Manalagi Talanoa A Community-Centred Approach to Research on the Health and Wellbeing of Pacific Rainbow LGBTIQA+ MVPFAFF Communities in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

The talanoa reported in this paper explores the way the Manalagi Project – recently funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand – has been designed to empower the health and wellbeing of our Pacific Rainbow LGBTIQA+ MVPFAFF communities. Community-driven, co-designed and embedded, the Manalagi Project adopts a Pacific-centred holistic approach to wellbeing and research. Positioned at the beginning of its community consultation phase, this talanoa between the two lead researchers, one who is an academic and the other a community practitioner, documents the genealogy of the project embedded in lived experiences and relationality through talanoa. It speaks to the importance and timeliness of the project; the suitability of the research team; and intervenes in conversations around how we can activate Pacific research methodologies and praxis to empower our communities to achieve their health and wellbeing aspirations. The findings from this talanoa demonstrate the criticality in adopting intersectional approaches to understanding the differentiated and contextualised health and wellbeing needs of diverse Pacific communities.