07/09/2026
“One people, one soul, one destiny, from Sorong to Samarai.”
Last week members of the TAO team were fortunate enough to travel to Ōtautahi Christchurch to attend the annual Fono of the Association for Pacific Staff in Tertiary Education, hosted by the University of Canterbury.
Over the two-day conference Pacific Tertiary staff from across the Motu met together to talk about various challenges and successes they have had in their professional capacities in various tailored workshops. The theme, one people, one soul, one destiny, from Sorong to Samarai, reminded us to challenge what Oceania means and looks like, as well as the ongoing struggle against colonialism and the fight for sovereignty currently being fought.
Exploring history, politics and avenues of professional development, the team was able to gain much from the conference. For our newcomers, it was particularly inspiring to see so many Pacific tertiary professionals gathered in one place.
Pro Vice Chancellor Pacific Dr Ratuva summed it up best as he reminded us to keep on striving to bring the intangible abstract into empirical reality, to keep on drawing on the values of our varied peoples into our practice and to keep navigating space and relationally.
