University of Otago Samoan Students Association cultural representative Adeleine Eli said it was a "cultural shock" coming to Dunedin for her first year last year.
She said the Pasifika community was not as well represented down here as it was in other parts of Aotearoa, including where she was from in Otara, Auckland.
"We know how scary it is for students to move out of home, and the goal was for us to create some of that home environment."
The association started the week by raising a flag at university residential hall University College and with a cultural evening that featured presentations and interactive activities about Samoan customs.
On Wednesday, there was a Samoan language workshop at residential hall Hayward College.
Miss Eli said the students had the opportunity to learn Samoan and have conversations in the language.
"It was different to their language and they were struggling, but they kept trying and that was so nice."
Another association cultural representative Loreal Urika, of Mangere, Auckland, said the week and its activities helped the Samoan community feel recognised in Dunedin.
"It’s good to express our diversity and traditions and keep all of them so they don’t die out.
"We all have each other’s backs — that’s what it comes down to."
On Thursday, the association hosted a movie night that screened the Samoan family drama A Thousand Ropes.
The film highlighted the importance of family values in the Samoan community, Miss Urika said.
To close the week, the association held a fundraiser outside the Otago University Students’ Association Clubs and Societies Centre, in Albany St, yesterday.
They were raising money to send students from the association to a conference in August hosted by a fellowship of Samoan students’ associations from across New Zealand.
