Women of Poneke is a group of Wellington women with a vision to inspire, connect and uplift the voices of Wellington women - and help to contribute to the future of “our place”. Founded by eight women with shared passions, including Lou Aitken, the lead speaker. The group organises quarterly events with themes like "me, we, Poneke" (learning, collective support, and positivity).
They have a network of 1,000 women and host events that sell out, emphasizing in-person connections found with no job titles, no expectations, highlighting the commitment to making events accessible to all women, regardless of financial means. The group has received support from local organizations and businesses, ensuring accessibility through free and a buy-one, give-one scheme i.e. low-income tickets. Their goal is to foster meaningful connections, conversations, and personal growth, with a focus on community support and overcoming challenges. The group aims to bring together women with diverse skills and experiences to address shared purposes creating a safe environment.
The group discussed their successful event strategy, which includes using name tags and green stickers to identify new attendees, leading to a consistent 50% new attendees per event. They emphasize a balance between polished and casual events, featuring "regular people doing extraordinary things", focusing on current community needs and gaps. They highlighted the importance of flexibility and role modeling. They focus on diversity, including age and ethnicity, and have seen positive outcomes, such as new community groups forming and women finding employment through connections made at a Women of Poneke event.
The Women of Poneke also value scalability and the importance of reaching a younger demographic. They have younger members (daughters) to run an event themselves, to further diversify the event organizers, and other events involving the Community. Emphasis is on the importance of face-to-face interactions and the positive feedback received from participants e.g. people taking turns at being the MC and other roles to foster a sense of participation.
The Women of Poneke group is in the process of forming a charitable entity to formalize their structure and governance, and the importance of financial sustainability including a list of tasks and responsibilities. The aim is to create a blueprint for new groups to hold events in other cities,.