Australian men are being urged to play ping pong this October and in turn bring awareness to the issue of human trafficking.

The 24-hour Ping PongAThon started six years ago when Adrian Rowse decided to try to engage and educate his mates on the issue.

He had been in Thailand with an organisation that helped teenage boys working in the red light district of Chang Mai.

"I guess my heart really got caught by the issue of trafficking and exploitation," he told Andy Gall on 936 ABC Hobart.

"We decided to start the Ping PongAThon as my response to this issue and as a way for everyday Aussies to engage in the issue."

Mr Rowse said ping pong was one of the tools they used in Thailand to engage the boys and help them to open up about their experiences.

"We'd see these boys being able to play and have fun and laugh and get angry when they missed their shots; being able to express their emotions and just be kids," he said.

"Sport and these sorts of fun activities have the power to do beautiful things in people's lives."

Getting Aussie men to be part of the solution

While women can get involved with the Ping PongAThon, Mr Rowse said his target audience was men.

"The reason for that focus is we've seen that unfortunately men are often at the heart of driving demand for this issue by the way of sexual exploitation," he said.

"I also saw that both in Australia and also in my experience in South East Asia that men are typically not a part of the solution.

"It's usually women that are advocating and driving the solutions, so we really wanted to find a fun way for men to be a part of the solution."

Loading...

Hobart's Ping PongAThon organiser Nathan Wardle said he hoped to see about 30 people play the game over 24 hours at the Hobart City Church of Christ on Goulburn Street starting Friday.

"I really liked the idea of the event and really think that human trafficking is one of the worst evils of mankind, so I wanted to help there too," Mr Wardle said.

"Now I've got two little daughters of my own ... and it got me to thinking of what it must be like for people who've had their kids abducted and exploited for people's sexual gratification.

"It's truly horrifying and something I'm certainly prepared to join in the fight to help end such atrocities."

PongAThon players will take turns playing over a 24-hour period and get their family and friends to sponsor them.

Money raised will go to organisations working to help trafficked and exploited people in South East Asia.

"Last year was a lot of fun," Mr Wardle said.

Events are being held across Australia throughout October.

To get involved, go to pingpongathon.com to find an event near you or to sponsor a player.