Oceania Pacific Studies Association Virtual Conference

Art by @thekidtimothy

The Oceania Pacific Studies Association is hosting its Inaugural Conference from 28 to 30 January 2026, and you are invited to be part of the first wave. This is your chance to connect with Pacific thinkers, practitioners, creators, organizers, activists, and community leaders across the region.

Join us virtually or in-person from hubs including Sydney, Samoa, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Fiji, Hawaiʻi, Los Angeles and Boston. Two days of discussing critical issues that are currently impacting Moana Nui. If you care about Oceania, its stories, its people, its environment, and its path forward, you’ll want to be part of this conference. This conference is FREE.

Conference Details & Hubs

The conference will be 28-30 January 2026 online centered on Fiji time. Access to sessions will be provided to registrants via email with webinar instructions for each session.

A number of partners have arranged for in-person gatherings to provide a space of connection alongside the virtual discussions. Please refer to the hubs tab for more information and the location of hubs.

All are welcome to form hubs at their own institution/organization, and if you'd like them to be listed on the site here, please email the details over to us. Alternatively, folks are welcome to gather in informal hubs.

Program & Presenters

For more details on the program, please refer to the program tab and the conference day tabs. For more information on presenters, each conference day tab, Day 1 and Day 2, includes more detailed panel descriptions and short biographies for each speaker.

Registration & Zoom Access

This conference is available free of charge to all attendees. All registered attendees will receive webinar links emailed to them to attend the conference. Since space is limited, please do not share webinar access widely.

Unfortunately, we reached capacity for online registrations. However, the in person hubs are open to anyone, so please directly contact hub organizers with inquiries.

Recording

The virtual conference will be recorded, however no panel session recordings will be published online. Each panel session will agree with the use of the session recordings, kuleana and stewardship of each session panel recording is sovereign to each panel.

Planning Committee

The 2026 OPSA Conference planning committee is comprised of Dr. Apolonia Tamata (University of the South Pacific), Dr. Tēvita O. Kaʻili (Brigham Young University-Hawaiʻi), Dr. Line-Noue Memea Kruse (University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo), Dr. Lisa Uperesa (University of California-Los Angeles), Dr. Foley Pfalzgraf (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa), Elijah Lemusuifeauali’i (Australian Museum) and Eliah Aoina (Independent Scholar).

Funders & Co-Sponsors

With appreciation for in-kind support from the Australian Museum, BYU-Hawai‘i Culture, Language & Performing Arts, University of Auckland Pacific Studies, UCLA Asian American Studies, University of Hawaiʻi (UH) at Hilo History and Pacific Islands Studies, UH-Mānoa Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of the South Pacific-Suva Fijian Studies.

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