Leading with wisdom and heart: Sione Tu‘itahi reflects on global health promotion journey

HPF's Hauora News interviews Executive Director Sione Tu’itahi as he completes his three-year term (2022-2025) as President of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE). He is now the Immediate Past President of IUHPE (2025-2028).

Hauora News: You’ve just concluded your three-year presidency of IUHPE, co-chairing its 25th World Health  Promotion Conference in Abu Dhabi. How did you bring it all together?

Sione: Through collaborative leadership built on wisdom, love, justice, courage, commitment, and humility. Always with one goal: to take IUHPE to a new region and create a space for sharing knowledge and ideas for the wellbeing of Abu Dhabi, our global human family, and the planet, through health promotion.

(Pic: Sione, far left, with the IUHPE Board, 2025 - 2028 in Abu Dhabi)

Hauora News: What did that collaboration look like in practice?

Sione: It was a partnership between two diverse teams—IUHPE and the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center — each bringing rich cultural perspectives. My role was to create space for peaceful, respectful, and professional dialogue. We faced challenges as equals, working together with complementary strengths.

Years of leadership across diverse contexts — and teachings from my elders — taught me that unilateral or adversarial approaches are shortsighted. Much of today’s global crisis stems from such divisive thinking. Real solutions require us to rise above outdated human constructs — both in knowledge and values.

Through honest, respectful consultation, we found common ground without sacrificing core values. We co-planned, co-organised, and brought together over 1000 participants from across the world. New friendships were formed, networks strengthened, and knowledge shared — all contributing to the wellbeing of people and planet.

Hauora News: What were some of the greatest challenges you faced?

Sione: Leadership is about turning barriers into bridges — transforming deserts of division into oases of learning. Peace, as recognised in the Ottawa Charter, is the first determinant of health. You create peace by embedding it into how you think, how you act, and how you serve.

One key lesson is that often, the biggest challenge lies within ourselves. A well-built ship withstands storms when the crew is united, competent, and committed. Diverse opinions are natural, but we resolved differences through open, loving conversations and collective decision-making.

Health promotion leaders must not get pulled into today’s polarising culture of mistrust and misinformation. We are better than that. When you are grounded in humility, your mind and heart  are open to the wisdom of the universe and the new knowledge of your new friends and colleagues. When your head is full of your own limited experience and the heart is contaminated by your ego, arrogance and ignorance shape your thinking and action as a leader. You will not last, nor make a difference.

Thanks to the wisdom and resilience of both teams, IUHPE stepped boldly beyond its comfort zone. For the first time in its 74-year history, IUHPE hosted a conference in the Middle East, connecting with the rich knowledge traditions of the Islamic world — one of the cradles of civilisation. For the first time, we also welcomed the largest-ever delegation from Africa, the Middle East, India, and Asia.

Many delegates expressed their gratitude — telling me it was the first time they could attend an IUHPE conference. I reminded them: we owe this opportunity to our partners at the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center. Together, we exceeded expectations and helped IUHPE become truly global after decades of being primarily Eurocentric. That global reach is more critical now than ever.

Hauora News: Looking back over your three-year presidency, what stands out most?

Sione: First, I’ve witnessed the power of collaborative, service-based leadership grounded in unity through diversity. This approach is essential in today’s world. Science, Spirtiuality and Indigenous knowledge all confirm that we share the same DNA — we are one human family. What matters is not our skin color, gender, or age, but the wisdom in our hearts and the clarity of our minds.

This has been my guiding principle during my 18 years with IUHPE. Some Board members recognised this and  encouraged me to take up the presidency. I’m grateful they persisted — especially my dear co-worker and friend, and now my successor, Louise Potvin. (Pic: Sione with HPF's Deputy Executive Director Leanne Eruera and Louise in Abu Dhabi.)

By anchoring decisions in collective wisdom, we built shared ownership of IUHPE’s vision. It wasn’t always easy — especially as the first Indigenous President, and only Indigenous member on the Board for more than a decade —  but it worked. And it led to meaningful outcomes for the global health promotion community.

Hauora News: One of those outcomes has been IUHPE’s embrace of planetary health and Indigenous knowledge. How did that come about?

