Our recent Uputāua Framework training at our national tari brought kaimahi together to deepen understanding of Kia Puāwai’s core Pasifika cultural practice.
Uputāua is our Pasifika Cultural Engagement Framework - a Pan‑Pacific, trauma‑informed therapeutic engagement framework developed by Samoan clinical psychologist Dr Byron Seiuli and adapated to our kaupapa by Pasifika Prinicipal Advisor Synthia Dash.
Embedded into our organisation since 2019 and integrated into our FFT and MST services, Uputāua sits at the heart of how we engage with Pacific tamariki, rangatahi, and their whānau. It grounds our mahi in Pacific values, protocols and worldviews, alongside clinical approaches.
Rather than just learning about the framework, the wānanga created a space where kaimahi could feel the kaupapa, building confidence to apply it in ways that are culturally safe, relational and meaningful in practice.
Kaimahi highlighted how the environment felt authentic and safe, allowing for deeper engagement, while the presence of our Pasifika Matua enriched the kōrero with lived experience and diverse cultural insight.
This kind of training strengthens our collective capability - ensuring our practice continues to honour and uphold the richness of Pacific identity within the mahi we do every day.