Sue Taei Ocean Fellowship
The Sue Taei Ocean Fellowship is a new education and professional development opportunity for Indigenous Pacific Island women seeking to improve the lives of their communities through ocean conservation.
Established in honour of Sue Taei who is a tireless ocean champion and advocate for Pacific Island communities and the engagement of women as leaders and problem solvers. Sue has devoted her life and career to the belief that Pacific islanders must essentially secure and protect life in the region and on Earth.
This fellowship programme focuses on uplifting Indigenous women to valuable roles in conservation and community and also to develop a community and sisterhood that will lead conservation efforts and become role models for younger generations.
“Indigenous women are the bearers and transmitters of traditional knowledge for their families and communities yet, often do not have the same access to opportunities to help them establish organisations or businesses necessary to solve crises while protecting nature. Their work and contributions are rarely recognised”
This is further compounded by the fact that globally, contributions by Indigenous women are rarely mentioned in studies related to resource management or addressing the impacts of climate change.
So the Sue Taei Ocean Fellowship is an opportunity for young women to exclusively pursue education, professional training, or the launch of a social enterprise (for profit, not-for-profit, cultural, community) designed to improve the well-being of Pacific Island communities through durable ocean conservation and help in the fight against climate action.