Laufou Jake Fitisemanu Junior with the Young Pacific Leaders Alumni at the Utah State Capitol, Salt Lake City.
Laufou Jake Fitisemanu Junior, state representative in the Utah House of Representatives, provided 12 Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) alumni with inspirational – and practical – leadership advice during a recent visit to the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City.
The tour of the Capitol and talanoa with Laufou was part of the three-week YPL Alumni Roadshow, throughout the United States during September.
Proudly Samoan, Laufou was born in Aotearoa New Zealand and raised in Hawaiʻi and Utah – the eldest of eight children.
“I served on city council for seven years and decided I wanted to represent our people at state level,” he explains.
He currently lives in West Valley City, which boasts over 7,000 Pacific people – the largest Pacific population in Utah.
“Our Pacific Islander cultures are so rich when it comes to themes of civic engagement, even though we may not call it that,” Laufou says.
“Every one of our parents, every one of our grandparents, and those who have participated in village government, in church committees, in service projects, all of that is civic engagement.
“That’s a strength our Pacific Islander community really does bring.”
Throughout his career, Laufou has been dedicated to public health and community wellness, sat on the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders until 2017, and has served two appointed terms on the US Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee, while currently advises the National Academy of Medicine.
He says his constituents, and improving the quality of life through grassroots initiatives that support youth development, cultural enrichment, and civic engagement is at the heart of his work.
“It is important to me to stay engaged, and accessible…it is easy to listen to constituents when you are in the constituency.”
Laufou is one of four Pacific members (two Samoan and two Tongan) of the Utah House of Representatives, including Verona Mauga, Doug Fiefia and Leah Tonga Hansen, who feel it is their duty to serve Utah’s large Pacific communities and create resilience within them.
It is important for Pacific people to build political coalitions and “strategic friends” with Asian communities to remain visible, and top of people’s minds, Laufou says.
“Often you can be the only Pacific delegate in the House, so you cannot be passive, you need to raise your hand,” he adds.
“We are warriors and navigators…we need to fight and bring our people with us.”
Laufou provided some sage advice for the alumni, in Gagana Samoa.
“Translated it means, take with you the cup of diplomacy but also the war club in defense of our communities and what is right,” Laufou says.
Newly elected member Representative Hansen also joined the talanoa, where she described her experiences of government to date.
Both representatives praised the alumni at the talanoa, saying they are an incredible group of individuals, who embody the greatness of the nations and the constituencies they represent, on the world stage.
The US Government’s signature YPL program is designed to strengthen leadership and networking in the Pacific, and the Alumni Roadshow, which stopped in New York City, Washington DC, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, was a unique opportunity to bolster connections and relationships between the US and other Pacific countries.
Visit the Young Pacific Leaders website for more details on the US Department of State initiative.