NEWSPAGE 12 February
2010

(Photos: Resene Paints / UNICEF)

NEW ZEALAND: Kiwis help to repaint Samoa

(Photos: International Rugby Board)

SAMOA: SOS IRB Kit Aid breaks new frontiers with Samoa delivery
Source: International Rugby Board Press Release

SOS IRB Kit Aid will break new ground next month with a first ever delivery to Oceania and the distribution of much-needed training kit to the Samoa and American Samoa Rugby communities affected by last year’s devastating tsunami.

The IRB-supported charity, which distributes donated Rugby kit and equipment from clubs, schools and suppliers in the UK, has dispatched a shipment of approximately 3,000kg of essential kit which is part of a wider package of measures from the global Rugby Community to support the affected Rugby-loving nations.

Triggered by a magnitude 8 earthquake, the tsunami caused extensive damage within Samoa, Tonga and American Samoa, causing fatalities and leaving many people homeless. The disaster spurred the global Rugby family into action with IRB Member Unions pledging support via a range of fund-raising and support initiatives, aimed at restoring damaged Rugby facilities throughout the area.

“SOS IRB Kit Aid epitomises the very spirit of teamwork and friendship that is so prevalent in Rugby. The kit, generously donated by the Rugby family, will play a pivotal role in assisting the affected Rugby communities, replenishing essential kit that was lost in the tsunami. The delivery will provide a much-needed boost for community Rugby in these countries,” said IRB Vice Chairman Bill Beaumont, who was present to see the shipment set sail and thank all those involved.

IRB SOS Kit Aid founder and Chairman John Broadfoot said: “The IRB engaged SOS IRB Kit Aid in order to assist those communities affected by the tsunami and we were delighted to get involved for such a worthy cause. The IRB covered the costs and I would like to thank UTI Worldwide Ltd, who have so generously assisted with a container that has over 3,000kg of basic Rugby kit, including 2,200 Rugby shirts. The kit should arrive in Samoa at the beginning of March.”

Samoa Rugby Union Chairman Peter Schuster said: “The support accorded by the IRB in association with SOS IRB Kit Aid towards the rehabilitation of the Rugby areas affected by the devastation caused by the tsunami is gratifying and heart warming."

“The Samoa and American Samoa Rugby Unions are humbled by the spirit of camaraderie extended by such an action and the donation of rugby equipment would no doubt inspire and motivate the youths of the tsunami-affected areas to continue what they love best - Rugby.”

The delivery is a further boost to the Samoa Rugby Union at a time when a new IRB funded £1 million High Performance Unit is being developed in the country provide an elite environment to develop and optimse local playing talent for the Samoan national representative sides.

The landmark drop is an extension of what was a record-breaking year for SOS IRB Kit Aid, culminating in the charity being shortlisted for the coveted Beyond Sport Award. Deliveries increased by 18 percent in 2009, completing 32 drops across 13 countries on three continents, including first deliveries to Kenya and Bosnia & Herzegovina

"SOS IRB Kit Aid has delivered nearly £2 million worth of quality, recycled Rugby kit to some 16 emerging nations since it was established in 2000,” said Broadfoot.

"In practical terms we have recycled and distributed nearly 60,000kg of Rugby kit donated by the Rugby community- kit that would otherwise be thrown away and left to rot in some landfill site.

"Demand for our services has definitely increased and we have a waiting list of 56 emerging Rugby nations wanting kit in addition to the 16 nations SOS IRB Kit Aid has already supplied over the past decade.”

To donate kit or find out more about SOS IRB Kit Aid visit www.sosirbkitaid.org.

Photo Caption: Bill Beaumont (L) and John Broadfoot help to load the container bound for Samoa.
 

AUSTRALIA: Fiji miners may be in demand in Australia
Source: Fijilive

Fiji’s miners and construction workers could be in big demand as the mining industry in Western Australia and Queensland face skills shortages.

The mining boom has created a shortage of skilled labour in Western Australia already while a Queensland business announced last week a $US60 billion 20-year deal to supply coal to China.

Queensland alone needs close to 20,000 skilled workers, with the natural gas industry needing up to 6000 tradesmen and professionals in the next 10 years for eight LNG projects plus thousands more construction workers.

And the coal industry in the state needs over 12,000 production and construction workers.

The demand for resource sector workers are taken care of in the latest immigration scheme reform announced this week.

Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans outlined a new direction for the skilled migration program yesterday, complementing the economic strategies of the states and targeting skilled labour.

Australian High Commission spokesman in Suva, Dennis Rounds confirmed there is a demand for labour in the related field.

“Those who wish to work in the Australian mining industry would need either a skill on the current Critical Skill List (CSL) or sponsorship from their Australian employer or Australian state/territory government.”

He added that however, the CSL will be revoked when the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) comes into effect in mid-2010.

“The SOL will have a more targeted list of occupations designed to meet the medium to long-term needs of the Australian economy,” Rounds said.

When the new targeted list of professions gets introduced, the "points" system will be re-evaluated with the potential for more weight to be placed on English as a first language.
 

TUVALU: Tuvalu Cultural King Tides' Festival raises awareness of what is at stake
Source: Alofa Tuvalu Press Release

Tuvalu’s 1st edition of its “Cultural King Tides' Festival” - Tuvalu ! The Tide is High! - will take place during the next king tides, the highest tides of the year, from Feb 26th to March 1st, when most of the capital island is submerged by sea water coming through the ground.

Today global warming is the most serious issue humans have to solve. The remote and sparsely populated archipelago of Tuvalu is a microcosm of the environmental issues we all face. It is also the first sovereign nation faced with becoming uninhabitable due to climate change. If Tuvalu is to disappear, not only a land would be wiped off the maps, but a whole nation with its unique society, culture and traditions will be erased from the Human diversity spectrum.

Determined not to let their cultural patrimony -- a remote part of the world’s heritage -- slip away, the Tuvaluan people have devised this plan to display, perform and record multiple cultural activities to take place at a most symbolic period of time.

Little is known about Tuvalu’s culture. Although, it is believed that the Pacific was settled 6000 years ago, the discovery of underwater caves in Nanumaga, one of Tuvalu’s northern islands, indicates that human could have settled much earlier. In 1861, the arrival of missionaries (London Missionary Society-LMS), might have changed Tuvalu’s beliefs and religious traditions forever. What is lost is lost and the archipelago will keep some of its mysteries forever but there is an unquestionable need for preserving what is left .

During 3 days, traditional competitions and demonstrations will show some aspects of Tuvaluan Culture through sports, handicrafts, dancing, singing, food and Tuvalu’s unique talent in improvised story-telling and dramas. The objective is to raise awareness about what will be lost if Tuvalu’s nation was to disappear both to the new generations and to the world at large. Parallel activities on climate causes, consequences and solutions will target both children and adults, focusing on what we all can do to try to turn the tide.

This first edition of the Tuvalu Cultural King Tides Festival is made possible by the unified efforts of many Government ministries and NGO’s*. It is part of The “Small is Beautiful” (SIB) plan, one of UNESCO’s Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Remarkable Actions, launched with, as a primary objective, the preservation of Tuvalu’s cultural heritage and identity.

The organizers:
The original committee:
Ministry of Communication and tourism
Ministry of natural resources and environment
Ministry of Home Affairs, cultural department
Ministry of Education and schools
Department of Tourism
Environment Department
Cultural Office
Youth Office
Sports Office
Meteorological Office
Tuvalu Media Department
Public Works Department
Funafuti Kaupule
Chamber of Commerce
Lodging Association (Filamona, Vaiaku Lagi Hotel)
Red Cross
Alofa Tuvalu

Some of the other participants:
Island Communities
Tuvalu National Council of Women
Island Care
Tango
TuFHA
Tuvalu Overview
EKT
Schools on Funafuti
 

(Photo: United Nations Development Programme)

VANUATU: UNDP Administrator calls for increased social protection in the Pacific
Source: United Nations Development Programme Press Release

The ongoing economic and financial crisis presents an opportunity to implement social protection programmes in the Pacific that address the needs of the vulnerable, said United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark in her keynote address at the Pacific Conference on the Human face of the Global Economic Crisis which started yesterday in Port Vila.

“The crisis presents an opportunity either to initiate or to broaden existing social protection programmes. Measures which could be considered include school feeding programmes; cash and in-kind transfers to the most vulnerable; and cash-for-work programmes. Meeting the needs of women and children, an area of focus for this conference, is especially important,” said Miss Clark.

She said that while such measures were not cost free, the evidence suggested that they can
have results which go beyond the temporary alleviation of suffering.

“Well designed, they can help make societies more crisis-resilient over the longer term, and
contribute to more stable and equitable growth,” she said.

