Gender inclusive peer mentoring program launches at RMIT Activator showcase

GenderQuest, a peer mentoring program for people who identify as transgender, gender diverse or gender questioning, officially launched at RMIT Activator’s LAUNCH HUB showcase in June.

Developed by RMIT students Violet Minehan (Founder) and Lilith Plummer (Co-Founder), GenderQuest empowers mentees to develop life-long friendships with peers, build self-confidence and establish a network of allies and inclusive services to support them on their journey.

We asked Violet and Lilith a bit more about it.

Tell us a bit more about GenderQuest

GenderQuest is a vibrant gender-inclusive peer mentoring community that provides a safe and supportive space for anyone who identifies as transgender, gender diverse or questioning to learn more about their gender identity and connect with others. Our mentors have extensive life experience and are dedicated to providing personalised support and guidance to help mentees navigate their journeys with confidence.

Anyone who identifies as trangender, gender diverse, or questioning their gender identity are welcome to join the community as a mentee.

Mentees can connect one-on-one with a mentor for private chat sessions, play in group gaming sessions with other mentees guided by a mentor, make friends and hang out with like-minded peers, and access a wide range of resources and connect with trans-inclusive external services.

All of these sessions, services and resources can be accessed through our member-only community Discord server.

GenderQuest co-founders Violet Minehan and Lilith Plummer

Tell us how working with RMIT Activator’s LAUNCH Hub. How beneficial has this been to developing GenderQuest?

As an RMIT Activator Launch HUB participant we have access to a wide range of resources and talented experts to help guide us in our journey in taking GenderQuest from a pilot to a full program launch. Our mentor Brian Borowsky, Hunter Callaghan and the whole Activator team have played an invaluable role in helping us navigate our pathway to making a difference and we can’t thank them enough for their support and energy.

GenderQuest was originally pitched for a College of Business and Law Work Integrated Learning (WIL) course to come up with an answer to the question of how to reduce loneliness.

Where are you at in the design process?

GenderQuest has officially launched. We are looking for enthusiastic mentors who are looking for an exciting and fun way of contributing to supporting transgender, gender diverse and questioning young people. Mentors are currently hosting regular one-on-one sessions and group gaming hangouts and we are excited to onboard new mentors and mentees and grow our community.

What do you hope to achieve with GenderQuest?

We hope to grow GenderQuest and support a vibrant community of thousands of transgender and gender diverse individuals across Australia. In the short term, we are excited to learn all we can from our members and create new activities and resources to best support them. We are excited to share our vision with allies and organisations they can empower and support their own transgender and gender diverse communities. Violet has been invited by Jesse Mulvogue (they/them) to speak about GenderQuest at the Wear it Purple panel at Amazon Studios in Sydney on 10 August 2023.

Friendship, community and allies are critical for transgender and gender diverse Australians who may often face extreme discrimination at home, in the workplace, when accessing support services and in wider society. We set out with the mission of being that missing community so that mentors pass on their wealth of life experiences and so mentees know they are not alone in their journey.

If you would like to join as a mentor or mentee or want to learn more about GenderQuest click here.

19 June 2023

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Gender inclusive peer mentoring program launches at RMIT Activator showcase