Atoatoali’o National Pacific Disability Approach

Atoatoali’o – the National Pacific Disability approach is built on the voices and feedback from Pacific disabled people and their Aiga. This reflects our commitment to “Nothing about us without us”.

Atoatoali’o is a Samoan word referring to a setting where everyone fits in or sits perfectly (atoatoa) in a circle (li’o) This concept reflects the central values of inclusivity, connectedness, and balance that are foundational of Pacific cultures. The name Atoatoali’o was thoughtfully gifted from the Wairarapa Pacific community, during the talanoa held in 2024 to inform this approach.

About the Atoatoali'o National Pacific Disability Approach

Atoatoali’o – the National Pacific Disability approach is built on the voices and feedback from Pacific disabled people and their Aiga. This reflects our commitment to “Nothing about us without us”.

Atoatoali’o builds on previous work including:

Faiva Ora National Pasifika Disability Action Plan (2016-2021) and
the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2016-2026.

The development of Atoatoali’o and the actions set out in this Pacific approach will feed into the refresh of the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

Priorities

Aligned to the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha, Atoatoali’o serves as both a metaphor and a guiding principle for achieving the following priorities. It reinforces the importance of:

Strengthening leadership and workforce capabilities to create a more connected and inclusive service environment (Priority 1 and Priority 2: Leadership and Workforce).
Disability Awareness within Communities, which seeks to strengthen community networks and promote disability literacy among Pacific families and churches (Priority 3: Disability awareness within Pacific communities).
Ensuring every Pacific disabled person and their families feel supported and valued (Priority 4: Access and Equity).
Increase the visibility of Pacific disabled people in cross-government data and research through systematic collection and disaggregation of service usage information (Priority 5: Stakeholder Data and insights collaboration).
Promoting a holistic, family-centered approach to support that reflects the interdependence of Pacific communities (Priority 6: Enabling Good Lives).

The priorities above will guide the immediate and short-term approaches to supporting the wellbeing goals and aspirations of Pacific disabled people.

Pacific community co-development

Atoatoali’o, the Pacific approach has been co-developed with Pacific communities and the wider Pacific disability sector. Whaikaha acknowledges the Pacific disability community for sharing your stories of strength, challenges, resilience, and success throughout the talanoa series. The gift of your voice has brought this Pacific approach to life. Now we need to ensure the New Zealand Disability Strategy reflects the thoughts of our Pacific disability community.

You can view the full document or learn more about the development of this approach on the 2024 National Pacific Disability Approach webpage.

Download the full document

Cover image of the Atoatoali'o National Pacific Disability Approach document

Atoatoali'o National Pacific Disability Approach (PDF 7.5MB)

Atoatoali'o National Pacific Disability Approach (DOCX 2.8MB)

Alternate formats

The executive summary is available in alternate formats.