Polynesian Voyaging Society receives Ola Ka Moʻomeheu award for cultural preservation and perpetuation

The Polynesian Voyaging Society has received the Ola Ka Moʻomeheu – Culture Preservation & Perpetuation Award from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in the amount of $200,000 to support voyaging training and education opportunities through Moananuiākea: A Voyage for Earth.

PVS, a non-profit organization founded in 1973, is dedicated to perpetuating traditional Polynesian voyaging and navigation practices while inspiring communities to care for the earth. The Ola Ka Moʻomeheu Award will directly support voyaging training, cultural education, and leadership development as part of the global mission of Moananuiākea: A Voyage for Earth.

Through this grant, PVS will train and nurture Native Hawaiian voyagers and navigators for the Moananuiākea Voyage, as well as provide cultural education opportunities through in-person and virtual platforms for Native Hawaiian students, the future voyagers and leaders of Hawaiʻi. 

Moananuiākea: A Voyage for Earth is a circumnavigation of the Pacific that engages communities across Hawaiʻi and around the world in efforts to mālama honua (care for the earth). The voyage emphasizes the interconnectedness of people, place, and environment, and provides hands-on opportunities to learn traditional navigation, leadership, and stewardship.

“We are deeply grateful to OHA for the Ola Ka Moʻomeheu Award,” said Nainoa Thompson, CEO of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. “This support will help us prepare the next generation of navigators and leaders of our people. Voyaging is not only about sailing canoes, it is about strengthening identity, building resilience, and instilling a deep kuleana to care for our islands and our planet. This award will allow us to continue teaching those lessons through Moananuiākea.”