Pacific voyaging and navigation is to take centre stage in a Skype in the classroom event tonight as part of the Exploring Oceans series.
Kicking off at 6pm, members of the Uto ni Yalo Trust, a voyaging trust from Fiji, will discuss the future of traditional voyaging in Fiji, with a focus on sustainable transportation.
Skype students will learn about the Pacific Voyagers, Uto ni Yalo Trust and as well as hear stories from crew members about their journey across the Pacific.
Terry Fong, Trust vice president, says two female crew members, Unaisi Waqanivere and Agnes Sokosoko, will talk about Te Mana o te Moana voyage through the Pacific, and will discuss the cultural and conservation aims of the voyage.
“The crew really had some startling experiences such as sailing around the great garbage patch in the Pacific, and rescuing a large turtle that was caught up in plastic rubbish.”
Fong says he hopes that when it comes to question time that “we will have tickled the students’ inquisitiveness so as to have a lively interactive closing”.
Pacific Voyagers Charitable Trust's general manager of operations Magnus Danbolt says connecting with Skype in the classroom was a great opportunity to amplify the conversation around sustainable sea transport and how Pacific peoples are taking a lead in this area.
“Pacific people have settled all over the world and with this virtual we can connect with them as well as gain new support to protect our Pacific Ocean,” says Danbolt.
“With Te Mana o Te Moana voyage, we saw young crew members, who were all lead by their cultural leaders, mature and develop and this gives some of them the opportunity to tell their stories in their own voices.”
To register for the Skype Te Mana o te Moana lesson, go to https://education.skype.com/projects/6122-te-mana-o-te-moana-the-spirit-of-the-sea.
