Oceania is a geographic region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Spanning the eastern and western hemispheres, Oceania has a land area of 8,525,989 square kilometres (3,291,903 sq mi) and a population of over 41 million. When compared to continents, the region of Oceania is the smallest in land area and the second smallest in population after Antarctica.
Samoa, officially the Independent State ofSamoa and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is an island country consisting of two main islands, Savai'i and Upolu, two smaller inhabited islands, Manono and Apolima, and several small uninhabited islands including the Aleipata Islands. The capital city is Apia. The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of the Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum (SPF), and changed its name in 1999 to "Pacific Islands Forum", so as to be more inclusive of the Forum's Oceania-spanning membership of both north and south Pacific island countries, including Australia. It is a United Nations General Assembly observer.
Music in Somoa is a complex mix of cultures and traditions, with pre- and post-European contact histories. Since American colonization, popular traditions such as rap and hip hop have been integrated into Somoan music.
Faʻafafine are people who identify themselves as having a third-gender or non-binary role in Samoa, American Samoa and the Samoan diaspora. A recognized gender identity/gender role in traditional Samoan society, and an integral part of Samoan culture, faʻafafine are assigned male at birth, and explicitly embody both masculine and feminine gender traits in a way unique to Polynesia. Their behaviour typically ranges from extravagantly feminine to conventionally masculine.
Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Tupuola Tufuga Efi , is a Samoan political leader and as holder of the Tama-a-Aiga Tupua title, is one of the four paramount royal chiefs of Samoa. He also holds the honorific pāpā title of Tui Atua.
The prime minister of Samoa is the head of government of the Independent State of Samoa, a sovereign country located in the Pacific Ocean.
The Assemblies of God in New Zealand is a Pentecostal denomination in New Zealand and a member of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal denomination. In 2007, the denomination had nearly 200 congregations and preaching points and 30,000 members and adherents, mostly in the North Island, and it sends missionaries to South Asia and Oceania. In 2016, the largest congregation was the Harbourside Church A/G in Takapuna, founded in the 1950s, with a weekly attendance of 1,500 people.
Iliafi Esera is a Christian minister of the Assemblies of God movement.
The Oceania Swimming Association is the continental governing body recognised by FINA, for the national governing bodies of swimming, open water swimming, diving, water polo, synchronised swimming and masters swimming in Oceania.
The Baháʼí Faith in Samoa and American Samoa begins with the then head of the religion, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, mentioning the islands in 1916. This inspired Baháʼís on their way to Australia in 1920 to stop in Samoa. Thirty four years later another Baháʼí from Australia pioneered to Samoa in 1954. With the first converts the first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1961, and the Baháʼí National Spiritual Assembly was first elected in 1970. Following the conversion of the then Head of State of Samoa, King Malietoa Tanumafili II, the first Baháʼí House of Worship of the Pacific Islands was finished in 1984 and the Baháʼí community reached a population of over 3,000 in about the year 2000.
The Samoan Assemblies of God International or SAOG is a Pentecostal fellowship of churches. It reached the Western Islands and outer countries with large Samoan communities, such as New Zealand, America and Australia. It has over 530 churches worldwide with over 97,000 adherents.
The New Zealand Samoan Assemblies of God (SA/G) or (SAOG), officially The General Council of the Samoan Assemblies of God in New Zealand Inc. are a group of Pentecostal congregations predominantly made up of Samoan people. It was established in New Zealand in the early 1960s by a group of Holiness/Pentecostals from Samoa bringing the message of Pentecostalism to their Samoan people living in New Zealand. Certain pioneers such as the late Reverend Makisua Fatialofa with his wife Evangelist Mauosamoa, the late Reverend Dr. Samani Pulepule with the late First Lady Sapapalii, along with the late Reverend Fereti Ama with his wife Lady Leausuone, were the foundation members of the first ethnically fellowship to align itself with the Assemblies of God in New Zealand (A/GNZ). It was this Samoan fellowship that contributed to the growth of the Assemblies of God in New Zealand making it the Nations fastest growing church. By 2005 there were 89 SA/G congregations throughout New Zealand and in that same year some members in the Samoan fellowship felt the need to be a self-governing body and formed its own constitution which split the SA/GNZ national body in two. In late November 2005, 45 churches left the A/GNZ umbrella and formed a break-away group, while 40 churches remained under the A/GNZ movement, although this was the end result both Samoan fellowships still work alongside one another.
Samani Pulepule, formally His Eminence and Most Reverend, Chief Apostle Dr. Samani Pulepule was a Samoan minister since the early 1950s in the Assemblies of God movement. Dr Pulepule was also the Chief Apostle of the Samoan Assemblies of God in New Zealand for over 40 years and was elected as the World Chairman of the Samoan Assemblies of God International. Also the Tokelauan Assemblies of God and Tuvaluan Assemblies of God came under his leadership.
The Oceania Table Tennis Federation (OTTF) is a table tennis organization found on 1 June 1977, recognized by International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) as its continental federation in Oceania. Discussions began at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships held in Melbourne, 1975. Seven foundation members were New Zealand, Australia, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia and Tahiti.
The Chief Justice of Samoa is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Samoa. The qualifications and powers of the office are governed by Part VI of the Constitution of Samoa and the Judicature Ordinance 1961. The position is currently held by Satiu Simativa Perese.
The 2019 Samoa measles outbreak began in September 2019. As of 6 January 2020, there were over 5,700 cases of measles and 83 deaths, out of a Samoan population of 200,874. Over three percent of the population were infected. The cause of the outbreak was attributed to decreased vaccination rates, from 74% in 2017 to 31–34% in 2018, even though nearby islands had rates near 99%.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Oceania on 25 January 2020 with the first confirmed case reported in Melbourne, Australia. It has since spread elsewhere in the region, although many small Pacific island nations have thus far avoided the outbreak by closing their international borders. As of 20 June, ten Oceania sovereign states have yet to report a case - Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated State of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
