NEWSPAGE 19 July
2010

(Photo: APN News & Media Ltd)

SAMOA: Samoa Tourism Authority Updates
Source: Samoa Tourism Authority Press Release

Samoa Team prepares for National Day

The Samoa Team at the Expo 2010 is making final preparations Samoa’s National Day which will take place on 01st August 2010.

Part of the preparations include finalizing travel and accommodation arrangements for those in Samoa who have shown interest in travelling to China for this important event.

The Hon. Prime Minister will be leading Samoa’s delegation to China to participate in the National Day.


Samoa Perimeter Relay runs again this year

The annual Samoa Perimeter Relay will take place this year on the 28th August 2010. This year’s relay will start from Siumu (Sinalei) and run all the way to Apia. The perimeter relay was a prelude to the Teuila Festival last year, in which STA played a significant part.


Talofa Cruises and AquaSamoa join forces for sake of tourism

In a first for Samoa, Talofa Cruises and AquaSamoa Watersports have joined forces to help promote and advance dive tourism in Samoa.

Staff from both businesses took to the water on Thursday last week to search for new dive sites along Samoa’s northern reef system in order to offer tourists a world class dive product.

“It’s a win/win situation,” says Papalii Willie Nansen, CEO of Samoa Shipping who owns Talofa Cruises, “we have the perfect boat on which to offer tours and extended cruising, and AquaSamoa are the dive professionals. Together we can offer a world class service which will include, diving snorkeling and cruising.”

Talofa Cruises and AquaSamoa travelled along the Northern coast out of Apia dropping divers and snorkelers into the water at places where GPS reading sand maps looked promising. Entering the water a number of times they think they have found at least one area which may offer possibly up to three outstanding dive sites.

“Finding a dive site is a hit and miss affair,” said Steve Roast owner of AquaSamoa. “It not only takes time and patience to find a site with which to attract divers to Samoa, but there are dangerous aspects to getting into unknown waters - going where no diver has gone before. We are very excited that after just one attempt it looks like we have found something that will be worth pursuing.”

Both companies hope that once they have found sites along the reef system, they will enhance the tourism experience of Samoa by offering specialized cruises offering 3 dives a day, snorkeling for spouses and non-divers on the boat, and the typical scenic sunbathing and lunch/drinks that can be found in other parts of the world.

“Day cruising with dives is something that is not available in Samoa at the moment,” says Papalii Willie Nansen, “therefore it is something that is necessary for a ‘tropical island destination’ if Samoa is to keep up with the times and compete in an ever more difficult struggle for the tourist dollar against other Pacific Island Nations.”

(SOURCE - Talofa Cruises/SSC)
 

(Photo: J. Kneubuhl)

AMERICAN SAMOA: ASCC accreditation status upgraded from 'Probation' to 'Warning'
Source: American Samoa Community College Press Release

In a letter dated June 30th, Dr. Barbara Beno, President of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), a division of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) informed the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) that its accreditation status had been modified from the previous “probation” category to the less serious “warning” designation, following a successful review visit by two WASC representatives earlier this year.

"The ACCJC has three levels of sanctions,” explained ASCC Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs Dr. Kolhoff-Belle. “The most severe is ’Show Cause’, indicating very serious institutional problems. ‘Probation’ is levied when an institution has not adequately addressed previous recommendations or is not in compliance with Commission requirements for areas such as institutional program review and integrated planning. ‘Warning’ is the least severe sanction."
As reported in the local media, following a visit by a nine-member review team in October 2008, in February 2009 the ACCJC Commission informed ASCC that it had been placed on probation pending the resolution of issues raised by ten recommendations by the October visiting team, as well as one additional recommendation by the Commission itself. From the beginning of this probationary period to the present, the College’s accreditation has remained in full effect, but the ACCJC specified that four of the ten recommendations needed to be successfully addressed by October of this year for the accreditation to continue.

