Vaka Pasifika: Pacific Leadership Journey
Honouring our past. Navigating our future.
Program Overview
The Vaka Pasifika: Pacific Leadership Journey is a first-of-its-kind initiative in Australia, designed for Pacific executives and professionals who are ready to amplify their influence and lead with cultural integrity.
It is a 2.5-day leadership experience that activates ancestral intelligence, strengthens relational leadership, and empowers Pacific professionals to lead with courage, culture, and connection.
Rooted in Pacific values of vā (relational space), talanoa (dialogue and exchange), relational ethics, and tautua (service leadership), the program blends executive education with Pacific knowledge systems. Across in-person intensives, online learning, coaching, and a futures-focused retreat, participants develop the skills and confidence to influence systems, drive innovation, and create measurable impact in their organisations and communities.
Pacific leaders ready to rise with purpose.
WHO SHOULD APPLY
Vaka Pasifika is designed for Pacific professionals who are ready to step into deeper influence, those who lead with heart, carry the wisdom of their communities, and seek to navigate systems with integrity and vision. Vaka Pasifika is not just for those already at the top, it’s for Pacific people who know they are ready to rise, lead differently, and shape the future from a place of connection, courage, and purpose.
Executive and emerging leaders across government, business, education, and community sectors who are shaping impact in their spheres of influence.
Pacific professionals with 5+ years’ experience, formal or informal, who are ready to elevate their leadership and activate their cultural intelligence at an executive level.
Those seeking to align professional practice with cultural identity, and to lead with confidence grounded in ancestral strength.
Individuals committed to collective growth and intergenerational legacy, who understand that leadership is service, a journey undertaken not alone, but for the wellbeing of many.
Benefits of Vaka Pasifika: Pacific Leadership Journey
OUTCOMES
Leadership across the Pacific has always been relational, guided by the tides, shaped by the land, and anchored in the wisdom of those who came before us. Vaka Pasifika activates this ancestral intelligence, inviting participants to explore what it means to lead through connection, courage, and cultural truth. Over two and a half transformative days, participants engage in a guided journey that connects the vā (relational space) between people, place, and purpose.
The program draws from Pacific knowledge systems, the wisdom of moana (the ocean), fanua/fonua (the land), ala/hala (the pathway), and tupuna (ancestors) to reimagine leadership as a living practice of service, reciprocity, and collective wellbeing.
Vaka Pasifika is not just a leadership program. It is a voyage, one that reconnects Pacific leaders to the knowledge carried in our waters, lands, skies, and stories, preparing them to navigate and shape the systems of today with the wisdom of tomorrow.
Through Vaka Pasifika, participants will:
Tap into ancestral intelligence to inform strategic decision-making and ethical leadership.
Lead with integrity, relational awareness, and cultural confidence in complex organisational systems.
Build authentic trust and inspire diverse teams and stakeholders.
Balance cultural responsibility with executive-level influence and impact.
Strengthen networks of Pacific peers and mentors for continued growth and collaboration.
Develop a Leadership Tapasā (compass) — a personal framework grounded in Pacific values, guiding leadership that honours both ancestors and generations to come.
PROGRAM ARCHITECTURE
The Vaka Pasifika: Pacific Leadership Journey unfolds over two and a half immersive days of dialogue, reflection, and connection. Each element of the journey is designed to awaken ancestral intelligence, strengthen relational leadership, and activate cultural wisdom in contemporary contexts.
Participants move through a rhythm of talanoa, guided sessions, and reflective practice that bridges Pacific knowledge systems with executive learning. The program weaves together storytelling, strategy, and ceremony, creating space for insight, belonging, and transformation.
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Begin your journey with guided reflection and orientation to anchor purpose, values, and connection before embarking on the vaka.
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Explore leadership identity, ancestry, and cultural frameworks that shape how we lead, influence, and serve.
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Examine organisational and societal systems through a Pacific lens, understanding influence, navigating structures, and activating change.
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Optional deep dives into key leadership themes, co-designed with sector experts and Pacific thought leaders.
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A transformative retreat connecting ancestral wisdom to futures thinking and innovation, grounded in the collective strength of Pacific leadership.
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Ongoing mentorship and talanoa circles to sustain growth, accountability, and connection beyond the retreat
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Reflect, apply, and embed learnings through your Leadership Tapasā (compass) — a living framework to guide your leadership journey forward.
Are you ready to take
your leadership
to the next level?