Usually, people rally around a flag, but for Pride this year, IKEA is asking them to do it around a table – something the household retailer says is a platform for meaningful advocacy and representation.

Its “Rally Table” was made with dozens of signs from rallies, marches and protests for 2SLGBTQ+ people and issues important to them. It was designed with the intention of inspiring Canadians to create safe spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ people to discuss their personal experiences, identity and needs, says Jordan Sequeira, marketing campaign leader at IKEA Canada.

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To show what that looks like, six 2SLGBTQ+ people that are passionate about activism (Braeden Attwood, Julie Vu, Oceanne Trudel, Chris Morrissey, RJ Brown, Keanan “Kay” Schnoor) gathered around the table to discuss their stories and the work they do in their communities. For example, Vu says the table symbolizes the battles that people have fought for the equality of trans people and 2SLGBTQ+ people more broadly, and Brown, who discusses the need for two-spirit identities to be more widely recognized.

A video ad campaign showing those discussions will run across social channels, as well as traditional ads mediums. Starting Thursday, the table itself will be hosted at IKEA’s recently launched downtown Toronto location, which is near the city’s Church-Wellesley Village and is on the route for the city’s 2022 Pride Parade this weekend.

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Sequeria says that, in addition to creating a welcoming and safe environment for all of IKEA’s customers and employees, the retailer wants to be activists for social change more broadly.

IKEA Canada’s commitments to that end include sponsorship of Pride Toronto to help furnish safe spaces that support community.  This year, proceeds from the sale of rainbow-themed Storstomma shopping bags will go to select local 2SLGBTQ+ organizations across Canada that push progress forward and create safe spaces, including Pride Centre of Edmonton, The Rainbow Resource Centre, The 519, Skipping Stone, QMUNITY, Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance and Fondation Émergence.

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Last year, IKEA’s support of different people within the community took the form of slip covers inspired by different 2SLGBTQ+ flags.

The Rally table was also handcrafted by J&S Reclaimed Wood, a fabrication company whose founders are members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, tying into IKEA’s longstanding positioning of recycling, repurposing and making old things new again.

Rethink, Wunderman, Carat and H+K helped out with the campaign.