HONOLULU — Dignitaries from across the Pacific gathered Tuesday afternoon at Iolani Palace for the inaugural Pacific Leaders Forum, aimed at strengthening relationships and providing a platform to discuss challenges confronting Pacific communities.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture, traditional leaders convened and gathered the alii to honor the continuity of culture.
Coinciding with King Kamehameha Day, traditional leaders proposed and declared the promulgation of the Osiania Traditional Leaders Forum, which unifies “the descendants of the Moana/setch and to apply our ancestral cultural wisdom in navigating our future for our moopuna/mokopuna/ meinisinuri (grandchildren),” according to the Tuurama Ariki Declaration.
The declaration wrote that in alignment with the leaders’ dedication to utilize their ancestral wisdom for the betterment of future generations, they will unite to amplify their collective voices to “exchange experiences, and collaborate on solutions that will enrich our people and the entire Pacific region” and “advocate on issues that impact across our region and the planet, respond to urgent challenges that affect our Pasifika Nations.”
The Osiania Pacific Traditional Leaders Forum will meet regularly, bringing together traditional leaders and representatives from their respective nations to engage in open and constructive dialogue.
There were seven leaders who signed the declaration: David Kaumualii Kawananakoa, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chair Carmen Hulu Lindsey, state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, Maori King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, Fijian Chief Epenisa Cakobau, Republic of Marshall Islands Council of Iroij Chair Iroij Lanny Kabua and Federated States of Micronesia Council of Paramount Chiefs Chair Popuwisum Peter Aten.
Keohokalole was one of the three Hawaii representatives who signed the declaration on behalf of Hawaii.
“As hosts of the festival, one of our responsibilities was to create space for discussions of the peoples of the Pacific,” he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “One of those discussions took place here, and essentially what was agreed upon was the need for a forum to continue these conversations going forward.
“This is about a declaration of a reconnection to the Pacific and our commitment to reestablish those ties that have always existed in a more formal and proactive way.”
