The University of Fiji is commemorating Ratu Sukuna Memorial Day with innovative activities designed not only to recall Ratu Sukuna’s importance but also to showcase the diverse talents of UniFiji staff and students in appreciating his legacy.
The University has released an original song about Ratu Sukuna composed by its Music Director Sailasa Tora and produced by Simi Rova called ‘Ancient Lands and the Superstar’, set to a smooth jazz rhythm.
The single has its own cover and will be included in the UniFiji Jazz compilation to be released in June. The song is being dropped on the University of Fiji’s Vox Populi Radio Station on Thursday to start off the University’s Ratu Sukuna Day programme.
Other activities include a pictorial exhibition of Ratu Sukuna’s life from childhood to his war years with the French Foreign Legion and the Statesman period.
The Vice Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem said that the exhibition would be simultaneously launched on all three campuses of the University. “Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna was a friend of one of the stalwarts of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Pundit Vishnu Deo, and both leaders believed in the liberating power of education; hence it is fitting that the Saweni Campus exhibition is being displayed in our Pundit Vishnu Deo Memorial Hall,” she said.
The Levuka Campus exhibition is held at University House, Fiji’s first Governor Sir Arthur Gordron’s former residence, also appropriate, Professor Shameem said.
A video of Ratu Sukuna’s importance to young people, filmed by the University’s Centre for iTaukei Studies, will also be shown at all three campuses.
Students have organised speeches and commentary and the Students Association has taken responsibility for refreshments for the day.
Professor Shameem said that the University’s community and public good responsibility included an appreciation of Ratu Sukuna’s effective leadership style that has endured over time, setting standards and benchmarks for the next generations.
