LGBTQ+ charity to close after eight years: 'Immensely proud'

"The charity had a three-fold strategy - to encounter educate and empower - to "create opportunities for meaningful encounters with LGBTI+ people of faith with those of a more conservative mind set". It aimed to "tackle misunderstandings about LGBTI+ people through better education of the science surrounding sexuality and gender issues, and the impact of prejudice on their mental health" and seek ways of "empowering people to speak out in their immediate communities in addition to equipping them with the tools they need to help bring about change"."

""I am immensely proud of all we have achieved over the years, particularly with regards to highlighting the harm that conversion therapy inflicts on LGBT+ people, most often at the hands of religious leaders," Ozanne said. "Our recent work helping set up a course for senior religious leaders from around the world with the University of Oxford ensures that our work will continue. Perhaps most importantly, the need for LGBT+ people to be treated as equals is now a mainstream issue amongst nearly all the major world religions, and a matter with which tens of thousands are now engaged.""

The Ozanne Foundation launched on 28 December 2017 and obtained charitable status in 2018 to work with religious organisations to eliminate discrimination based on sexuality or gender. The organisation pursued a three-fold strategy of encounter, educate and empower to foster engagement between LGBTI+ people of faith and more conservative communities, improve education on sexuality and gender science, and mitigate the mental-health impacts of prejudice. The charity highlighted the harm of conversion therapy and helped establish a course for senior religious leaders with the University of Oxford. The foundation ceased operations on 30 September, disbursing its assets after Jayne Ozanne returned to Guernsey following election as vice-president of the Committee for Employment & Social Security.

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