In the Socials: MFEM mentions

Following an announcement from the Cook Islands Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) on 16 January 2026 declaring it would be sharing “a series of information posts based on recent academic research by Pacific scholars”, TPVM Director Dr Emma Powell’s article, “How to Explain the Experience of Empire: Teaching and Researching the Realm of New Zealand” was shared on the Ministry’s Facebook page.

The article was published in a special issue from reputed Pacific journal, Waka Kuaka: Journal of the Polynesian Society and titled ‘The Invisibility of the Realm of New Zealand’. The issue featured several articles from Pacific scholars indigenous to different parts of New Zealand’s constitutional realm, Niue, Tokelau and the Cook Islands. Authors commented on the ways imperialism and neocolonialism had impacted their communities, lived experiences, and research work and we acknowledge authors KDee Aimiti-Ma‘ia‘i and Dr Melanie Bean whose articles were shared on the MFEM page first.

We are encouraged to see our government engaging in new writing and thought from Pacific researchers and scholars, and we were excited to see the comments and shares that MFEM’s posts generated amongst our community.

Meitaki nui to MFEM and we look forward to sharing more of our work.

You can read the articles from the issue on the MFEM Facebook page here.