Celebrating 20 years of the Rethinking Pacific Education initiative
The Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative for Pacific Peoples (RPEIPP) has had an unprecedented impact on how education is funded and enacted in the Pacific islands. Last year, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University led the celebrations of 20 years of RPEIPP education leadership.
“We wanted to mobilise Pacific people so they could be clearer on their own visions for education in their own educational contexts. And we encouraged them to explore how they could achieve their visions while remaining in control over their own lives. So we obtained an initial seed grant from NZ Aid (now the development arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) to support five years of Pacific regional conversations, which included conferences.”
Hautohu Matua (Principal Advisor) for the Wellington Faculty of Education, Mrs Pine Southon (Ngāi Tūhoe) says, “The initial Wellington University leadership cluster events involved students who came through our courses who met once a month for fellowship and support. They wanted to learn how to be an ethical leader. As the meetings grew, these became more formal, involving symposia and workshops on different topics.”
The conversations didn’t end once the funding ran out—in subsequent years, there were conferences in Aotearoa and in islands around the Pacific, numerous books were published and used as texts, and continuing through the years, a Leadership Pacific (LP) network coordinated by Mrs Southon was active, connecting the over 600 LP members through the Pacific region and beyond.
The anniversary activities would have included an in-person conference in the Republic of Marshall Islands had COVID-19 not seen events cancelled. But there was still a busy schedule of 13 events, including two face-to-face Vaka Pasifiki Education conferences in Tonga and Samoa and a symposium in Vanuatu. Throughout October, there was a weekly bulletin that allowed members of the initiative to reflect on the impacts RPEIPP had on their leadership, as well as a series of Tok stori (open discussion, where the structure is determined by the participants) sessions convened by members from throughout the Pacific.
One of the significant outcomes of the work of RPEIPP has been to give Pacific Islanders confidence in the cultural knowledge they hold, and educate international donors and others who work within Pacific contexts to trust Pacific Islanders who know their countries well.
Young Pacific education research scholar Samuela Nabolaniwaqa from Fiji National University reflects on the impact the RPEIPP has had on his teaching practice in issue 3 of Ulu ni Vanua, saying, “I’ve learnt and come to understand that it is important to acknowledge and embrace our indigenous knowledge, values and ideals within the western formal education system.
“The Pacific Islands’ education systems have been long dominated by foreign ideologies and theories. Rethinking our education frame is vital for inclusivity and a more transformative and meaningful learning.”
Leaders in the Solomon Islands were supported by Associate Professor Sanga to establish a leadership group called Fellowship of Faithful Mentors (FFM). The Solomons is now the only country in the Pacific region that has all of its current school leaders undertake a formal leadership programme which is approved by the Solomons Ministry of Education and delivered by FFM mentors in collaboration with the Institute of Education of the USP. The FFM programme has had a profound impact on the way education projects funded by international donors are undertaken in the Solomon Islands, ensuring they involve indigenous Solomons expertise.
Associate Professor Sanga explains that at its core, the RPEIPP has been about training future leaders. “We are interested in how we socialise our students here on campus so they can understand themselves as leaders. Once they leave campus, they can more easily grow into becoming better leaders for their community needs—senior public leaders, educationalists, or politicians—and settings.”
“I remind my mentees that one can only be generous with what one has, as opposed to what one does not have. And that a leader can only be generous in offering oneself to the world—and unless one understands and accepts the intrinsic dignity of all humans, one’s leadership will start from a position of want and discontentment. Such a starting point is inadequate. Without a commitment to the dignity of people, leaders will find it hard to be respectful of one another, and of our differing opinions.”
Mrs Southon says, “Leadership to me is mana-enhancing. It’s about the collective, about being of service to your community. That’s how I see it, enact it, and think it.”
Academic editor and former educationalist Laura van Peer reflects on her time with RPEIPP in the final Ulu Ni Vanua bulletin: “The Network of Pacific Educators (600 strong), the Pacific Education Research Foundation (PERF), the Micronesian Education Commission, and the growing library of Pacific education literature which documents these impacts grew from RPIEPP.
“Underpinning its success were Vaka Pasifiki conferences in Suva, Nuku’alofa, and Honiara, which attract over 400 participants, mainly Pacific Islanders. This is thanks to the quality of the relationships—deliberately fostered, authentic, reciprocal, inclusive, democratic, and validating of strengths through mentoring. By continuing to take care of relationships and responsibility for engagement, RPEIPP’s future is assured.”
Associate Professor Sanga is proud of what his group has achieved. “We have achieved what many other leadership development programmes can only dream of—we have impacted the way in which aid is applied in the education sector across the Pacific, and have a strong leadership network, and a new generation of leaders who are ready to continue our work into the future.”
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To join the VUW Leadership Pacific cluster, email Mrs Pine Southon [Pine.Southon@vuw.ac.nz]. To join the Network of Pacific Educators, email Ms Afuafu Kautoke [afuafu.kautoke@usp.ac.fj]. To enquire about the Fellowship of Faithful Mentors, email Kabini Sanga [Kabini.Sanga@vuw.ac.nz] as we’re looking at establishing similar mentoring clusters in other Pacific countries.