Our trans youth led gala was a huge success, with over 200 attendees, a dozen lively stalls, and a sweet chill zone, complete with fresh coffee courtesy of People’s Coffee. We wrapped up with the Wellington launch of Counting Ourselves, the national 2019 trans health report.
Stalls included:
Tarot readings and witchy zines and stickers
Makeup application, embroidery, and handmade jewellery
Cinnamon, chocolate chip, and almond cookies
Knitted soft toys and baking from Naming NZ
T-shirts, tote bags, bookmarks, and info booklets from InsideOUT
Hand made soaps from Shaddix & Co.
Really delicious scones from Project Youth
$5 fill-a-bag clothes from Aunty Dana’s Op Shop
Candy and info booklets from Victoria University Rainbow Students
and of course trans flag bunting, zines, diversity posters, trans t-shirts, and poster print mugs, from Gender Minorities Aotearoa.
Trans folks of all ages and their whanau and supporters had a great time, including stallholders from as far away as Palmerston North, and attendees from Feilding, Auckland, and other parts of the country. We met grandparents and parents, including some from the Parents of Transgender Children group.
Counting Ourselves Wellington Launch
It was all topped off at the end of the day by the Wellington launch of Counting Ourselves, the 2019 national transgender health research report, conducted by and for transgender people. Research Officer Jack Byrne talked about the report’s findings and recommendations, and encouraged everyone to use the data in their activism.
A one minute video excerpt from the Counting Ourselves launch. There is also an audio recording of the launch coming soon at PrideNZ.
Youth team representatives closed the evening with a big thankyou from GMA to all who helped out, held a stall, or came by to have a look, buy some things, and hang out. A special thanks went to Newtown Community and Cultural Center, for co-creating and hosting the event.
We loved the opportunity to hold a trans led event that all our friends and supporters could come to – the sense of community was amazing! Thank you all so much for supporting local transgender people, and helping GMA to support trans folks all over Aotearoa.
Transgender Awareness Week 2019
#TransAwarenessWeek #TransgenderAwarenessWeek
