2nd November 2016 A group of women representing women’s grass-root groups in both rural and urban Tonga are currently in Australia at the Tonga National Day Festival of Arts in Brisbane and Sydney.
The women’s groups departed Tonga on Thursday 27th October for Brisbane. They had participated in the Brisbane Tonga Day National Festival of Arts on Saturday 29th October at the Logan Civic Park, Queensland. The Guest of Honour at the Festival was Her Royal Highness Princess Angelica Latufuipeka Tuku’aho, Tonga’s High Commissioner to Australia. The Brisbane’s National Day Festival of Arts was organized by the Nofo-a-Kainga Queensland Tonga Council. The Tonga Day in Sydney is organized by the Tonga Community Development Australia Inc. (TCDAI).
The delegation’s participation at Brisbane and Sydney’s Festival of Arts is an initiative by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Women’s Affairs Division. The Women’s Affairs Division has been organizing varying women’s groups’ participation at the Australia Tonga Day Festival since 2014, as part of its effort on collaboration and partnership with the community, and to implement the Revised National Gender and Development Policy; by empowering women economically. Since 2008, over TOP $800,000.00 has been raised by these groups.
The Tonga delegation will depart Brisbane on Friday 4th November for Sydney to participate in the Tonga Day Festival on the 5th and 12th November at the Campbelltown Sports Ground, Lumeah. While in Brisbane, the delegation continues to showcase and sell their handicrafts at Malia Vatuvei Fe’ao’s residence, at #1 Lennox Court, Logan Central.
The participation of these women at Tonga Day is coordinated by Tupou’ahau Fakakovikaetau, Principal Program Officer for the Women’s Affairs Division and they are scheduled to return to Tonga on 14th November, 2016.
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Email: tfakakovi@gmail.com
Issued by the: Ministry of Internal Affairs