Tohoa (MahMah) Tetini is a body positivity advocate and climate change warrior. She is using her research and platforms to amplify the voices around her, particularly within the Pasifika community.
Born in Australia to a Pākehā mother and Cook Island father from Rakahanga, MahMah and her family moved to New Zealand when she was five.
An anthropology PhD candidate and teacher, MahMah’s PhD is centred around amplifying indigenous Pacific Island voices in climate change spaces.
One area she is interested in is decolonising the climate change conversation and critiquing the western approach which often leaves critical voices out of the decision-making process.
In order for us to move forward in a progressive and sustainable way, everybody needs a seat at the table, and this includes our most marginalised people. By working together as a collective, all voices and lived experiences are valued, are worthy, are acknowledged she says.
I hope in some way, shape or form my research has a positive impact on my community. I want rangatahi, our youth, to be able to understand it, and I want it to be used in a way that empowers our community.
Most importantly she hopes “the future is filled with the magic of our voices, of our histories, of our knowledge of our wisdom.