Folau Mau. An initiative awarded for its spirit of cooperation

by Joanne Glassford on 1 Dec 2011
Folau Mau translated means journey safely. This was the inspiration behind the collaboration of agencies in the marine sector: Maritime New Zealand, Coastguard Boating Education, Auckland Council and ACC.

Together they devised a programme with the Polynesian community in the Auckland region to promote boating safety by empowering leaders within the Polynesian community.

The Coastguard Boating Education Day Skipper course is central to the delivery of the Folau Mau campaign as it includes all essential boating safety messages such as rules and regulations, navigation, emergencies and rope work. Those selected to complete the course from within the Polynesian family have a proven ability to lead and interact within their community, making them ideally placed to communicate effectively and raise awareness to improve safety on the water.

MNZ were presented with the Sealord New Zealand Water Safety Prevention Award 2011 at the WSNZ conference in November and were acknowledged for their initiative in instigating and coordinating the partnership between stakeholders.

Alistair Thomson received the award on behalf of MNZ and said that 'the response has been overwhelming; demand for education courses have exceeded our most optimistic forecasts on numbers wanting to take advantage of this educational opportunity'.

Coastguard Boating Education congratulates MNZ on their award and looks forward to future partnerships which improve boating safety for the entire community.