The Re-brand | VIKA Inc to Pacifique X

It all begins with an idea. And so it has been for VIKA Incorporated. In a group that started through conversations and the shared power of wanting to contribute to the community, Sebastian, Katalyna and two others (who we’ll keep anonymous) were passionate about starting a group, and out of that, VIKA Inc (which was a play on the words Victoria and Pasefika) was born in late 2017.

We were then stuck with the question of, where do we start? We had to do our homework, we had to build our capacity and we had to start laying the foundations to ensure we got it as ‘right’ as we could.

The journey started by seeking out guidance from our elders in the LGBTIQA+ Pacific Islands community and we were embraced with open arms, encouragement and support - that we will never forget and will always be greatful for - we thank Resitara Apa, Latoya Hoeg, Fia’ailetoa Ken Moala, Ymania Gabriel-Brown, the Te Tiare Association - and many elders who were not from the lgbtiqa+ community, but who saw the value and the need and gave their encouragement and support, the Victoria Samoa Advisory Council, Pacific Connections and councillors from the City of Moreland (local goverment) and the former CEO of Multicultural Arts Victoria.

While these connections were being built, two of our members moved on to their own personal projects and we kept getting asked whether VIKA meant ‘Vika and Linda Bull’ (a music group) - and we knew we needed a review to ensure that our organisation name better reflected, or had an impact that was free from being associated with another brand.

Pacifique X was born. The idea is, “Pacifique” is the origin of the word “Pacific” we, living in the diaspora, live to honor our origin - and as such, every time we say “Pacifique” we can remind ourselves that, as much as words have an origin, we also have an origin, remembering to ensure that we uphold and we represent our pacific communities of origin with pride and respect. And the addition of X - is a nod to the tick box of ‘other’ ‘x’ gender, gender non-conforming, non-binary.

The hope is to celebrate our Pacific Islands Identity as well as our Gender Identity - as a general culture of the Pacific, we’re no stranger to having the space between male and female through our Fa’afafine, Fakaleiti, Aka’vaine etc communities.

Looking forward to navigating our space in Victoria, with a new core team and a stronger membership base, we will take control of our stories being told, our pacific/maori specific issues and areas to improve and we will look forward to working with established lgbtiqa+ pacific island groups and those from the broader lgbtiqa+ community. We support the #PassTheMic movement.

Thank you for visiting our space and join us on our journey.