E ngā mana
E ngā reo
E rau rangatira ma
Tēnā koutou katoa!
Malo e lelei, ni hao, fakalofa lahi atu, namaste, nisa bula, and greetings from Leadership New Zealand.
The global pandemic has produced 5 million dead and a world that seems right now to be marked by division and polarity. In the midst of those polarities I want to reflect on a word that I’ve grown to understand more deeply this year. Māfana. To feel inwardly warm, uplifted, inspired. To be connected to one’s identity and community. It's a word specific to the Tongan language, but I believe that it's a word that resonates across culture, and has particular meaning in the context of leadership.
Māfana gets produced through leadership that calls forth the collective, and invites connection, and holds relationship through polarity. It’s a word that I’ve seen activated in the leadership of many people in our network who have worked tirelessly over this time, against the odds, to combat inequities and advocate for their communities. We’ve seen it in the work of Mana Moana’s Pakilau Manase Lua and NZLP alumnus Josephine Bartley, who along with so many others have worked to ensure the provision of public health is made with good information, and support families struggling due to lockdown.
Māfana gets generated through events like the Mega Vax Pacific being held this weekend, organised by the Pacific Leadership Forum to help protect the Pasifika community that was hit so hard in August by Delta. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the strength of Pacific culture and identity in the heart of New Zealand’s Pacific village. Aucklanders can go on a drive through journey, encountering sights and sounds from nine Pacific nations. At a time where division and difficulty has been hypervisible, the diverse collaborators responsible for this event have shone a light on how we might find our way back to the collective through leadership.
There are many other examples of māfana being generated across the motu right now - this weekend, I encourage you to seek some of that good stuff out. Find connection, elevate light over darkness, and love over fear.
Ngā mihi uruhau
Anya Satyanand