AUCKLAND (Pacific Scoop/Pacific Media Watch): Fifty six representatives from 19 different countries around the Pacific region took part in the Future Leaders of the Pacific conference last week in Auckland, where social entrepreneurship was the key theme.
Those who attended, including youth from outside New Zealand, had a lot to take away.
James Arriola said there is a “wealth of knowledge” in New Zealand that his community in the Northern Mariana Islands can learn from.
“That strength has led into a whole lot of policy, a lot of culture, a lot of excitement in the region, in this beautiful place and many of us are in different situations in our own countries.”
Another major theme of the conference was the value of knowing your heritage, which struck a chord with everyone.
Lolo Taeoalii said Māori and Pacific people need to carry their culture and heritage with them.
“If we’re not careful given the western influence, the digital age and technology era, we’ll lose contact with our culture”.
Through learning from key speakers at the event, such as former All Black Michael Jones, and others from the US embassy, and the business and arts worlds, representatives found that social enterprise is more than what they thought.
Natalie Taule’alo-Russell said Pacific people and their culture were one in the same.
“Our culture, it’s who we are. We’re not just one person, we bring with us our ancestors, our land, our beliefs.”
The next Pacific leader’s conference will be held in Hawai’i next year.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Alistar Kata
