More than 100 teachers from New Zealand are in Samoa this week for the Annual General Meeting of Fa’alapotopotoga mo le A’oa’oina o le Gagana Samoa i Aotearoa (F.A.G.A.S.A), held in partnership with the Ministry of Education.
The three-day conference will be held at the Samoan Cultural and Arts Centre in Malifa. It is the first time the conference has been hosted in Samoa.
National F.A.G.A.S.A President Fata Vaitimu Togi Lemanu, who is from Afega and Vailele, said the decision to bring the annual conference to Samoa was made to strengthen the connection between New Zealand-based Samoan teachers, students and the language.
“We decided to bring our annual conference to Samoa because we have so many New Zealand-born Samoans who are still trying to engage with the language and feel comfortable using it,” Fata said. “We thought Samoa was the perfect place to host it.”
Fata said the three-day conferece is open to all teachers and entry is free.
