TAGALOATELE’S ABSOLUTELY POSTIVE APPROACH RECOGNISED

(Image Credit - Victoria University Wellington)

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster said the awards were given to people who had done “invaluable” work in the community. 

“The awards are a small way of marking the contribution of the work which is the foundation on which the city is built,” Mr Foster said. 

Tagaloatele is a prominent member of the Pacific community in Aotearoa. 

As well as the multitude of awards received over the years, she helped establish the Pacific Postgraduate Talanoa national seminar series, which has been reported as being invaluable in fostering a support network for Pasifika students and academics across the country. 

Following on from there Tagaloatele has also documented Pasifika and Indigenous knowledge and knowledge-building processes, looking at how these practices can be integrated with decision-making locally and globally. 

In the past Tagaloatele has said her family are “the children of the migrant dream” – using education as a way to a good job and a better life. But she accepts that data “quite compellingly” shows that is not the case for many Pacific families. 

She said while her parents were strict and expected the children to do well at school, they were helped by a clear set of rules. 

“Listen to the teachers, don’t get into trouble and come straight home after school,” she said. 

She said her awakening to the power of education/questioning can be traced back to her 6th form geography teacher who told her and her classmates “don’t just describe what you read...challenge it. That is what education is about”. 

It had a lasting effect on Tagaloatele, who said she understood this to mean she didn’t have to just accept what she read as the truth. 

“And as a teacher that is what I urged my students to do, question, question, question,” she said. 

On the bigger stage she is also the author of the Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Program (PPDVP) which set the baseline for on-the-ground sustained support for the development of domestic violence policy, strategy, action plans, systems, and training programs in the Pacific.  The PPDVP was an initiative of the New Zealand Aid Programme (NZAID) under the International Development Group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade New Zealand Police (NZPOL) and the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP). 

She has made contributions to numerous policies affecting the Pasifika community and has held posts with global institutions such as the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations Development Fund in the Pacific. In 2017 she was one of the commissioners appointed to oversee Samoa’s first-ever national inquiry into family violence.  

In New Zealand, as well as sitting on committees for both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health she has served as chair of the Health Research Council Pacific team and has been national president of PACIFICA Inc – New Zealand’s oldest organisation for Pacific women in NZ.   

Her work was rewarded in the 2008 New Year Honours when she was appointed as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. 

Then, in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours, she was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her service to education and the Pacific community. 

The awards are quite apt as it is teaching and the Pasifika community that has remained closest to Tagaloatele’s heart over the years, and if she has one piece of advice for young people it could well be a quote of hers from a few years ago. 

“Get a good education, that is something no-one can take away from you.” 

FROM PASEFIKA PROUD RESOURCES 

WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD MARRIAGE OR PARTNERSHIP?

Research Summary published 2018 

Tagaloatele Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop, Koleta Savaii and Eit Puni Vakatele 
Key findings on this case study are focused on the Samoan community, and identifies a range of factors that influence marriage and partner relationships. It explores how recognising how Samoan relationships are constructed and change in light of influencing factors can enhance our understanding of how violence might be prevented and dealt with. 

WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD MARRIAGE OR PARTNERSHIP?  

Samoan Case Study 

Tagaloatele Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop, Koleta Savaii and Eit Puni Vakatele 
Focussing on the Samoan community, this research project identifies a range of factors that influence marriage and partner relationships. It explores how recognising how Samoan relationships are constructed and change in light of influencing factors can enhance our understanding of how violence might be prevented and dealt with. 

Pasefika Proud Vision: Pacific families and communities are safe, resilient and enjoy wellbeing.  

This includes Healthy, happy lifestyles where Pacific families experience: 

• Life satisfaction and happiness 
• Healthy relationships 
• Quality education and employment opportunities 
• Access to appropriate health information and services 
• Sports / physical activities and opportunities 
• Food and housing security 
• Family aspirations and hope for the future