Mr Macanawai is currently the CEO of the Pacific Disability Forum. He was previously the Executive Director of the Fiji National Council for Disabled Persons and Headteacher at the Fiji School for the Blind.
Mr Macanawai graduated from Corpus Christi Teachers College in Fiji in 1985 with a Primary Teachers Certificate. He studied at the Auckland College of Education in New Zealand in 1988 graduating with a Diploma in the Education of Visually Impaired Children, and attended the University of Tennessee at Chattannooga, USA, 1993-94 before completing Bachelor of Education (Special Education) and Masters in Educational Administration (Honours) degree in 1998 at the University of New England, New South Wales, Australia.
Mr Macanawai has received a number of regional and international awards in recognition of his professional and academic achievements in the field of disability. He is a leading disability advocate in Asia and the Pacific region, and has served in the committees of many international and regional organisations concern with disability. He has presented papers at regional and international meetings and conferences, and has written several articles, chapters and thesis on disability. Mr Macanawai is a keen advocate of disability inclusive development where persons with disabilities and their representative organisations are in the front and centre, and playing a key role in all aspects of development.