The Safe Zone Project (SZP) is a free online resource providing curricula, activities, and other resources for educators facilitating Safe Zone trainings (sexuality, gender, and LGBTQ+ education sessions), and learners who are hoping to explore these concepts on their own. Co-created by Meg Bolger and Sam Killermann in 2013, the SZP has become the go-to resource for anyone looking to add some Safe Zone to their life.
What do we mean by “Safe Zone”?
“Safe Zone” is a term that has many different meanings.
For some of us, a Safe Zone training means a day-long intensive. For others it’s a 45 minute vocab lesson.
While there is one “right way” to do a Safe Zone training (yay for more LGBTQ+ inclusion education!), there is a lot of confusion and mystery around where all this stuff came from, and what does it mean.
We hope to provide clarity to those questions and resources for folks looking to expand their learning and teach others!
What’s the Safe Zone “Project”?
This site, and everything here, is our contribution to the movement and spirit of Safe Zone.
The term project fits, because the origin of everything you’ll find here is more similar to the byproduct of a “group project” than it is dissimilar. The group is Meg & Sam, and the project is every blog post, activity, curriculum, and resource.
How to use this site is page that provides a quick overview to the different offerings, how to download the curriculum, and view all the different activities on the site, and when combined with the classification guide you’ll be on the fast track you to understanding all have to offer.
“What is Safe Zone?” is one of our most frequently asked questions, so check out that page for an overview of our thoughts. We also have a FAQs all over the site to help answer your questions!
There is a small team of volunteers behind the Safe Zone project. Visit our About the Team page to learn about Meg and Sam, internships and interns, and more. You can also learn ways to join the team there or here.
If you’re interested to know about our philosophies about what makes a good Safe Zone training or learn about our influences and inspirations you can! The Safe Zone Project really is in the truest sense a project and one that wouldn’t exist without the wisdom of generations of gender and sexuality educators.
All of the material on The Safe Zone Project are offered in the spirit of the gift: this means there are no paywalls, everything is freely accessible, and even uncopyrighted.
You can read more about what uncopyright means if your curious or confused, but it’s literally what you probably think it means: releasing our copyright on our creative works. It means you can use these materials however you’d like, whenever you’d like, and with whomever you’d like; you can change them, make them your own, and that’s all good with us. In fact, it’s encouraged!
If you want to share back some of those insightful tweaks, alterations, or new ideas with us, we’d love that! Check out our help page to additional ways to contribute and join The Safe Zone Project team.