As the first Cook Islander to be accepted into a “lifetime” fellowship, Louisa Castledine is looking forward to introducing Cook Islands to a global league of academic leaders, change-makers and visionaries.

Castledine has been offered a fellowship with the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity – AFSE in Australia, a transformative fellowship focused on enhancing indigenous-led social equity initiatives across Australia, Aotearoa, and the Pacific Islands.

And next year, she will deep dive into a Masters in Social Change Leadership at the University of Melbourne, which will involve the successful development of a social change project.

“The exchange of knowledge and ideas amongst the fellowship will be immensely valuable,” Castledine said.

Castledine, a proud Cook Islander, spent her childhood on the remote island of Manihiki, she is the eldest of five siblings. She is married to Mark and they have three children, Zion, 8, Niva, 5, and a year-old Mana. 

She is the co-founder of a purpose-driven business offering ocean adventures that gives back locally, educating local tamariki in ocean confidence and strengthening conservation efforts that directly benefit indigenous remote communities.

She had also received the BPW Emerging Entrepreneur Award and went on to hold the position of vice-president of the Business and Professional Women’s Association, which empowers Cook Islands women in business.

Castledine also advocates for ocean conservation and protection serving as a spokesperson for ocean advocacy collective, Ocean Ancestors, and is committed to educating her community about ocean preservation and promoting sustainable resource management. 

Speaking about her recent achievement, Castledine said she was approached by a family friend, a 2023 Atlantic fellow, who encouraged her to pursue the fellowship.

“She had insight into our social change movement we’ve been developing here in the Cook Islands and recommended this avenue as a means of strengthening and acceleration. I was inspired by the expansion of her impact that advances Maori homeownership and investigates Maori land sovereignty through financial literacy,” Castledine told Cook Islands News.

“The pursuit of solving community led initiatives supported and strengthened through academia is what motivated me to apply. The application process unpacked our social change project strategy and vision, then followed several competitive interview processes which resulted in the current cohort.”

When asked how the fellowship would benefit the Cook Islands, she said: “The Atlantic fellowship is an indigenous focused Masters of social equity leadership. The Masters hosted by The University of Melbourne enhances, educates and engages indigenous led, community initiatives in a practical way applying it in real time, real life and to active projects in its foundation year.”

“The fellowship recognises we thrive best in our home environment, which means I am only away intermittently (six-times for a week at a time) throughout the year for intense learning and networking. Its indigenous lens is what makes this fellowship unique and the drawcard for me.”
As a fully funded fellowship, its provisions account for working family members covering travel, accommodation, expenses, childcare, equipment as well as a stipend factoring reduce employment hours, on top of providing project funding.

The benefits of the fellowship remove barriers for indigenous individuals seeking higher education such as distance and finances, and serves the communities they come from practically.

“As the first Cook Islander to be accepted into this lifetime fellowship I am proud to introduce Cook Islands into a global league of academic leaders, change-makers and visionaries. The exchange of knowledge and ideas amongst the fellowship will be immensely valuable,” Castledine said.

“As I journey through the Masters, I aim to increase in capacity to better serve my people and inspire more Cook Islanders who are passionate about creating fairer, healthier and resilient communities to apply themselves.”
Castledine, who has a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in commercial law and management from the University of Auckland, says she takes pride in being the first Cook Islands fellow and aspires to motivate more individuals to engage in further academic pursuits through this fellowship.