Moana Pasifika Voyage: A movement for a sustainable ocean
For the past millennia, the cultures of the Pacific have made their homes amongst islands only accessible through dedication and enduring courage to explore beyond the horizon across an open sea. In order to realize each journey into the distance, centuries of innovation and ingenuity were required, building a legacy of the greatest sailing vessels the world has ever witnessed. The Pacific Ocean served not only as a highway for the seafaring people of the Pacific, but a cradle for the emergence and growth of a diverse and distinct range of cultures and species, each protected and sheltered from all but the most daring voyagers for a thousand years.
The Moana Pasifika Voyage is a voyage for the Pacific Ocean, by our ohana in Hawai'i, who sail for action on Climate Change and a Sustainable Pacific Ocean. The voyage brings the voice of our communities and the lessons from our traditions to help chart our course to carry us into a safer future.
Please join us for the Moana Pasifika Voyage wa’a (canoes) arrival on September 1, 6.00 a.m. to 8.00 a.m. as our wa’a sail into Kahanamoku beach at the Hilton Hawaiian Village with our Pacific Island Leaders and dignitaries with a call for action on Climate Change and a Sustainable Pacific Ocean.
Photo: Moana Pasifika Voyage
CEESP is supporting the Moana Pasifika voyages as part of the cultural and environmental programmes of the World Conservation Congress. The Moana Pasifika will bring vaka (traditional ocean voyaging canoes) representatives from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Aotearoa, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga, with links to the Polynesian Voyaging Society of Hawai`i to sail with the Ohana Wa’a (Hawaiian Family of Canoes) around the islands of Hawai`i, carrying and promoting a strong Pacific movement for action on climate change and a sustainable Pacific Ocean that contributes to the Hokulea’s Worldwide Voyage Malama Honua – a call for global sustainability.
The Moana Pasifika will also bring Alingano Maisu back to Hawai`i for the first time. Alingao Maisu is a wa’a gifted by the voyaging societies of Hawai`i to the traditional master navigator, Mau Piailug from Micronesia 15 years ago in appreciation for his passing on of traditional navigation skills to the people of Hawai`i. Bringing Maisu back will provide a powerful symbol of cultural solidarity to the large Micronesian community in Hawai`i.
It will also serve as a reconnection with the voyaging families in Hawai`i who have trained in traditional wayfaring together over the past 40 years. The Maisu can also be a huge inspiration to the Micronesian communities in Hawai`i.
The vaka will then engage with the broader communities of Hawaii’s neighbouring islands (O`ahu, Maui, Kaua`i, Hawai`i) through outreach of the vaka crew with schools, churches, communities, leaders and students, to facilitate mutual exchange on best practices with a focus on traditional ecological knowledge and biocultural conservation.
At both the Pacific Ocean Summit and the IUCN World Conservation Congress, we will demonstrate the importance of the entire continuous and interconnected ocean system centred in the Pacific to influence the commitments, agreements, activities, and policies that dictate the future protection of the world’s largest ocean. For further information on this initiative, please refer to: www.moanavoyage.org
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