Dr Kaitu’u Funaki
Kaitu’u ‘i Pangai Funaki holds an MBA, and a PhD in Asia Pacific Studies from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (Japan). His interdisciplinary research covers theoretical approaches from anthropology, economics and psychology in addition to his field as a Political Scientist. His scholarship explores how Oceania’s cultural value of reciprocity and generosity can contribute to sustainable solutions for the global challenges we face today. His research proposed the new vision of Gross National Generosity (GNG), a sustainable development framework designed to articulate what ODA receiving countries could contribute to the SDGs from what they possess, and at the same time preserve these global resources for future generations.
In 2018, Dr. Funaki founded the Dignified Pacific Initiative (DPI) and in 2019, he co-founded The Eden Seminars to further explore this potential, promote research, and encourage adoption of solutions identified for the betterment of society overall. In 2021, he co-founded the Dignified Professional Network (DPN). Dr. Funaki is the first distance researcher at the Center for Social Development at De La Salle University(Philippines), a research fellow at the Center for the Promotion of Democracy at Ritsumeikan APU (Japan), a fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (UK), a peer reviewer for the journal Asia Pacific Viewpoint, and a member of the Pacific Island Studies Association of Japan (Japan). Dr. Funaki is currently a Commonwealth Diplomat serving member countries as the Political Adviser and Head, Pacific region at the Commonwealth Secretariat (UK).