The Gathering of the 3000

This weekend will see The Gathering of the 3000 taking place at Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua. The event will inspire, equip, and connect Pacific men so that some of the challenges Pacific communities face can be addressed and a movement of change initiated. Amongst many high-profile keynote speakers, such as David Tua, Sir Michael Jones and Chris Te’o, we are privileged to announce that three of our White Ribbon Ambassadors will be attending this event.

Mike Tana, Mayor of Porirua, will be participating in the opening ceremony taking place on Friday 30^th June at 7 pm. The Hon. Alfred Ngaro is also joining the event on Saturday 31^st at 9 am and will be conducting the welcome and introduction of the keynote speakers.

One of our newly appointed Ambassadors, Soni Malaulau will be at the event on both days. Soni has been a serving Police Officer for over 28 years and worked as the Regional Coordinator for the Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme. This involved working with up to 18 Pacific countries, mentoring their police forces to improve police response to family violence. A committed activist for White Ribbon, he has also worked in Afghanistan in an effort to end men’s violence towards women by encouraging men to lead by example and talk to other men.  Soni is a passionate advocate of White Ribbon and hopes to bring about an environment of social change that reinforces human rights and equality between men and women. He would like to see both men and women demonstrating shared responsibility, mutual respect, trust and harmony towards each other. We are very excited to have such a strong asset join the White Ribbon team.

Alongside our wonderful Ambassadors, White Ribbon will be hosting a stand at the Gathering. We urge you to come and find about our plans for 2017 and what you can do to help.  There will be the opportunity to learn more about the White Ribbon pledge “I will stand up, speak out and act to prevent violence towards women” and join the other 2,300 men who have already made this commitment.  Together we can make a difference.

To find out more information about this weekend’s exciting event, visit: www.gathering3000.org.nz