President Moetai Brotherson with the YPL group attending the Tiaki Moana Summit and Workshop in Pape’ete.
By Michelle Curran
Strategic Communications, Pasifika TV
Bound by Te Moana Nui, HE President Moetai Brotherson of Pōrīnetia Farāni says it is everyone’s sacred duty to become Tiaki Moana – guardians of the ocean.
The Tiaki Moana Summit and Workshop got underway at Palais Présidentiel de la Polynésie Française, in Pape’ete today (March 24).
Attendees included 44 Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) from 22 countries, all with an interest in ocean health and prosperity, and the resilience of communities who are sustained by the taonga.
President Brotherson provided opening remarks at the summit, ahead of an array of keynote speakers, featuring leaders in the ocean health space, scientists, traditional knowledge holders, as well as YPL alumni and future leaders.
Having grown up in Puna’auia, Tahiti Nui, President Brotherson says hosting the gathering of people with a shared passion for the ocean, from all corners of the Pacific is special for French Polynesia.
President Moetai Brotherson.
Making it an even more unique occasion is the fact it is the first YPL workshop to be staged in the President’s homeland.
A graduate of École Internationale des Sciences du Traitement de l’information with a master’s degree in computer science in 1990, President Brotherson did not plan to get into politics, however, his life trajectory took a turn, and in 2023, he was elected as the 18th President of French Polynesia.
He wishes YPL had been around in his younger years, while developing his leadership skills.
“I really wish I had the opportunity to a few years ago to participate in such a programme because being associated with young people from all over Oceania and exchanging ideas, you realise you have so much in common,” President Brotherson says.
He has seen many young people have an epiphany when they connect with others from the Pacific, and realise those commonalities.
“They all enter the programme for various reasons, and when they come out of it, they all belong to a community, which is very important,” he says.
An ocean advocate himself, President Brotherson participated in the O Tahiti Nui Freedom expedition, which sailed a single-hulled Polynesian outrigger canoe from Tahiti to Shanghai in 2010.
“We are all part of the ocean, and it is what makes Pacific people, so there is no way we can be left out of discussions about the health of our oceans – we see it every morning when we wake up.
“It is our sacred duty to become tiaki moana.”
Te Moana Nui is the connection that binds us, and it is up to the current generation of leaders to pass the baton of knowledge to the next generation, he adds.
“There is a song in Tahiti which states ‘when the elders die, who will do my ‘orero for my country?’
“The same must be said for the ocean, and we must ensure there are always custodians of the ocean.
“Sometimes the answers come to us in nature, so I say to the next generation of leaders to stay openminded, and search for signs, especially from the ocean.”
Following today’s summit, the YPL group will travel to Mo’orea to continue to share knowledge and ideas, and network, before a two-day trip to Rai’atea to meet with the local community.
Visit the Tiaki Moana website for more information on the summit and the Young Pacific Leaders website for more details on the US Department of State initiative.
