After a hiatus of more than two years, the Pasifika Open Night in Invercargill is back, providing the local Pasifika community with an event about education and training opportunities and a chance to get together again.
Southern Institute of Technology Pasifika liaison Sam Sala said the open night was all about showing young Pacific Island students possibilities for their future and the choices available to them at SIT.
In his role Mr Sala supports Pasifika students with course advice, study issues, cultural event organisation and connecting them with their local cultural communities.
He emphasised the event could assist students into a broader range of qualifications, by getting them to think outside the typical options.
"It’s to open their minds up to a wider range of choices to enhance their career opportunities.
"It’s not just for school leavers — someone might be in their 20s and looking for a new career. That’s where SIT comes in."
He hoped to see younger Pacific Islanders — those still at school — who were undecided on what they were going to study at tertiary level, but the open night also facilitated a fundamental purpose for the community as a whole, to reconnect and to meet and greet each other.
Two years under Covid-19 restrictions had created a distance between Pacific Island people, he said.
"Pacific Island culture is all about family and that doesn’t necessarily mean immediate family and relatives — it can mean your people and your community."
