Bridging Communities: Jacinta’s Takeaways from the Le Va Conference
Jacinta is a Le Mana Pasifika Youth Worker working with the Le Mana Pasifika Project, a cultural community group operating as part of CMY. Her reflections are framed by both her professional and personal experiences, as a Pasifika young person living in Australia.
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of attending the Le Va Global Pacific Solutions (GPS) Conference, held on the 10th and 11th of April in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Organised by Le Va, a Pasifika-Kaupapa organisation based in Aotearoa, this year’s gathering was framed by a powerful theme: “It is the moana (ocean) that binds us, it is the whenua (land) that defines us.”
That sentiment echoed through every moment of the conference, grounding us in connection, identity, and shared purpose. As someone who works closely with Māori and Pasifika communities in Melbourne with Le Mana Pasifika, I was deeply moved by the wealth of knowledge, compassion, and unwavering dedication present, especially toward our young people. It reminded me that at the centre of our work is not just strategy or policy, but love for our communities and young people.
One workshop that deeply resonated with me was ‘End Game – Changing the Narrative’. Until this session, I hadn’t fully grasped the significance of intentional data collection. Dr. Corina Grey, the Deputy Secretary – Policy and Insights at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, delivered a compelling presentation on how accurate, respectful, and community-led data can serve as a powerful tool for change.
Before hearing Dr. Grey speak, I saw data as an administrative necessity — useful, yes, but detached from the human side of our work. Her presentation reshaped my perspective. Data, when gathered consistently and interpreted by our own Māori and Pasifika people, becomes a voice. It becomes evidence. It becomes advocacy. She emphasised how Māori, and Pasifika communities are often oversimplified into one broad category, when in truth, our cultures, needs, and experiences are deeply diverse and complex. Recognising this complexity and treating it with care is essential if we are to serve our communities with authenticity.
The conference also stirred a deeper reflection: the contrast between the community supports available in Aotearoa and those currently lacking in Australia. This gap was stark. Although it was confronting, it gave me a renewed sense of purpose. With the work we do at Le Mana, I am more committed than ever to helping bridge that divide, to bring culturally grounded, youth-centred solutions into the Australian context.
I left the GPS Conference with more than just inspiration; I left with direction. As Her Honour Judge Ida Malosi reminded us during a plenary panel, “We have the tools and solutions our people need. We just need to utilise them.” And perhaps her most profound reminder was this: “Ancestral intelligence will get us further than artificial intelligence ever could.”
That wisdom has stayed with me.
So, I return to my work renewed, not only with strategies and notes but with a heart full of gratitude and a spirit ready to keep growing. Like the Samoan proverb says, “e so’o le fau i le fau” — we are stronger together than alone.
The Le Mana Pasifika Project empowers Māori and Pasifika young people, aged 12-25 years old, to connect with their cultural identity. Find out more about Jacinta’s work as part of the Le Mana Pasifika Project by visiting cmy.net.au/le-mana-pasifika.