In a time when global crises, from climate change to social fragmentation demand urgent solutions, the wisdom of the Pacific offers a quiet but powerful truth: survival and thriving is not only about innovation, it is also about remembering.

For two weeks, we joined participants from across the Pacific and beyond in an immersive exploration of Pasifika worldviews, hosted by the Pasifika Communities University. 

The Pasifika Philosophies Course was a reminder that the answers to some of the world’s most pressing challenges may already exist in the ancestral knowledge and relational ways of being that Pasifika peoples have practiced for centuries. It was an invitation to experience development through the lens of connection, reciprocity, and respect for the seen and unseen. 

As a global organization that has worked in the Pacific for over half a decade, this was an opportunity to strengthen links between local innovation and knowledge and global best practice. As translators, champions, interlocutors, this interface is a challenging space to inhabit. It means a constant acknowledgement and clarification of our own worldviews, mindsets and dominant philosophies or our itulagi. There are hard choices to make, difficult discussions to be had and uncertainty and complexity to navigate. 

The Fijian word for beachfront - matasawa as a metaphor for the interface (hat tip to Professor Patrick Vakaoti ) is a useful tool for us development practitioners as we think about pacific philosophies underpinning policy.  This matasawa is where we will sow seeds of ideas that embed indigenous philosophies into global development practice and ensure that interventions that emerge are always culturally grounded, community-centred, and truly resilient. 

As we stand on this matasawa, we hold and carry forward these lessons entrusted to us that can guide development practice in ways that honour Pacific wisdom:

1. Relationality, not transactionality – Pasifika philosophies emphasize relationships over transactions. In global policymaking, this presents us an opportunity to move  toward genuine reciprocity, whether between nations, communities, or sectors. In the Pacific, time is not measured in moments but in seasons and relationships.

2. Nature as kin, not resource – Pacific cultures often see the ocean, land, and skies as family. In the face of climate breakdown, this worldview offers a profound shift: protecting ecosystems is not simply environmental policy, but an act of kinship and responsibility to our Vanua¹. It aligns with the principles of deep ecology and the principle of integration, which recognise the intrinsic value of all life and call for a holistic relationship with the natural world, one where human wellbeing is inseparable from the wellbeing of the planet, and our consciousness embraces every dimension of life.

3. Progress as continuity, not growth – In many Pasifika contexts, progress is measured not just by growth, but by cycles of regeneration. This stands in stark contrast to the relentless growth-at-all-costs mindset driving much of the global economy. Pasifika philosophies teach us that the beauty of Vakatabu (restraint) is not merely about the end results, but about the self-discovery in the waiting. 

4. Consensus and Collective Stewardship – Decision-making in the Pacific often flows from principles such as the Fijian Veivakamareqeti (sustainability), which literally means to treasure or to keep and protect as something beloved. This care is held as a collective responsibility, a shared duty to safeguard what sustains us. Governance rooted in dialogue and consensus may move more slowly than top-down directives, but it works at the speed of trust, anchoring decisions in relationships, nurtures legitimacy, and builds long-term stability – qualities the world urgently needs in this era of polarisation.

5. Leading with Loloma (love) – In Pasifika philosophies, leadership is not a title to be worn as an ornament, but an act of service to the land and its people. True leadership is guided by loloma – a deep, relational love – anchored in connection to land, community, and spirit. Although love is rarely part of mainstream development discourse, overlooking it risks creating interventions without guardianship, autonomy, respect, and intergenerational connection.

6. Honouring Many Truths – Recognising that different perspectives can coexist without cancelling each other out. Pasifika philosophies teach us that mutual contradiction is not a weakness, but a space where diverse truths can live side by side. In this space, respect deepens, creativity flourishes, and collective wisdom grows, reminding us that value lies not in uniformity, but in the richness of many voices.

Pasifika philosophies are not just relevant to the Pacific, they are globally significant. From climate adaptation strategies to conflict resolution models, these ways of knowing offer fresh (and ancient) approaches to challenges that modern systems have struggled to resolve. They remind us that development and justice must be relational, restorative, and rooted in care for all beings.

At UNDP Pacific, we will continue to inhabit this matasawa and deepen our journey into integrating Pasifika philosophies into our work. We are strengthening partnerships with cultural stewards as co-creators and guides, bringing Pacific perspectives into global conversations, building our own cultural fluency, and supporting intergenerational knowledge transfer so that ancestral wisdom can continue to inform and inspire responses to today’s challenges. 

As with everything else in the Pacific, this journey is relational and we invite you to walk it with us.

We wish to acknowledge and express our heartfelt thanks to the knowledge holders from the Pasifika Communities University for sharing their insights and wisdom, to the Kaililioas who guided us throughout the Pasifika Philosophies Course, to the communities of Qoma Island, Nadakuni, Navunikabi, and Muaivuso for opening your homes and hearts, and to our fellow toloas, with whom we have had the privilege of journeying together.

¹This term is often translated as “land” or “village,” but is much more, encompassing a web of human and natural relationships, culture, context, and deep interconnection with—and belonging to—the non-human world. To refer to “my vanua” is to refer to the entirety of this context.