by Arlo Hemphill, Communications Specialist
Suva, Fiji. Thunderous clapping from the seated meke dancers, a solo chant and then silence as a lone dancer, dressed in the grass skirt-like liku vau, delivers a bowl of kava to Meg Caldwell, Center for Ocean Solutions' Executive Director and one of a dozen special guests of honor at this traditional Fijian ceremony. Ms. Caldwell is seated next to Joketani Cokanasiga, Fiji’s Minister of Fisheries, Forests and Agriculture, who greets the guests assembled from across the Pacific basin with a call to arms, a challenge for all the Pacific - nations and citizens alike - to work in unison in response to the major threats on the largest of our planet’s oceans. The call now made, the bowls of kava are downed, and the dancers retake center stage, leading the group into a night of revelry and celebration of our shared future. Read more...
