Pacific Cooperation Foundation and Te Ohu Whai Ao Trust sign Te Kawenata

He maha ngā tangata whenua, he iwi moana kotahi | Peoples of many lands, people of one ocean*

Pacific Cooperation Foundation (PCF) and Te Ohu Whai Ao Trust (TOWA) have signed a Te Kawenata (Memorandum of Understanding), a commitment that formalises their strategic relationship in providing leadership and direction to create economic, social and cultural partnerships between Māori and Pacific Island Resource owners.

Te Kawenata is a values-based agreement built on the principles of tikanga, whakawhanaungatanga,manaakitanga, mana motuhake.

PCF’s vision is to promote connected, informed and enabled communities in the Pacific region while TOWA’s purpose is to connect Māori to a global community of Indigenous people in business.

PCF CEO Don Mann welcomes the formalisation of the partnership with TOWA,“Our deep connections through genealogy and whakapapa combined with shared spirations to build a sustainable future for Indigenous communities of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa are the values that underpin our high-trust relationship.”

Te Ohu Whai Ao Co-Chair Rachel Petero adds, “The partnership with PCF will enable direct relationships with Pacific resource owners and Māori in a more efficient and sustainable way. The Trust are committed to our vision of scoping the Indigenous world to mobilise opportunities for all Māori.”

Pacific Cooperation Foundation and Te Ohu Whai Ao Trust are currently working with the iTaukei Trust Fund Board of Fiji and the Government of Fiji on an indigenous business delegation to Aotearoa in 2020.

To note:
[i] PCF and TOWA co-delivered the inaugural Māori Pacific Business Forum in June 2019. The forum brought in representatives Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea to learn from organisations prospering within the Māori economy estimated at $50bn in assets.

[ii] TOWA hosted the 2018 World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF) in Rotorua, New Zealand which PCF sponsored. Both parties collaborated at the 2019 WIBF in Vancouver, Canada.

[iii] WIBF was instrumental in PCF’s development of one of its key strategic pillars: ‘Iwi Economic Partnerships with Pacific Island Resource Owners.’

*Pacific translations:
• “E tini te tangata e te enua i te moana nui o kiva” - Cook Islands Māori
• “Mai na veivanua - Duabau ga na wasawasa

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