Miss Clark added that there is much to be gained by exchanging experiences and co-operating
in the design of social protection programmes within the Pacific and beyond and emphasised that the United Nations can and does support such efforts.

Determining the ways and means of protecting the most vulnerable communities in the Pacific
against the impact of present and future economic crises is the subject of the three-day
conference. More than 220 delegates from the Pacific are discussing specific policies and joint
actions that countries in the region can take to mitigate the effects of the crisis.

The cumulative effects of the food, fuel and economic crises have adversely affected progress
on the Millennium Development Goals. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Centre in Suva calculates that in the twelve countries for which data are available, the poverty rate has worsened over the last two years as the incomes of the poorest and most vulnerable people declined. Only those countries with mining and hydrocarbon exports, such as Papua New Guinea, or benefiting from increased tourism and a range of reforms, such as Vanuatu, are estimated to have grown at a reasonable rate over the last year.

Miss Clark also stressed the need for effective and efficient public expenditure, the advancement
of gender equality, encouraging business investment, and reorienting economies to low-carbon
development.

Vanuatu Prime Minister Edward Natapei said the conference will discuss not just what the global
economic crisis is about and how it has affected Pacific Island people, but also chart the future
direction that Pacific countries should take.

“Today, we are faced with difficult choices. A good distribution of public resources and in many
cases scarce resources is vital if we are to address social development problems in our countries.
Good governance relates to the quality of leadership that is sensitive to the competing needs of
various groups in our society. The ability of leaders to promote ‘social cohesion’ in our societies
will depend on how they are able to promote the development of basic needs and capabilities of
all their people,” he said.

Seventeen year old, Danielle Willis from Palau spoke on behalf of Pacific youths who had gathered in a two day pre-conference meeting held earlier this week. She said that the global economic crisis had impacted on the lives of Pacific peoples in various ways.

“More fathers and mothers are unemployed and have less income. Families have started to skip
meals or cut the variety of foods, pulling children from school, engaging children in labour, and
leaving children without appropriate care while families struggle to make ends meet. Frustration,
tension and violence at home and within communities is increasing. Increased substance abuse
worsens these situations. Girls and women are the most vulnerable due to existing gender inequality,” said Miss Willis.

“Please listen carefully to what the voices of the vulnerable are telling you. Your decisions made
this week can change their lives,” she urged the leaders at the conference.

The conference has been organized by the Government of Vanuatu with support from the United Nations, Asian Development Bank, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the University of the South Pacific. Participants include government ministers, parliamentarians, development partners, UN agencies, youth, women’s groups, private sector representatives and civil society organizations.

Photo Caption: United Nations Development Programme Administrator, Helen Clark.
 

(Photo: National Parliament of Solomon Islands)

WORLDWIDE: PIFS and UNDP launch security sector governance report
Source: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Press Release

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is pleased to be closely associated with the launch of a landmark first report on security sector governance in the Pacific.

Enhancing Security Sector Governance in the Pacific Region: A Strategic Framework is a joint UNDP Pacific Centre and Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) report which was launched in Honiara on 10th February by the Honourable, Sir Peter Kenilorea, Speaker of Solomon Islands National Parliament.

The report focuses on the need for a new strategic framework in the Pacific, which will complement existing reform and capacity building efforts of police, military, and customs and immigration agencies and will result in greater accountability and legitimacy of security institutions. It was developed based on background research and interviews conducted in Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu during late 2008 and early 2009. Its primary focus of attention is on security institutions, recognising the special responsibility they have in society to support human rights and to protect the general population from harm.

Security sector governance (SSG) is a means of providing effective and responsive security services to the people, and ensuring security institutions’ are accountable to the law. It seeks to make people, communities and countries more secure by emphasising that security institutions are accountable to citizens, chiefly through Parliament and regular elections but also through media scrutiny and public consultation and debate.

Director of Political Governance and Security at the PIFS, Rick Nimmo, said: “This important work is intended to complement practical initiatives being undertaken by national governments in the Pacific to strengthen security sector governance which bolsters both the security and governance pillars of the Pacific Plan.”

A program of regional policy development activities by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat on the issue of Security Sector Governance, in close partnership with the UNDP Pacific Centre in Suva, was endorsed by the Forum Regional Security Committee (FRSC) at its last meeting in June 2009.

Photo Caption: Speaker of Solomon Islands National Parliament, Hon. Sir Peter Kenilorea, who launched the report in Honaria.