Kia orana, malo e lelei, fakaalofa lahi atu, bula vinaka, taloha ni, talofa lava and kia ora!

Earlier this month the GPS 2012: Growing Pacific Solutions for our families national fono brought our Pacific communities and mental health, addictions, disabilities and other social sectors together, to work across boundaries on common issues and share innovation.

We have been inundated with feedback from more than 300 delegates that attended the fono, voicing an overwhelming sense of renewed energy to drive solutions that will meet the needs of our Pacific communities.

Celebrating what works for Pacific families and providing the opportunity for new thinking and innovative partnerships across artificial boundaries has become a realistic goal after GPS 2012.

One inspirational example has been lead by consumers and service users. The Faiva Ora National Leadership Group (for Pacific disabilities) has proposed a partnership with the National Pacific Consumers and their Families Forum (for Pacific mental health and addictions) - two different groups collaborating on similar issues for the collective gain. We are so honoured to be given this role by our communities to create a space for this change to happen.

At the fono we were also able to share some of our latest work.

We'll add more information about outcomes from the conference and the way forward for GPS to our website over the next few weeks, so be sure to check for updates!