Going into their tenth chapter, Boomtown continues to offer their support and services with their brand new Respect Campaign.
It’s no secret that we’ve openly praised Boomtown’s mature approach to issues surrounding drugs, so when we heard the festival’s new Respect Campaign we had to share it with you guys. The simple but brilliant idea is made up of three elements: respect yourself, respect eachother, respect your city.
Respect Yourself:
The variety of harm reduction, education, and awareness measures under the banner of Respect Yourself are utilizing a similar method to last year’s drug awareness campaign (see ‘Boomtown on Drugs’ documentary here). Boomtown will again be providing; pre-event education and awareness, onsite drug safety testing provided by The Loop, roaming campsite welfare teams, 24-hour campsite hubs, fully equipped 24 hour onsite medical facilities, welfare and counselling services, along with an onsite police station and SIA security staff. There will also be general welfare messaging and provisions to ensure those in attendance can look after themselves, keep hydrated and are well rested.
Respect Each Other:
Celebrating and representing the differences and variety within society, along with encouraging people to think about how their actions affect those around them are central to the Respect Each Other element of the campaign. Policies implemented to encourage and support these values include; a zero tolerance policy to harassment of any kind, continued work with Safe Gigs For Women, as well as raising awareness of what constitutes harassment alongside the AIF Safer Spaces campaign. Increasing the awareness of accessibility support by working with Attitude is Everything and Deafzone to provide a host of dedicated facilities for people with accessible or medical requirements. There will also be dedicated LGBTQ+ spaces of celebration and inclusivity, and behind the scenes work actively discouraging and raising awareness of cultural appropriation.
Respect Your City
Respect Your City focuses on reducing the impact the festival has on the environment, as well as instilling social awareness of the long-lasting impact an individual can have. As with the other two parts of the Respect Campaign, Boomtown is hoping to encourage a two-way partnership with their public by providing the resources to help those in attendance look after the land the festival takes place on, protect all the work that goes into creating it and the planet in general.
Such resources, pledges, and facilities include; joining the AIF ‘Drastic on Plastic’; working with RAW Foundation to help raise awareness of the issued caused by plastics through reusable cups and increased water points; participating in A Greener Festival Award; cup deposit schemes; two-bin recycling systems; working with Every Can Helps to recycle drinks cans, minimising cigarette litter with BUTTrFLY. This year the festival continues its partnership with Energy Revolution, to reduce the carbon footprint of the festival and a lot of other schemes, systems, and policies. See here for full sustainability policy.
Again, we feel these are great steps for Boomtown to take and just wish other festivals follow this mature stance on partying. Boomtown is around the corner with a few tickets up for grabs on their website. There are also tickets for their brand new Boomtown Springs that is set to take the weekend resident’s experience to the next level; is that even possible?
Losing you Boomtown virginity this year? Hears what to expect.
