Tue 22 Mar 2011 In: Out Games News View at Wayback View at NDHA
David Hindley The Outgames organising team is expressing delight at how the event ran, after having a little time to reflect on a massive week which took more than two years to plan. Co-chair David Hindley says the board is delighted at how things went. “There were so many highlights during the week: the participants' march to the Opening Ceremony; the Governor-General's welcome; the cultural dinner. We saw top-class sports performances. The human rights conference, with over 300 people attending, was an extraordinary event,” Hindley says. “But always, it is the individual experiences and stories which are the most touching. Meeting young activists like Roshan from Nepal, having volunteers like Michael from Germany giving long hours of work. The greatest gift of events like the Outgames is the opportunity to share the lives of people you would never otherwise meet.” The games closed in Wellington on March 19, with two nights of parties and a simple but moving Closing Ceremony, where a streamer for Wellington 2011 was fixed to the Outgames flag, which was then presented to a representative from Vancouver, where the North America Outgames will be held in July. Hindley says among many notable successes of the 2nd AsiaPacific Outgames, one was the welcome from a head of state, which is a world-first for this type of event. The other success was the very high level of participation from women, at over 40 percent. He says very strong support from the trans community, especially in the Human Rights Conference, was another notable feature. HIndley says that the Outgames is likely to report a “very good” financial result once final accounts had been prepared. He says it's highly likely that funds will be available for distribution to GLBTI community groups around the Asia Pacific region. An announcement about this is likely in a few months' time. GayNZ.com Daily News staff - 22nd March 2011
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 22nd March 2011 - 12:04pm