WILLEMSTAD, SUVA, FIJI - Professor Mariano Pitosh Heyden and Dr. Guido Rojer Jr., two leading Curaçaoan scholars in international business and island innovation, recently completed an Oceanian/Pacific Mission which included attendance at the Academy of International Business (AIB) Oceania Chapter and the Australian and New Zealand International Business Academy (ANZIBA)joint meetings in Fiji.
Heyden and Rojer
This year's gathering was unique: the first major international business academic event fully dedicated to island contexts, exploring themes of smallness, vulnerability, resilience, and communal innovation. The conference spotlighted solesolevaki—the Fijian philosophy of collective effort and mutual uplift—as a guiding frame for strengthening economic and entrepreneurial systems across islands.
Prof. Heyden and Dr. Rojer participated as part of a growing movement to connect the Caribbean with Pacific and Indian Ocean research communities. Their engagement marks an important step toward global island-to-island knowledge exchange, particularly as they explored best practices in sustainable development, entrepreneurship, ethical governance, and culturally grounded policy design.
A Caribbean–Pacific Bridge
During the meetings, the Curaçaoan scholars contributed to discussions on matters of small island states lik International entrepreneurship, Adaptive economic strategies for micro-economies, Indigenous and creole knowledge in business and governance, and Community-based innovation models and cooperative labor traditions. Their work highlighted Curaçao's emerging leadership in cross-island collaboration and comparative island studies.
"Island societies may be separated by vast oceans, but our developmental questions are deeply connected," said Dr. Rojer. "This gathering showed how much we stand to learn from each other—especially from Pacific models of cooperation, resilience, and community-based innovation."
Continuing Momentum at Monash Business School
Following the meetings in Fiji, Prof. Heyden and Dr. Rojer were invited to a Paper Development Workshop at Monash Business School in Melbourne. There, they co-developed new research trajectories centered on Comparative island innovation ecosystems, The role of diasporas in international entrepreneurship, and Governance and policy designs for small economies. This workshop consolidated the academic impact of their Oceania visit and strengthened partnerships with institutions across the region.
Professor Heyden emphasized the importance of cross-island academic alliances:
"Curaçao and the Pacific face similar questions about openness, foreign investment, knowledge infrastructures, and resilient entrepreneurship. Our joint presence at AIB Oceania and ANZIBA underscores the growing relevance of small-island scholarship within the global academy."
Lasting Impact for the Caribbean
The mission yielded significant advances in research design, policy frameworks, and practical insights that will directly inform ongoing work in Curaçao and the broader Caribbean. Their engagement also strengthens Curaçao's visibility in global academic discussions on island development, sustainability, and innovation-driven growth. Both scholars return with renewed commitment to building bridges between islands around the world, ensuring that the knowledge, culture, and resilience of small states continue to shape international business debates.
Their participation represents a successful venture that advances scholarship, policy, and practice for islands globally. Expected outcomes include: New cross-island academic publications, and Policy briefs for Caribbean, Pacific, and Indian Ocean governments.