes has also allowed his new single Talk Talk Talk to feature as the theme music for the ad which will start screening nationally on channels Ten, Eleven and One from Monday 11 July.
Some of the Network Ten stars participating in the campaign include Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson, Offspring stars Kat Stewart and Richard Davies, Your Gen panelist Josh Thomas and host Shaun Micallef, MasterChef judge Matt Preston, newsreader Sandra Sully, The 7PM Project hosts Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes, Bondi Vet Dr Chris Brown, and Chrissie Swan, Yumi Stynes, Denise Drysdale and Gorgi Coghlan from The Circle.
The images of Margaret Cho and Julia Morris will appear on the This Is Oz website along with 1500 other images uploaded by celebrities and everyday people from across Australia and all over the world. More than 300,000 people have visited the website since the campaign began three years ago.
ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill says he’s delighted that Network 10 and so many celebrities are lending their support to This Is Oz. “Homophobia and discrimination has a serious impact on the health and wellbeing of our community, especially on young GLBT people who are up to 14 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population. Our This Is Oz initiative offers people throughout Australia a simple yet powerful way to speak up and show their support for a society that respects human rights, embraces diversity and accepts people for who they are,” Mr Parkhill says.
“We’re extremely grateful to all our This Is Oz project partners and supporters, especially to Darren Hayes and Network Ten for this latest contribution. This kind of publicity from high profile media personalities is a really effective way of getting ordinary Australians to engage with the issue of GLBT discrimination, face up to the impact of homophobia and then hopefully do their bit to help make Australia a place where everyone belongs.”
Ten’s Network Marketing Manager Grant Gillies says Network Ten and its participating on air personalities “are proud to be associated with This Is Oz again in 2011. After a successful start in 2010, this year we hope we can continue spreading the message of inclusion and equality to an even wider audience via our new This Is Oz TV campaign."
Ian Dickson says he chose to get involved with the campaign because “we live in a fantastic country with so many different colours and flars. Not only should we tolerate that diversity, we should celebrate it too – it's special!”
Other supporters of This Is Oz include Evolution Publishing, SameSame.com.au, the University of Western Sydney, Family Planning NSW, the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, NSW Dept of Justice and Attorney General and the City of Sydney.
Visit www.thisisoz.com.au to view the CSA and images of participating celebrities.