“It’s about, really, just trying to bring people together who are adopted to talk with each other, share their stories, share their experiences, and have someone else [they] can relate to.”
Gilbert said he had received feedback from people wanting “face-to-face” interactions.
Between 20 and 30 people attended the Auckland and Hamilton events, he said.
“It’s a nice little turnout of people but I know that’s helping so many adopted people who actually don’t know anybody else adopted.”
Gilbert was adopted by Whangārei parents Janice and Mark Gilbert in 1994 with his adoptee brother, Andrei, from Arkhangelsk orphanage in Russia.
In 2013 he used social media to track down his mother. At the end of that year, he travelled to Russia to meet his parents for the first time.
He set up I’m Adopted in 2015 as a Facebook page. It became a registered charity in 2020.
Alex Gilbert – founder and director of charity I’m Adopted – is hosting a free, adoptee meet-up in Tauranga on October 19.
Gilbert created a documentary series called An Adoption Story – an independent project he produces and edits.
He had so far released 17 episodes on his Facebook page and YouTube channel. He planned to start filming the next episodes in October, including one in Tauranga.
The next five episodes – telling the stories of three New Zealanders, one Romanian, and one Russian – would be released later this year and next year.
Gilbert set up a Patreon and YouTube supporter membership to help fund the production.
Gilbert said he was releasing a “one-off” short documentary called My Kazakhstan Connection about his family links to Kazakhstan.
He and his partner Justene Musin did the story together in search of his biological grandmother.
They filmed it in Kazakhstan in 2023 and unsuccessfully tried to submit it to film festivals.
The 17-minute documentary would be released on September 20 on the I’m Adopted Facebook page and Gilbert’s YouTube channel.
Tickets for the Tauranga meet-up are available on the Humanitix website.
The event is free, however, there is a koha (donation) option when registering.
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.