Read Daisy's 150th Alumni Showcase profile here
Fa’afetai lava mo le avanoa, mālō lava le soifua ma le lagi e mamā.
O lo’u igoa o Moefiainu Feagai Fenunuivao Daisy Lavea-Timo (Samatau, Saipipi, Vailu’utai)
Could you talk to us about founding Cross-Polynate? What is the mission of the organisation?
Cross-Polynate is an Indigenous social change agency using creative and participatory approaches to build social connectedness. We want to enable positive youth development, aiga, and community wellbeing to equip people with skills to navigate complexity. Our focuses are equity, storytelling, and holding safe spaces for learning, ideation, and strategic thinking to occur across corporate, government, and community agencies.
A major piece of work we have recently completed on a national scale is the Pacific Engagement Approach for Statistics New Zealand which was ahead of the recent 2023 census. This resulted in Pacific KPI for principal and senior roles to implement and a commitment from the leadership team to implement accountability metrics at systems structure and process levels.
Locally, we had the privilege to tautoko the Aranui Community Trust to engage young people and hear their stories and aspirations for the Aranui Community. Through the Ministry of Education, we are delivering Tu'u Mālohi - a Pacific programme around identity, careers, and education on racism in Christchurch schools.
You have a few degrees from UC! You are obviously a keen learner as well as being a teacher yourself! What has inspired you to understand further study each time?
As a young Sāmoan girl, I went to church where most young people dropped out of school at year 11 to work and support their families. My Mum had wanted to study science but could not afford to so she made it her job to make sure her kids would never miss out on an education. She was a cleaner, and despite the ostracism she faced for letting me finish school and move to Christchurch to study, I am eternally grateful for her sacrifice.
I chose linguistics and politics as my BSc and BA majors. My fiance, Seta, and I did a lot of youth work for our church and decided to head to Japan to teach with the JET programme. We loved it but decided to move home to be closer to family upon the arrival of our first child.
With this youth work and teaching experience, we decided to study for our teaching diplomas so we could continue this work in New Zealand. After 5 years of teaching, I was inspired by my involvement in many community rebuild and regeneration projects post-quake to take a year of unpaid leave to study for my MBA.
Are there any memories or experiences that have stuck with you from your time spent at UC?
People are really key on my journey - Liz Keneti was the first Pacific Development Officer and her leadership and way of thinking helped me immensely, both personally and professionally.
When studying for my teaching diploma, Dr Chris Jansen was one of my tutors. At the start of week 3, I remember him going around the room asking what we all got up to over the weekend. I responded with "I had a baby girl, she was 9 pounds 11 and her name is Micahlei". We still laugh when we think about that lesson! Chris was also my supervisor for my MBA thesis and I am blessed to call him a friend, mentor and boss as a facilitator in his organisation, Leadership Lab.
Also I am pretty stoked that with my thesis for Regenerate Christchurch (on young people having a say on the red zone) receiving an A+. A big part of that was the tautoko and counsel from the Canterbury Youth Workers Collective and journeying from the inception of engagement design, collective Talanoa through the method, then co-delivery with young people at the helm of the waka.
Dr Peter Cammock’s class on Leadership of self and how that shows up when we lead others and lead change was also a real game changer during my MBA.
Poetry is a hugely important facet of your life and sits at the intersection of a lot of your work - when did this passion first spark in you and why is it your chosen medium?
I am a White Sunday kid - the one Sunday a year where children lead the service and perform. While most kids would recite 2 short verses, my Dad made my siblings and I would learn and recite chapters of Psalms or Proverbs, morphing into the plays he would write. Most nights since I was around 4 years old, I would read the bible aloud and have Dad drill the performance elements into me.
Sāmoan oratory also defines me - watching my uncles and Dad wax lyrical in our beautiful language for family, church, and community events. The Matai (chiefs) have their own words that are very different from everyday conversational Sāmoan. The knowledge in our Sāmoan culture and language is ancient and deep and our orators provide masterclasses in public speaking, weaving genealogies, history, biblical references, and stories to hold the attention of congregations in a Vā-space where time suspends.
What other passions or interests do you have?
Ensuring young people have a say in decisions that will affect them and making sure their voices are amplified and that they are in the driver's seat is really big for me. I am also passionate about governance and serve on several boards - Uru Manuka Education Trust, Mapu Maia (which focuses on Pacific mental health and addiction), as well as the Canterbury Rugby League board and Christchurch Word Festival.
What goals do you have for yourself and Cross-Polynate over the next few years?
Growth! To keep empowering people to change the world, keep building networks and developing innovative approaches that are grounded in ancient knowledge. We plan to grow our brand as a Pacific agency and champion our 'Grassroots to Governance' approach with our work with organisations on systemic change, governance, and organisational development.
Personally, taking a leap of faith with a poetry book to add to the incredible literature canon of Pacific poetry we now have in Aotearoa. Representation is important because we cannot be what we cannot see.