Following the February announcement, ASCC immediately assigned teams of its administrators and faculty to formulate how to address the ACCJC recommendations. These teams’ efforts continued through the summer and fall of 2009, and culminated with the first WASC follow-up visit this past March, the two-person team of Dr. Frederick Trapp and Dr. Mark Zacovic. At the conclusion of the team’s visit, in an address before the ASCC faculty and staff, Dr. Zacovic stated that he and Dr. Trapp would report back to the WASC Commission that the College had successfully fulfilled six of the previous team’s recommendations and the one Commission recommendation.

The WASC team acknowledged that notable progress had been made on the remaining four recommendations, but that for the two of them to offer anything more than advice on these remaining recommendations would be outside the scope of their instructions from WASC at the time. “The WASC team had a specific assignment,” explained Dr. Kolhoff-Belle, “and had to stay within the bounds of their instructions, at least on an official level. Informally, they did give some attention to our work on the remaining recommendations and offered suggestions for strengthening our efforts.” Although the visitors departed the Territory in early April, the WASC Commission did not convene until last month, when they modified the ASCC accreditation status based on the findings of Dr. Zacovic and Dr. Trapp.

For Dr. Kolhoff-Belle, who is ASCC’s Accreditation Liaison Officer and charged with communication with WASC and the ACCJC, said the recent good news marks an especially significant development. “We are very pleased that ACCJC has removed ASCC from probation,” she said. “We were required to address four of the 11 recommendations for the March visit, but were able to go beyond this and completely resolve seven of them. ASCC has completed a comprehensive program review and an Institutional Plan for the next five years, bringing the college into compliance with these recommendations. The remaining recommendations deal with improving and documenting tutoring services, increasing support for and tracking of ASCC transfer students, documenting our plan for what the Commission terms ‘total cost of ownership’, and clarifying in our Policies and Procedures Manual how the various college committees are part of our governance structure."

Looking back on the experiences of the past year and a half, she reflected, "We were upset last year when ACCJC placed the College on probation, but we’re a better institution today because of that action. The entire college community moved into high gear to meet the recommendations. Because of the program review and planning efforts, as well as efforts to meet the other recommendations, ASCC is able to provide better services to students, plan for expanding those services, make data-based decisions, and move forward with the confidence that we are on the right track. Accreditation is a voluntary process of peer review among member institutions. Peer review and self study are not always comfortable, but they are essential in helping all the ACCJC member colleges meet their missions and improve the quality of education and services. We look forward to completing the final four recommendations by October 2010."

Photo Caption: ASCC President Dr. Seth Galea'i (front, center) gathers together members of the College's administration, staff and faculty who have served as committee members in the efforts over the past year to address WASC recommendations to remove the college from WASC "Probation" status. WASC recently modified the College's sanction from "Probation" to "Warning", which is the least severe WASC sanction status.
 

(Photo: International Institute for Sustainable Development)

COOK ISLANDS: Pacific Islanders mercury exposure highlighted at UN meeting
Source: Radio New Zealand International

A Cook Islands environmentalist says her own high mercury levels, revealed at a United Nations mercury control conference, have highlighted the unacceptable exposure Pacific Islanders face to the toxic heavy metal.

Imogen Ingram has just returned from the talks in Sweden aimed at establishing a treaty on global mercury control.

Ms Ingram told the meeting fish-eating communities are particularly at risk of mercury poisoning which can cause neurological problems.

An informal sampling session revealed she had levels three times the European Union’s tolerable limit despite reducing fish in her diet.

“The people in the EU tended to say, well then you shouldn’t eat it more than three times a month and I said well actually for a lot of countries it’s not an option. You don’t say well listen dear I think we’ll have steak tonight because they’re subsistence fisher people and they don’t have any other options.”

Imogen Ingram is calling for the World Health Organisation to survey Pacific Islanders’ mercury levels as there is little data available.

Photo Caption: Cook Islands environmentalist Imogen Ingram.

