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The 35th International Candlelight Memorial events were recently hosted in Wellington and Auckland with the theme, Ending AIDS Together.

All four government parties sent letters that were read by representatives of RainbowYOUTH, GALS and the Ahakoa Te Aha lifted the spirits through song. Michael Bancroft, who recently stepped down as Guardian of the NZ AIDS Memorial Quilts was the MC for the Auckland event.

The local panels of The Quilt were exhibited along with digital presentations of the panels that are housed in Te Papa. Seeing the names appear of those we’ve lost brought back many memories for those in attendance.

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In Wellington, around 70 people attended the event where Grant Robertson and Jason Myers were present to support.

The theme, Ending AIDS Together, was echoed throughout the speeches with a call-to-action for the community to come together and work toward ending AIDS. Through active community engagement, we can take advantage of the new advances in research and end HIV.

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