Case Study: Supporting efforts toward intersectional and inclusive sex ed

MEET THE CLIENT

The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD) intersectionally promotes diversity in gender identity, gender expression, and romantic and/or sexual orientation in all its forms on a national level through services in the areas of education, health, and advocacy. Their resources and programming can be used to uplift gender and sexual minorities, as well as give the tools to wider populations in building allyship. 

THE CLIENT’S CHALLENGE

In late 2023, CCGSD approached Luminate with an exciting project. Their sexual health experts, alongside a number of project, youth and teacher advisors, had written a 100+ page digital toolkit, titled Not Just the Tip. Its purpose was to provide guidance and knowledge for sexual health educators across the country in order to support them in developing the skills and confidence they need to teach about sexuality and sexual health in a way that was intersectional, inclusive, and inspiring. In order to publish this ground-breaking toolkit online, CCGSD needed an agency to provide a thorough copy edit, create a compelling, yet functional design, and then conduct a professional proofread to ensure consistency — all while smoothly managing every phase of the project.

And, completing this project in English was just half of the work, as CCGSD also needed to publish the toolkit in French. 

OUR SOLUTION

Our team sprang into action, excited to be involved in such a leading-edge project. As the English version was already in draft form — and the French version had yet to be translated — we advised CCGSD to pause on proceeding with the translation process until we finalized the English version. This way, their translator was working with a true final copy, which would reduce the need to complete additional revisions in the French version.

The copy edit took several weeks as we worked through the material, made sentence structure recommendations, edits for clarity, and suggestions for consistency or readability. 

Once the copy deck was finalized and approved by both CCGSD and their sexual health experts, we moved to the design stage where we brought the five-module toolkit to life. As an intersectional and inclusive toolkit, special attention was paid to stock photography selection to ensure that it was representative of all of the communities CCGSD served. And, as the toolkit was to be a digital download, it also had to allow for space for educators to make notes in the margins or at the end of a module. 

With every design project we produce, proofreading is a key component, and this project wasn’t considered final until our eagle eyes proofreader closely examined every page in design. Only when the English toolkit was perfect did we move on to working with CCGSD’s French translator, lay the new copy into the approved design, and then work with their proofreader to finalize the project. 

THE RESULTS

CCGSD was thrilled with the final products and launched both the English and French versions in time for Pride Month 2024. It has been shared with educators across the country. 

TESTIMONIAL

“Luminate’s management of this project was incredible: professional, caring, and focused on finding solutions to deliver the best toolkit possible. Thank you for your patience, knowledge sharing, and impeccable delivery of the final toolkit.”

Valérie Simon
Manager of Communications & Advocacy