Sione: That began with the 2019 IUHPE World Health promotion Conference in Rotorua, New Zealand, which HPF hosted.  We designed it not just as a conference, but as a strategic platform for long-term impact. The two Legacy Statements on planetary health and Indigenous knowledge that emerged from Rotorua are now being advanced through the IUHPE Global Working Group (GWG) on Waiora Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing, which I founded in 2020.  Planetary health and Indigenous knowledge are now in the strategic goals and core work of IUHPE.

We extended this work into global organisations like the World Health Organization (WHO). At the WHO’s 10th World Congress on Health Promotion, we were invited to lead a workshop that directly influenced the Geneva Charter for Well-being (2021). Several members of the Charter’s drafting group were present at the 2019 Rotorua Conference and told me later that the Indigenous perspectives they heard there significantly shaped their thinking.

We also contributed to WHO’s inaugural Traditional Medicine Summit in India (2023) (Pictured), where I served as one of 11  expert advisors. Our input is reflected in the Gujarat Declaration. Likewise, HPF and the Global Working Group contributed to the São Paulo Declaration (2021) and the Planetary Health Alliance’s (PHA) Global Health Roadmap and Action Plan (2024).

These contributions will continue, laying foundations for the next generation of health promoters and other health professionals to build on.  At present, I am a member of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts for Health Promotion and Well-being. I am also a member of the Steering Committee for the second WHO Global Summit for Tradional Medicine (India, December 2025), and a member of the Steering Committee of PHA.

Hauora News: You’ve worked with many people across the world. Who have been some of your key mentors and influences?

Sione: There are many. Moana Jackson’s role in advancing Indigenous rights at the UN level, and the late MP Matiu Rata’s work bringing Te Tiriti o Waitangi back into national policy, are major inspirations.

In health promotion, Sir Mason Durie’s Te Pae Mahutonga model has been foundational. First introduced at an HPF symposium in 1999 and launched globally at IUHPE’s 2004 World Conference, it remains a guiding star. When we hosted the 2019 conference, we asked him again, and Sir Mason presented an updated model combining Te Pae Mahutonga with Matariki.

To me, there are three key teachings in this model:

1. Look far into the future, as our ancestors did, guided by the stars.

2. Elevate our vision to see and serve everyone — leaving no one behind.

3. Recognize that today’s challenges are global — and so must be our solutions.

 I’ve also been privileged to work under the leadership of Dr Alison Blaiklock, my predecessor, whose tireless work for social justice and human rights has deeply influenced my own path.

(Pic left: Sione, with Dr Viliami Puloka, Sir Collin Tukuitonga and Dr Alison Blaiklock at the NZCPHA conference in 2019)

Hauora News: You’ve mentioned many colleagues who’ve walked alongside you.

Sione: Yes. I am grateful to former HPF Chairs such as Rawinia Leatherby, Ana Apatu, Tau Haurima, Zoe Hawke, and Mark Simiona; HPF Kaumātua Trevor Simpson; Deputy Executive Director Leanne Eruera; Board member Dr Viliami Puloka; Professors Louise Signal and Sir Collin Tukuitonga; and global colleagues such as Professors Tony Capon, and Margot Parkes, Dr Trevor Hancock, and the entire GWG team and the IUHPE Board as well as my colleagues at WHO and PHA.

Hauora News: And your family?

Sione: Above all, I owe everything to my family. My grandparents and parents taught me well  across Indigenous,  Western, and other knowledge systems. And my wife Pou (pic with Sione at the conference in Abu Dhabi) has been my greatest partner for over 40 years, especially  during my IUHPE journey.

I still remember negotiating the 2019 conference contract in Paris while she prayed upstairs in our hotel room. Thanks to her faith — and some tough negotiating — we secured a great outcome. More recently in Abu Dhabi, her soft diplomacy and sincere loving care for humanity opened doors and created many new friends and co-workers across the world.

At its core, we see our profession as service to the human family. As the world faces existential threats, we dedicate ourselves to building a healthier, happier planet for all grandchildren — including our own. And yes, they do sometimes remind us to slow down and spend more time with them.

Hauora News: Thank you, Sione, for your inspiring service and vision.