Coco Talanoa — Coco News / Page 1

A group of photographers are working to immortalise our hometowns - the places we all know and love. With gentrification on the rise and the landscape shifting faster than many realise, they’re determined to keep these places alive, if not in reality, then in memory, through their work.

“Together, those images form a growing collective archive of South Auckland, shaped not by one viewpoint but by many.”

That’s how South Auckland Photo Club founder, Geoff Matautia, describes the heart of the project. What began as a simple invitation for locals to take photos has grown into a community-led movement determined to preserve the everyday: the shops we grew up visiting, the parks we learned to ride bikes in, the streets that shaped our childhoods.

Geoff says the club is “grounded in participation,” created for anyone - complete beginners with phones, seasoned hobbyists, and everyone in between. The goal was always bigger than photography.…more

“For Pacific Islanders raised outside our homelands, culture is not just heritage — it's navigation.”

The aganu’u based education programme helping US islanders connect with their culture. 

In Oakland, IKUNA is helping Pacific Islander youth reconnect to their identity through culture, education, and wellbeing.

Founded by brothers Taimani and Sione Lauti, both raised in Oakland, the programme runs year-round for students from elementary to high school. During the school year, sessions run for up to 30 weeks, with students meeting once or twice a week for literacy, cultural learning, mentorship, and leadership workshops.

Each June, IKUNA hosts a full-day summer programme with classes, sports, storytelling, and college preparation. The high school group ends the summer with a cultural and college-access trip most recently to Hawai‘i - where they lived on a university campus, met community elders, and explored ancestral knowledge and connection to land and water.

The Lauti brothers describe IKUNA as a community effort built on culture, education, and lived experience.…more

“I worked through the book with a lot of passion knowing that a young Niue anywhere in the world will benefit from it in the future.” — Mele Fakatali Nemaia MNZM

This Niuean Language Week 19–25 October, a new bilingual book is helping keep Vagahau Niue alive for future generations — Moana Oceania: Niue by Mele Fakatali Nemaia MNZM.

The latest release in the Moana Oceania series introduces readers to one of the world’s smallest: The rock of the Pacific - Niue

Written in both English and Vagahau Niue, the book offers insights into Niue’s society, geography, arts, sports, and history, alongside colourful photos, illustrations, and maps.

For Mele, an esteemed educator and long-time advocate for the Niuean language, this project is the culmination of decades of work. After almost 40 years teaching in Auckland, she spent much of her career encouraging Pasifika students, especially Niuean children to take pride in who they are.

“It was a long journey, many hurdles and challenges to overcome, but my passion to support anything Niue was my driving element,” she says.…more

From the Islands to the World: Fiji Airways Named One of the Top 10 Airlines Globally

As Fijians across the world celebrate Fijian Language Week, there’s another reason to say Vinaka vakalevu with pride. Fiji Airways has made history.

The national airline has been named an APEX World Class Airline for 2026, placing it among the Top 10 Airlines in the World. It is the first in Oceania to receive the honour and the smallest airline ever to earn the prestigious title.

It’s hardly a surprise Fiji Airways has earned top honours. Fijians are known across the moana for their hospitality. They’ll hand you a bula smile, a cold drink, and if things really get out of hand, maybe even a gentle reminder to stay seated (just ask the passenger who had to be taped down mid-flight).

The recognition comes after years of transformation across every part of the airline. From sourcing local produce and redesigning onboard service to retraining hundreds of cabin crew, Fiji Airways has worked tirelessly to match the world’s best.…more

"We don’t lack for great stories… but I hope to help strengthen our capacity to get those films properly resourced, into production, and shown worldwide.” says award-winning filmmaker Litia Tuiburelevu.

"Radical possibilities emerge from disruption, and I think as Pacific filmmakers we’re living through an exciting moment where we can collectively usher in new ways of bringing our screen stories to life."

It’s that bold approach to storytelling that has seen her selected for the New Zealand Film Commission’s International Placement Initiative. Litia will be joining the acquisitions and development team at Protagonist Pictures in London, a company celebrated for its daring and genre-defining cinema.

For Litia, the placement is a chance to step into a new arena while continuing the work she has always been drawn to -  telling stories that sit outside the mainstream but speak deeply to Pacific identity and experience.

