As we come to the end of another year and ponder on the excitement and prospects of moving into the second quarter of the 21st Century, a journal like ours offers opportunities for scholars of greater Oceania to share the insights of their research, to push themselves to think critically about the issues that we face as a region, and to offer creative and strategic propositions about how we might better serve the communities that have made our ocean their home. True to its core vision, this issue of Pacific Dynamics covers a wide range of perspectives from across the disciplinary spectrum. The first article reflects our continuing preoccupation with climate change. The second examines how large powers and island states are using ports in their various geopolitical manoeuvrings. The health of Pacific communities is the subject of two further articles with a special focus on diabetes. We also cross the colonial linguistic divide to welcome an article about the status of Polynesian languages spoken in French Polynesia. Another article investigates the state of Papua New Guinea’s national museum and art gallery while another is about land literacy among iTaukei in Fiji. The issue ends with a review of the recently published book, Remembering Epeli Hau’ofa: His Life and Legacy.