Coco Talanoa — Pacific Blog / Page 10

"I wanted to write a story that focused on the experiences of Pasifika kids like me. Growing up, there weren’t any books about Pasifika children. Even on TV or in the movies, there weren’t any stories about kids who looked like me." - Litea Fuata 

She's about to start work as a cook in a childcare centre and has worked in youth work, aged care and for Oz Harvest rescuing food for charities.  Now Litea Fuata can add published author to her resume after her debut childrens book 'White Sunday' was released today (Wednesday 7th Sep 22).

Litea who was born in New Zealand and now lives in Meanjin, Brisbane with her partner and cat says that she's really proud of her first book 'White Sunday' and hopes that young Pasifika readers will walk away with a feeling of being seen and of joy after reading her book.…more

"It is time to shine light into the valley and reclaim the narrative and move beyond the errors and misjudgments of a system that has become accustomed to keeping its boot on our neck."

‘Muru’ was released nationwide to cinemas on the 1st of September and is a breathtaking action packed rollercoaster that takes you on an emotional journey through the trauma of the Uruwera raids and other events that the Tuhoe people suffered at the hands of the NZ government. 

It's a fictionalization of some these moments into one epic story - featuring a cast of some of Aotearoa’s stellar Māori actors, lead by Cliff Curtis and Tame Iti who plays himself. 

Lui Vilisoni-Oliver Niu FM & 531 PI Program Director at the PMN offices in Manukau vs Lui back in the day on air at Niu FMs Brown Street studio.

Update to original story - 

On the 14th June 2023, Niu FM was one of 8 commercial and regional radio stations given a NZ on Air Award for playing more than 20 percent local music content over the airways in 2022 at the NZ on Air Music Showcase in Auckland. 

They were also the only Pasifika radio station recognised with this award.

We talked to Programme Director for Pacific Media Network (which includes Niu FM) Lui Vilisoni on why it's been important to play out local NZ Pasifika artists vs overseas artists on the station.

"The first reason is, who else will champion our artists if not us? I see and hear so much quality music from our NZ Pasefika artists, but they’re not picked up as much.…more

“I love that this is a story that isn’t centered around the raids, but around a family who went through the raids. There’s a clear distinction” Gaby Solomona ‘Fuarosa’ in the Dawn Raids play. 

It’s no secret that we as Polynesian peoples are very Patriarchal. From how the feaus are done, to who get’s to speak at family functions, who stays home to look after the kids, who gets the titles. Even our storytelling is very male dominated.

In the past most stories, shows, films I have watched, including the one I, myself made, have all been very male dominated. So I was so excited to see that the 3 women who hold the story and family together in Dawn Raids are such integral parts of this show. Gaby Solomona (plays Fuarosa) speaks to the importance of the 3 women. Stating that while the show still has male voices, there are equally if not more important female voices that come through too.

Gaby shares “You’ve got the mum who is the glue of the family, the matriarch.…more

Meet Logoi Malaeulu Mariner and his family from Salelavalu, Savaii. The 69 year old has been farming for almost 50 years and is one of the oldest commercial farmers on the big island.

As a beneficiary of the World Bank Pacific funded SAFPROM Matching Grant Program, Logoi and his family have been able to improve productivity on the farm and increase production of their vegetable and root crops supply to the local market.

Watch the heartwarming story of Logoi Mariner to see how this humble farmer and grandfather is building a legacy of agricultural sustainability and financial literacy to secure a healthier and more prosperous future for his grandchildren.

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Video credit & Thank You to:  World Bank Pacific and the Samoa Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity and Marketing Project

The biggest celebration of Pacific Music in New Zealand returns with crowds again for the live Pacific Music Awards event on Thursday 4th of August.

There are 26 finalists in total with a mix of new musicians debuting music, established music artists, Pacific industry icons and everything in between.

This year iconic Samoan singer-songwriter Fa'anana Jerome Grey will be honoured with the Pacific Music Awards Lifetime Achievement award and there will be a new Creative New Zealand award - the recipient will be announced on the night.…more

The celebrated Cindy of Samoa has brought joy to so many Islanders around the Pacific - on her bday she shared 3 fave things about her life in Samoa and a special song medley Fresh from Apia with her back up singers (above) 

"My favourite food is Eleni. Our people are so creative cooking eleni. You can have eleni everyday and it never tastes the same. Our people have worked out 1000 ways of cooking Eleni. Yummy.

I find The faafafines the most Inspirational people in Samoa. They still are going through a hard life and still they live life to the fullest and with no apologies. They are survivors. My favourite song is “Cindy The Best” not simply the best. Lol!

My favourite dresses are my Tina Dresses cause I made a living out of them and took me places." - Cindy of Samoa 

Check out some of her hilarious moments on FreshTV below - 

From July 3 to 9 this year marks Solomon Islands Language Week!

Did you know, including Pijin, there are over 80 varying languages spoken in the archipelago?

In the above video are just some of the dialects spoken in the Solomons - a wealth of culture and tradition wrapped into these centuries' old languages.

This year's theme is "Sharem gudfala nolej - Pass on the right knowledge."

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Credit: ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language

by Mariner Fagaiava-Muller

Last week, Associate Professor Tiatia was formally welcomed into the position of Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific with a Cook Islands turou and Fijian yaqona ceremony.

It was opened by the office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Māori with a mihi whakatau and then a lotu by Dr Therese Lautua.

The following yaqona was led by Fijian community member Malcolm Andrews with student leaders from across Pacific nations taking part.

Tiatia (Taga, Salelologa, Fusi Safata, Siumu, Vaimoso) acted in the role before her apppointment, whilst also co-head of The University of Auckland's School of Māori and Pacific Studies.

Her academic background lies in Pacific health and mental wellbeing.

Her Masters degree looked at why young Pacific peoples were leaving traditional churches; leading her to write the book Caught between Cultures.

Tiatia's PhD examined suicide and mental health and wellbeing in the Samoan community. 

She serves on the board of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission - having previously been on the Suicide Bereavement Service Advisory Group, National Depression Initiative Advisory Group, and Suicide Mortality Review Committee.…more

The PACTS Program at Parma Senior High School in Ohio hosts an annual spring luau dance for nearly 400 special needs students in the surrounding area.

The Parma High students posted a video invitation to social media to invite Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to their luau. When Johnson got wind of their request, he made sure that the students had a couple special surprises in store for them as they celebrated their big night…