Her career already reflects this commitment.…more

“For our families who migrated from Te Moana nui a Kiwa, the dream was simple but profound — to create a better future. To see Pacific people in these positions affirms our place in Aotearoa and sends a clear message to our children: that leadership at the highest levels is not out of reach,” Dr Emma Dunlop-Bennett told The Coconet.

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington has announced Dr Emma Dunlop-Bennett as its new Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika), a role she steps into with a wealth of experience and strong connections to Pacific communities.

A proud daughter of Samoa (Sā Petāia, Sā Te’o, Sā Atoā) Emma follows in her legendary mother Tagaloatele Peggy Fairburn-Dunlop’s footsteps at Victoria, who is now semi retired.

Tagaloatele Professor Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop is a trailblazing Pasifika academic and an expert in a range of Pacific development issues who was the inaugural director of the Pacific Studies department Va‘aomanu Pasifika at Victoria University, where Emma will now take up residency.…more

Pacific influencers are turning down lucrative offers from offshore gambling companies, some worth tens of thousands of dollars, citing concerns about the harm gambling causes in their communities.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and Inland Revenue (IRD) have already cracked down on influencers in New Zealand found promoting unlicensed gambling websites, warning that such endorsements are illegal and carry penalties. Despite this, gambling agencies continue to target content creators, with Pasifika and Māori influencers often at the top of their lists due to their large youth audiences.

Samoan influencer Joe Fa’agase said the scale of the offers shows how much companies value Pacific voices. “I’ve definitely noticed a rise in gambling companies reaching out. Personally I’ve been offered up to $4000 just for a single story and I know some creators who were offered even more. I saw one Māori creator who was offered half a million and it makes you realise how valuable our voices have become to these kind of companies.”

For Fa’agase, the decision to say no was about responsibility to his audience.…more

Samoans head to the polls today in what’s shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable elections in the country’s history.

Samoa’s ballot boxes may be full of promises, but like the beehive in Wellington, it’s the delivery truck that everyone is waiting for.

With political rivalries, cost-of-living struggles, and global powers watching closely, here’s a run down for beginners to Samoa’s Election 101: 

Why is Samoa voting now?

This election comes earlier than expected after months of political turmoil.

• Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa was forced to call a snap election when her minority government couldn’t pass the 2025/26 budget in May.
• Before that, she survived two no-confidence motions within weeks, but her hold on power was shaky.
• The crisis followed a messy split inside her former party, FAST, after disputes with its chair, La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt.
• On top of that, power blackouts, rising inflation, and infighting piled pressure on her leadership.

For many Samoans, the hope is simple: stability.…more

Samoa bets big on solar to fix its broken power system

Did you know Ta‘ū Island in American Samoa is one of the few places in the world that runs entirely on solar power? For the past seven years, the island’s 600 residents have relied on Tesla batteries and solar panels instead of diesel generators - a rare Pacific success story in renewable energy.

Now, just a short flight away, Western Samoa is trying to catch up. The country has signed off on a multi-million dollar loan deal to expand solar power across its two main islands, Upolu and Savai‘i.

It comes after a rough year. In March, Samoa’s government declared a 30-day state of emergency as rolling power cuts crippled businesses, schools, hospitals, and households. Ageing generators, cyclone damage, and skyrocketing demand left the national grid on the brink. For many, the blackouts weren’t just inconvenient - they were devastating.…more

Step into any Samoan household and you’ll likely find a piece of Eveni. A school uniform, an elei shirt, or a dress reserved for Sunday best.

It’s a brand synonymous with Pacific identity. Yet behind the familiar label lies a story that stretches nearly a century — from copra trading posts to the global fashion stage and now their first shop in Tamaki Makaurau! 

From the All Blacks to the smash hit Signature Choir, Eveni’s distinctive elei print is popping up in the spotlight across the region. 

The story begins in 1929, when the Carruthers family opened their first business under the name I.H. Carruthers Ltd. “Our story begins in 1929… a family business started as cocoa and copra merchants, operating networks of rural trading stations across our islands,” says Eveni Marketing Director Hether Vaai.

For decades, the family thrived as merchants, but by the 1970s, Samoa’s rural trading economy began to falter. Something had to change. “The move into fashion was a strategic pivot, not an original objective,” says Vaai.…more