FIJI: Protecting Fiji’s poor from financial devastation caused by Unpredictable Events
Source: United Nations Development Programme Press Release

Micro insurance helps protect low income families from the financial shocks of unpredictable events. This important social protection measure is being spotlighted in Fiji by the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) in partnership with the Reserve Bank of Fiji. Millions of very low-income households are already protected against unpredictable events such as the death of a family member, sickness, and even crop failure around the world and this event hopes to catalyze development here in Fiji.

Today, stakeholders were brought together at the Reserve Bank of Fiji to discuss the extension of insurance to low income households in Fiji. The event was an opportunity to exchange ideas and learn more about its potential for both low income households and insurance companies. The event was opened by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji Mr. Sada Reddy and was attended by representatives from insurance companies, commercial banks, microfinance institutions and government officials.

Mike McCaffrey from PFIP presented on the importance of strong partnerships and innovative models to the development of this product in Fiji.

“Micro insurance works to decrease a family’s vulnerability to unpredictable economic shocks. It has the potential to increase social protection in Fiji while also being profitable for insurance providers,” he stated.

PFIP has conducted research to establish that there is opportunity for insurance providers to extend their services to low income and rural families. Currently it is estimated that approx 85,000 people have insurance policies in Fiji leaving almost 250,000 not protected from unpredictable events causing financial hardship. The potential for the insurance companies could amount to yearly claims value between FJ $11.6 and FJ $58 million dollars.

The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Mr. Sada Reddy highlighted the benefits micro insurance could bring to all of Fiji.

“The development of this field, will help create a more stable and secure Fiji” continuing to say “ we totally support any initiative or pilot project in micro insurance, and hope that insurance companies take the initiative to explore the potential of this market,” remarked Mr. Reddy.

In addition to facilitating the development of micro insurance the event was also an opportunity for PFIP to launch its new website. The website provides an online presence for the programme to assist it in disseminating information about its Pacific wide projects and activities.

PFIP is funded by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), European Union, AusAID and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and operates from the UNDP Pacific Centre.
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

WORLDWIDE: Pacific represented at 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community Press Release

Bill Clinton and South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi are to join 25,000 scientists, People Living with HIV (PLWH) and other stakeholders at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, which began on Sunday (July 18, 2010).

AIDS 2010 will run until 23 July under the theme Rights Here, Right Now, selected by organisers to emphasise the critical connection between human rights and HIV.

MENFiji project coordinator Lepani Kaiwalu is one of the many Pacific delegates attending the conference. He will be presenting a poster on Men who have Sex with Men and HIV in Fiji, as well as co-chairing a session with UNFPA.

‘Vienna is a long way from the Pacific, but it will be a great opportunity to learn more from best practices in other countries,’ said Kaiwalu. ‘The International AIDS Conference is also an ideal platform for showing what is happening in the Pacific and what we are doing about it.’

The conference will explore the latest developments in HIV science and highlight the importance of evidenced-based responses to HIV, including drug policy.

AIDS 2010 Local Co-Chair Dr Brigitte Schmied, President of the Austrian AIDS Society, said one of the goals of this year’s conference is ‘to demonstrate how stigma and discrimination are undermining public health.’

The conference will host several plenary presentations focusing on violence against women and girls, incarceration, drug policy and harm reduction, as well as positive health, dignity and prevention.

‘Equally important, we will show what is being done to address these issues in all regions of the world,’ said Dr Schmied.

Researcher Hilary Gorman is participating in AIDS 2010 on behalf of the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation (PIAF) and will present a study on the experiences of HIV-positive mothers in the region. She said she was especially looking forward to the opportunity of discussing her findings with people from diverse backgrounds at the conference.

The Pacific is currently into its second year of implementing its Regional Strategy on HIV and other STIs.

‘The 2009-2013 Regional Strategy is based on findings from qualitative and quantitative studies undertaken by SPC and its partners during the implementation of the first regional strategy, including surveillance studies. It is great to see that AIDS 2010 is also emphasising a need for policies that are based on strong evidence,’ said Dr Dennie Iniakwala, head of the HIV & STI Section at SPC.

The AIDS 2010 Opening Session on 18 July will feature three plenary presentations on the state of the epidemic and a speech by UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé.