PaCIVICa – Building Pacific Governance, Civic, and Decision-Making Capability

PaCIVICa Charitable Trust (PaCIVICa) was founded in 2025 to strengthen civic knowledge, build governance capability, and help Pacific leaders move with confidence at every level of society. The PaCIVICa team is committed to fostering inclusive, representative, and culturally-grounded governance structures within Pacific communities, enabling community voice to be heard and increasing wellbeing. It is guided by a dedicated team of Pacific leaders, practitioners, community advocates, law students, experienced legal professionals, and entrepreneurs who bring deep experience in governance, education, enterprise, and civic participation.

Salā Marie Young

“The vision is a future where Pacific voices are represented, respected, and influential in the decisions that shape our communities and the next generation. We hope PaCIVICa will contribute to that future by building Pacific governance, civic, and decision-making capability. In doing so, we aspire to see more Pacific people participating confidently in governance, public service, and other decision-making spaces that affect their communities,” says Salā Marie Young, Chief Executive of PaCIVICa.

“As a new organisation, we are grateful for the strong foundation we are establishing with the support of our partners. We have developed a clear direction for the organisation, begun building strategic partnerships, and are already seeing encouraging interest in our governance workshops and civic education initiatives. It is still early days, but we are excited by the momentum that is building.”

PaCIVICa seeks to advance equity by addressing the structural conditions that limit Pacific participation in civic leadership and governance, rather than focusing solely on short-term engagement or service delivery. While Pacific communities in Aotearoa New Zealand are regularly invited to participate in funding and decision-making systems, there’s often an assumption of prior familiarity, individual confidence, and access to informal networks. This creates persistent inequities in who is able to engage, govern, and influence outcomes – even where eligibility exists. PaCIVICa is striving to shift these conditions by investing in leadership capacity, governance capability, and system-readiness so Pacific leaders and organisations can engage on more equal footing.

The work is intentionally relational and community-embedded, recognising that trust, confidence, and readiness are built collectively and over time. Instead of asking Pacific communities to adapt to existing systems unaided, PaCIVICa works to bridge those systems and redesign access in culturally-grounded ways. Like many new organisations, the biggest challenge has been balancing the enthusiasm to deliver with the discipline of building strong foundations first.

“Rather than trying to do everything at once, we have focused on establishing good governance, clear systems, strategic partnerships, and a sustainable operating model. Taking the time to build these foundations gives us confidence that as PaCIVICa grows, it will do so with purpose, integrity, and long-term impact,” she says.

Plans are in place to both grow the organisation and create the traction required for success.

“Our next focus is to move from establishment into early delivery. Over the coming weeks, our priority is to recruit our first staff member. Over the coming months, we will continue building strategic partnerships across the community, public, philanthropic, and private sectors. We will also prepare to pilot governance and civic capability initiatives while establishing the systems that will enable PaCIVICa to grow sustainably,” says Salā Marie.

The team knows that meaningful change takes time. The focus is on building carefully, learning as they go, and creating a trusted, politically neutral organisation that can make a positive and lasting contribution to Pacific communities for many years to come.

“Leaders don't just appear. Leadership grows the way any living system grows – step by step, nurtured, challenged, and surrounded by people who believe in you. From school prefects and youth reps to community advocates, board members, and national decision-makers, Pacific leadership follows a ladder of real opportunities. PaCIVICa creates the environment for that ladder to flourish. When identity, culture, and civic skill meet, our communities don’t just participate in Aotearoa’s future – we shape it,” says Salā Marie.