We connected with Sanerivi during Samoa Language Week 2023 to hear more about the General Meeting, what it means to represent New Zealand and the importance of his heritage.
What is the World Physiotherapy General Meeting?
The World Physiotherapy General Meeting is probably the most important meeting for the global Physiotherapy profession for two reasons; firstly, that it’s the one meeting where all 129 member countries gather, and secondly, it only occurs every four years. It’s like the United Nations (UN) of the Physiotherapy profession.
What will your role be as the representative for New Zealand?
Each member country has one voting delegate who has the right to discuss, query and cast a vote upon a meeting item. Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) has delegated me with the right to speak on behalf of the PNZ Executive in the meeting and to cast votes on PNZ’s behalf.
What does it mean for you to represent New Zealand as a Pacific Health leader?
It definitely means a lot to me and my family. My parents moved to Petone, Wellington from Samoa to lead a Samoan (EFKS) church in the 1970s, so this honour is recognition of the relational and collective leadership that was modelled to me within the fa’amatai (chiefly) system in my family and my church growing up. It’s the realisation of the aspirations of our parents, grandparents and church communities for us to serve at the highest level; and it’s homage to our parents’ and grandparents’ tautua or service to the New Zealand society for many, many decades. It's an honour to be here as a New Zealander and a Samoan, Tongan.
What is the World Physiotherapy Congress?
The World Physiotherapy Congress is the largest international scientific conference for the Physiotherapy profession. This conference occurs every two years. The last one was held in Geneva, Switzerland. This year it is held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and in 2027 it will be hosted in Tokyo, Japan.
How will you be involved?
I am chairing and presenting a few sessions in the fields of Paediatrics, Diversity and Inclusion and a Focussed Symposium session titled ‘Indigenous Leadership: Reimagining Health Education with and for Indigenous Communities’. The latter session critiques the history of the development of the Physiotherapy profession and how it has largely dismissed cultural intellectual traditions outside of Europe. In this session we’ll be profiling the work of Physiotherapy leaders from the First Nations people in Canada, the Zulu and Tsonga tribes in South Africa, the Kai Tahu iwi in Aotearoa and myself from the Pacific.
What do you hope to get out of both experiences?
Three things:
To engage my colleagues in relationships that enables international dialogue on a number of issues facing the profession and humanity more broadly, including the impacts of Climate Change and Artificial/Augmented Intelligence technologies.
To respectfully challenge the historical Eurocentric, biomedical, reductionist focus of Physiotherapy and invite colleagues to reflect on the importance of our cultural knowledges, including that from the Pacific.
To learn from and celebrate my colleagues.
How important are your values and identity as a Samoan in the way that you carry yourself?
They’re as important as the blood flowing through my veins. These values are carried in my DNA. When I think of these opportunities I’ve been given, I think of the well-known alagaupu or proverb, “o le ala i le pule o le tautua”, which translates to “the pathway to leadership is through service”. I have been blessed to have been shaped by so many servant leaders at all levels of society, within my family and that EFKS church growing up. They instilled the values of alofa (love and devoted commitment), fa’aaloalo (reverent respect), and tautua (sacrificial service) in me and taught me the importance of relational leadership and collective decision making. So now, there is very little difference to me in the respectful decision making within a meeting with my family Matai (chiefs) and in a General Meeting with international professional delegates. Our values maintain harmony across varying settings and contexts.
