Samoan Language Week 2023
It was through Sunday school where Nu’uali’i Eteroa Tusipepa Lafaele first learned to speak Samoan publicly, performing scriptures in front of the whole church.
The practice was a tool to nurture the Samoan language, which has built in her a sense of pride and a strong identity of who she is and what she would be able to do in the future, she says.
Now Nu’uali’i is Director and Co-Founder at Fibre Fale, a collective that helps Pacific people succeed in the tech industry.
The AUT Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences alumna’s social impact has also been recognised in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2023.
Nu’uali’i shares her language learning journey during Samoan Language Week for the University’s Pacific language video series for 2023, below.
The theme for the Pacific Language Weeks 2023 is sustainability, and AUT’s videos are a celebration of the power of language and culture featuring our alumni who are sharing their experience and journey with sustaining language.
The videos feature a diverse range of alumni, from business leaders to educators, community leaders and more who are all passionate about sustaining languages for future generations.
Through their stories, it will be evident the many ways in which language is a vital component of cultural identity and the ways our alumni have implemented it into their daily lives.
Samoan greetings and other resources for Samoan Language Week, including email signatures and printable posters, are available on the website of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples. Mitamita i lau gagana, maua’a lou fa’asinomaga (be proud of your language and grounded in your identity)!
Release dates
To watch each video in the 2023 AUT Pacific language video series as they are launched, follow the Pacific at AUT Facebook page or watch on YouTube.
- Rotuman Language Week: Sunday 7 May – Saturday 13 May
- Samoa Language Week: Sunday 28 May – Saturday 3 June 2023
- Kiribati Language Week: Sunday 9 July – Saturday 15 July 2023
- Cook Islands Language Week: Sunday 30 July – Saturday 5 August 2023
- Tonga Language Week: Sunday 3 September – Saturday 9 September 2023
- Tuvalu Language Week: Sunday 1 October – Saturday 7 October 2023
- Fijian Language Week: Sunday 8 October – Saturday 14 October 2023
- Niue Language Week: Sunday 15 October – Saturday 21 October 2023
- Tokelau Language Week: Sunday 22 October – Saturday 28 October 2023