Pacific decisions should not be driven only by policies, technical systems and institutional frameworks, but also by Pacific values, spirituality, morals and collective memory.
This was the message from Professor of Theology and Ethics at the Pasifika Communities University, Dr Upolu Luma Vaai, who called for churches, faith-based organisations, community elders and traditional voices to be given a greater place in regional decision-making at the State of the Pacific Ocean convening.
Dr Vaai said churches and faith communities were often included in regional spaces only in limited roles, such as offering prayers at official meetings or helping to implement programs after decisions had been made.
He said this meant important voices from the community were left out of discussions on the future direction of the Pacific.
“The issue that we have in the region at the moment, in particular in many organisations, is that our work is driven by the institutional memory.
“And if we have relational memory, our values and our structures either have been sidelined or they’ve been grounded on someone else’s memory, which is not our memories.”
Dr Vaai said one of the challenges facing the region was that decision-making had become too policy-driven, technical and scientific, while spiritual and cultural values were often pushed aside.
