Pride Cook Islands is thrilled to announce that Phylesha Brown-Acton MNZM will be coming to the Cook Islands to help celebrate IDAHOBIT Day (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia and Transphobia) on May 17.

She is a Niuean fakafifine LGBTQI+ rights activist and the executive director of F’ine Pasifika, a LGBTQI+ rights organisation based in Aotearoa New Zealand which she founded in 2015.

In 2019, Brown-Acton was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of her work with LGBTQI+ communities from Pacific countries.

She was the project coordinator for the Pacific Peoples Project at the New Zealand AIDS Foundation and managed the Foundation’s International Development Programme.

Brown-Acton’s visit is made possible thanks to the fundraising efforts of the “GiveOut Day NZ 2022” facilitated by the Rainbow NZ Charitable Trust and its sponsors.

Meanwhile on Thursday, March 30, Pride Cook Islands will be hosting their annual general meeting at The Lucky Rooster Eatery in Avarua at 5pm.

This meeting is an important event in the Pride calendar and provides an opportunity for members to get together and discuss matters relating to the organisation.

Pride Cook Islands is also grateful to have received the generous amount of $2500 from the annual Rotary Rarotonga Bob Boyd Memorial Golf Ambrose which was held last November to raise awareness of the rainbow community through its “Equality For All” themed ambrose event.

These funds will assist the organisation with its advocacy work and efforts to decriminalise same-sex relations in the Cook Islands and raise awareness of the LGBTQI+ community.