The leaders of Dunedin Pride are plotting a course to ensure the organisation survives long after they have moved on.
Chairperson Meihana Pōtiki-Grayling said the volunteer group is in the process of transitioning from an incorporated society to a charitable trust, a move designed to professionalise its governance and protect its volunteers from the exhaustion that has plagued previous committees.
“Really trying to eliminate that burnout and having consistency.”
The restructure will see the creation of a dedicated board of trustees separate from the day-to-day event organisers.
Overall about 11 new people will be added to the organisation.
“We have got a really good mix of different backgrounds … like, people from different types of paid mahi, people with a whole lot of experience doing governance, people with no experience doing governance, but who are wanting to learn,” she said.
Dunedin Pride events lead Evelyn Robertson said the change to being a trust was about long-term security and stability.
“It is just ensuring that there is a Dunedin Pride and it is happy and thriving 10 years from now.”
The group was also working to put together an organising group that would be separate from the governance but would focus on running events and so on.
The aim was to divide the workload so that people avoided burnout and the group ran more efficiently.
The internal strengthening comes as the organisation faces an increasingly hostile external environment.
Despite legal progress in past decades, the social climate for the rainbow community feels more volatile, driven by overseas rhetoric and social media algorithms as well as challenges such as the New Zealand government’s pause on puberty blocker prescribing.
“I have a friend who is like a 60-year-old lesbian,” Pōtiki-Grayling said.
“So she came out just after Homosexual Law Reform, and she has said, like, this is the worst government that she has ever seen.”
In response to these challenges, Dunedin Pride is reinstating the Trans and Gender Diverse Social Group, which will meet monthly this year, Robertson said.
The 18 plus environment will enable people to share and discuss challenges such as medical transition journeys or information about puberty blockers.
“There is so much isolation in the community and there’s people sitting at home in their houses without anyone to talk to.
“It is so important just to have a space where they can come and know they are not alone,” they said.
Information about the group will be available on the Dunedin Pride and SouthTrans NZ support group’s social media pages.
Despite the heavy administrative work, the group is preparing for Pride Month in March.
The calendar, set to be released in mid-February, will include the return of popular local events including Dungeons and Drag Queens, a Pride Church Service, ‘crafternoons’ and an expanded run of the drag show SoliloQueens (+ Kings) with two showings, featuring entirely local Otago performers.
“We have some very exciting things in the works,” Pōtiki-Grayling said.
“We are again, similar to how we did last year, really trying to put more of a focus on community-run events.”