The context for the 2008 Talanoa is ready to rumble and although a little heady for techno nerds, the ‘stuff’ is beginning to get some tasty flavouring.

Make the time and come on over. If you know any pakehas, palangi who must deal with the rabbles from Pasifika, forward them an invite it cannot but enlighten them to the context from which their pacific partners hailed.

If you’re from the Pacific and you’ve been in Australia for too long but still need to think about that Bigpond question:

What’s important about January 26th for Australians?

A day off to watch the cricket (eyebrow raised)

Then you’re just punching to turn up. You’re part of the ‘problem’

2008 Conference
Mana, Vanua, Talanoa
Abstracts received for some of the presentations

Welcome & opening event

The opening event will follow the expected structure of a traditional lotu ceremony, with negotiations to embody the complexities of PI migration. Participants are encouraged to flow the event (or go with the flow if you prefer!) and be respectful of the tapu of the land where we will gather, and the talanoa of the Barramatugal clan and Darug people who cared for it over many generations.

Roots and Routes: Who are we?!

This panel will explore the challenges that Pacific Islanders face when we move overseas, torn between commitments to the homes from where we came and the necessities of settling into new homes. This panel consists of first generation PI migrants, and will explore issues related to church, education, law, justice system, culture and so forth. Members of panel: Liva Tukutama, Filimone Olivetti, Vetinia Waqabaca, Alisa Peacock, Seini Afeaki, and others

Talanoa Oceania - Be There or be rocked!

Talanoa Oceania are gatherings for people from the South Seas (or Pacific Islanders, abbreviated as PIs), who currently live in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Several reasons make these gatherings necessary, including the following:

1. PIs are torn between where we live and our home islands, partly because we have not been welcomed (to our new locations) and released (from our island homes)

2. PIs continue to look for direction from our home islands partly because a sea of talanoa[1] has not been gathered to root us in our current locations

3. PIs are searching for creative and meaningful ways of continuing to be connected to our island cultures, churches and homes

4. PIs often misunderstand other cultures partly because we are confused about who we are, in our current locations, and we are consequently easily misunderstood

5. PIs are not homogenous, and we need to name and come to terms with our differences

Talanoa Oceania 2008: Mana, Vanua, Talanoa

Under the shadows of those needs, the Talanoa Oceania 2008 gathering will provide opportunities for presentations on three significant PI concepts: Mana, Vanua, Talanoa. These concepts have multiple meanings in the various language and island groups:

· Mana can mean sacred, magic, courage, power, transformation, creativity, healing, imagination, and so forth

· Vanua (fonua, fenua, whenua, etc) can mean land, womb, home, identity, roots, tradition, and so forth

· Talanoa can mean story, storytelling, conversation, orality, empty-talk, and so forth

Call for presentations:

Persons who are related (by birth and/or migration) to the South Seas are invited to propose presentations for the 2008 gathering. The presentations should address at least one of the five needs and at least one of the three concepts outlined above, and they may be offered from and/or address any of the areas of interest to PIs, such as:

§ art, handicraft & body-art

§ poetry, lyrics & rhythms

§ performance, dance & storytelling

§ Pacific, oceanic & indigenous studies

§ academic, theological & island disciplines

§ ministerial, cultural & ethnic praxis

§ and so forth

Presentations by Women and Second Gens are especially encouraged; all presenters are also urged to help PI communities respond to:

§ the challenges of global warming and our drifting generations

§ the realities of dispersion, diaspora and cultural confusions

To propose a presentation for the Talanoa Oceania 2008: Mana, Vanua, Talanoa gathering, please send the following information to Jione Havea {email: jhavea@csu.edu.au; Postal address: United Theological College, 16 Masons Drive, North Parramatta, NSW 2151, Australia; Fax: (+612) 9683-6617}:

1. Your full name, and the island group(s) to which you relate

2. Current email and mailing addresses (tin-can-mail is possible!)

3. Descriptive title of presentation (no more than 20 words)

4. Short description of presentation (no more than 300 words)

Deadline for proposals:

Jan 31, 2008 (pālangi time!)

Unsure of what to do:

If you are interested in participating in the 2008 gathering but are unsure with how you might make a contribution, please contact one of the persons listed below and we will talk with you about how you might present and participate at this event.

Date & venue:

September 29 – October 01, 2008

Centre for Ministry, 16 Masons Drive, North Parramatta, NSW 2151, Australia

Next Talanoa Oceania: Aotearoa/New Zealand (date to be determined)

Contacts in the Southern Sea of Islands:

Fe‘iloakitau Tevi (fkt@wcc-coe.org)

Koila Olsson (arietakoilaolsson@yahoo.com)

Tevita K. Havea (tkhavea@ptc.ac.fj)

Samiuela L.V. Taufa (samtaufa@gmail.com)

Contacts in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Tevita Finau (tfinau@gmail.com)

Aso Saleupolu (asos@methodist.org.nz)

Fei Taule‘ale‘ausumai (fei_taulealea@xtra.co.nz)

Nasili Vaka‘uta (nvakauta@gmail.com)

Contacts in Australia

Seforosa Carroll (sefc@bigpond.com)

Vinnie Ravetali (vravetali62@yahoo.com)

Salesi Faupula (salesif@nsw.uca.org.au)

Filimone Oliveti (filimone7@optisnet.com.au)

Jione Havea (jhavea@csu.edu.au)

Katalina Tahaafe-Williams (katalinatw@nsw.uca.org.au)

Liva Tukutama (livasoffice@netspeed.com.au)

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[1] When someone from the South Seas shares a talanoa (story), it is not just about sharing information and entertaining listeners. A talanoa also has to do with locating identity (in space and in relationships), with offering instructions (to listeners), with explaining struggles and journeys, with customs and rituals, with hope and more. Sharing of talanoa can also make storytellers and their people vulnerable, as if they have become telenoa (Samoan: naked), so it is a sharing that needs to be offered and received responsibly.