Community Relationships

Staff and students are members of many different Pacific communities including church groups, women’s committees, sports and art. We value and nurture these relationships and draw Pacific elders and families into our learning journeys as in the Akamai, the mafutaga and the community-targeted presentations (faafaletui) carried out in the Samoan language. Research in Samoan and Pacific epistemologies is also encouraging these relationships.

Staff of Va'aomanū Pasifika have extensive links with the Pacific community locally, nationally and in the wider Pacific region. Staff are especially involved in outreach activities in the Samoan community in the Wellington region. The Board of Pacific and Samoan Studies provides advice on the programmes offered by Va'aomanū Pasifika and meets three times a year. This Board has community representation as well as wider University representation on it. Va'aomanū Pasifika participates in the BRCCS Pacific Postgraduate Talanoa Series, delivered by access grid and involving other universities in New Zealand, while members of the community are invited to participate in occasional seminars organised by Va'aomanū Pasifika.

We are fortunate to have easy access to government departments, NGOs (international, national and local) and centres of art and we draw on these networks to enrich our programmes. The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, Te Papa, the Archives New Zealand and the Turnbull library, Pacific festivals and performances are the learning spaces for our Pacific and Samoan students as are our formal and informal meetings with Pacific community members.