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Ohana Meeting 2024 Iosepa Recap

University ohana, aloha!

So this June, Iosepa embarked on 11 voyages with a dedicated team of volunteers. I want to talk to you a little bit about that. With the Board's approval, BYU–Hawaii entered into an agreement with the Polynesian Cultural Center last year to sail BYU–Hawaii's voyaging canoe, Iosepa for the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture, otherwise known as FESPAC in 2024 of June.

The Polynesian Cultural Center hired respected Polynesian Voyaging Society captain, Mark Ellis as director of voyaging experiences to lead this sail. So this June, Iosepa embarked on this voyage with a dedicated team of volunteers, including 171 people affiliated with our ohana. This included students, faculty, and staff from BYU–Hawaii. The sail was successful, reestablishing ties with canoe voyaging leadership throughout Hawaii and Oceania.

Through these efforts, BYU–Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center demonstrated their commitment to cultural preservation and education while also strengthening its connection with the target area. Let's watch a short video showing some of the highlights.

VIDEO

Keanu Mānoa
Yes, we go out to spread, you know, aloha, that there's this different spirit about this canoe, but I think it also impacts the crew heavily. Iosepa is kind of like a conduit of that to a place where you have to rely on the spirit.

Mark Ellis
We're actually able to participate in the festivals of Pacific Arts and Culture. We were able to bring delegates to Kualoa on the wa'a arrival. The Tongan delegate specifically talked about Iosepa and how important it was for him to be brought in on Iosepa. And so the impact was there throughout the Pacific.

Keali'i Haverly
In our moku, in our land area here in Ko'olauloa, we don't get a chance to spend much time in Waianae, but to be able to pull in to the bay with our leadership on board and to be welcomed so warmly by the children, the youth and the adults of the community. The communities that we visited all echo the same sentiment. Thank you for coming. Thank you for being here. Thank you for showcasing the canoe to our people. Please come back.

Mark Ellis
To me, the number one value on the canoe is caring or mālama. As we prepared to sail the canoe, I saw that value of mālama or caring came out.

Isaiah Walker
Trust me, it was an awesome experience and there was a lot of really cool experiences to be had and were had by many of our university ohana. Essentially, we look forward to future opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to participate in educational and faith-promoting experiences on board BYU–Hawaii's canoe, Iosepa. Mahalo!