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(Photos:
New Zealand Rugby League) |
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NEW ZEALAND: Junior Elites camp offers players
guidance and support
Some 32 Auckland based potential Kiwi players
attended the third in a series of Junior Elite
Roots camps being run by the NZRL.
Held at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday 18 July the
camp featured presentations by Kiwis coach
Stephen Kearney, past Kiwi players Ruben Wiki
and Tawera Nikau along with a Four Nations
update by Tony Kemp, NZRL Football Manager.
In addition to these Kiwi legends, the camp was
also attended by Tony Iro, Jerry Seuseu and
current Kiwis Manu Vatuvei and Simon Mannering.
The aim of the camps is to inspire and offer
guidance to those who have been identified as
having the potential to become representative
players for their country. Each of the Kiwis
present talked to the players about what it
means to be a part of the Kiwis culture, how
important it was to them not only in their
league career but in their lives to be a part of
the brotherhood.
Following equally successful camps held in
Sydney in March and Melbourne in May, this camp
represents a continuation of the NZRL’s
commitment of looking to the future and inviting
young Kiwis to be a part of it.
Ruben Wiki said “It’s really rewarding for me to
be involved in these camps. I’ve been trying to
pass on some tools to the young kids, just
reminding them of what they need to think about
to succeed and the sacrifices they need to make.
These sacrifices are only small - like eating
better food, putting in a bit of extra training,
focussing on family values to get them through
the tough times and working on their mental
toughness. Small changes can reap big rewards.
The great thing about the boys playing for the
Warriors is they are in touch with their
identity. I have asked them to take advantage of
me being around, to ask for help and support if
they need it. I remind them that I come from
Otara and if you work hard then dreams can come
true.”
Stephen Kearney agrees “These young boys are
surrounded by so many great role models, people
like Simon and Manu who gave up their time to
come along to the camp to show their support.
Ruben and Tony are just down the road and I’m
always looking to the future and we are all
willing to support anyone who is prepared to do
the work.
Talent will only ever get you so far, to be a
long term success requires hard work, training
and commitment and some sacrifices. We just want
to remind them of the rewards of making positive
choices, and to offer our support to those who
are willing to make the commitment.”
A final camp will be held in Brisbane later in
the year, ensuring no young potential Kiwi
misses out on the opportunity to take advantage
of this excellent advice and to consider their
future with the brotherhood.
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(Photo:
United States Embassy to New Zealand and Samoa) |
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SAMOA: Tackling corruption will support
achievement of MDGs: Samoan PM
Source:
United
Nations Development Programme Press Release
“Resources lost to corruption are resources lost
to the poor. This in turn slows the progress
towards the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals.”
These comments were made by the Samoan Prime
Minister, Hon. Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele
Malielegaoi, who officially opened a four day
awareness-raising and information-sharing
meeting on the ratification and implementation
of the United Nations Convention Against
Corruption (UNCAC) in the Pacific region on
Monday (July 19, 2010).
The meeting is attended by senior government
officials from fourteen countries - Papua New
Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa,
Cook Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Federated
States of Micronesia, Palau, Marshall Islands,
New Zealand and Australia - and officials from
the World Bank Stolen Assets Recovery
Initiative, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat,
Commonwealth Pacific Governance Facility,
European Union, United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) country offices and regional
centre, and the United Nations Office of Drugs
and Crime (UNODC).
“Samoa, like all of your countries, has
committed to achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals. My Government is well aware
that to achieve the MDGs it will be necessary to
bring to bear all of our nation’s resources,”
said the Prime Minister.
“In Samoa, we have prioritised developing a
clean, transparent and effective public service
as a foundation-stone of our commitment to
sustainable national development,” he said.
Samoa has passed two pieces of legislation to
support this: the Public Bodies (Performance and
Accountability) Act 2001 and the Public Finance
Management Act 2001.
“Tackling corruption, at all levels of
government, is a key towards meeting the
national development goals that Samoa has set
for itself,” he said. The Prime Minister
specifically noted that the United Nations
Convention Against Corruption is a useful tool
that can assist Pacific Island countries to
ensure that they comprehensively tackle
corruption, in all its forms, in a coordinated
way.
The meeting, hosted by the Government of Samoa
and organized by UNDP Pacific Centre in
partnership with UNODC and with support from
AusAID, will be an avenue to exchange
experiences in fighting corruption and in the
ratification and implementation of UNCAC in the
Pacific. So far, UNCAC has been ratified by
three Pacific Island Countries - Fiji, Palau and
Papua New Guinea.
Speaking at the meeting the UN Resident
Coordinator in Samoa, Ms. Nileema Noble said
that corruption reflects a democracy, human
rights and governance deficit that negatively
impacts on poverty and human security. This
makes it an area of crucial importance in our
region.
“Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately,
hinders economic development, undermines state
accountability and capacity to provide equitable
and responsive public services, and diverts
investments from infrastructure, institutions
and social services,” Ms Noble said.
The regional meeting, which ends on 22 July,
will provide the senior government officials
with a thorough overview of UNCAC
pre-ratification requirements. It will also
provide an opportunity to support Pacific States
to assess the value of UNCAC as a guiding
framework which can strengthen their national
anti-corruption efforts. The meeting will also
hear about the newly endorsed Mechanism to
Review the Implementation of the Convention, and
benefits of ratification in particular as
regards preferential access to technical
assistance.
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(Photos:
Australian High Commission) |
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AUSTRALIA: Australia donates new police vehicle
to Samoa
Source:
Australian High Commission Press Release
Police will soon be driving around Apia in a
brand new 13-seater multi-purpose people
carrier, thanks to support from the Australian
Government.
The car will assist police to respond to
emergencies and also enable officers to easily
ferry large groups of prisoners to and from
court.
It was donated to police through the
Samoa-Australia Police Partnership to strengthen
general policing capabilities.
It is the first of three new vehicles that the
Samoa Police Service will receive under the
partnership.
“This vehicle is suited to the terrain here in
Samoa and is multi-purpose so can be used for a
number of different activities,” Samoa-Australia
Police Partnership Project Officer Gary Gent
said.
Police Commissioner Lilomaiava Fou Taioalo said
the vehicle would form an important part of
general policing operations.
“I thank Australia for giving us this new
vehicle, which will be a valuable tool for us,”
he said.
“This is another good example of how well
Australia and Samoa work together on law and
justice issues.”
The vehicle was handed over to the Commissioner
yesterday in a short ceremony with Australian
High Commissioner Matt Anderson.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 -
Police Commissioner Lilomaiava Fou Taioalo and
Australian High Commissioner Matt Anderson.
Photo 2 -
(L-R) Samoa-Australia Police Partnership Project
Officer Gary Gent, Police Commissioner
Lilomaiava Fou Taioalo and
Australian High Commissioner Matt Anderson.
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(Photo:
Jamm Aquino / Honolulu Star Advertiser) |
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HAWAII: Nanakuli High moves to high-tech
learning
Source:
Honolulu Star Advertiser
Incoming Nanakuli High School freshmen yesterday
test-drove new laptops they will use over the
coming year as part of an initiative to turn
around low-performing schools.
The one-to-one laptop program is an integral
part of the national New Tech Network model,
which is being used or has been adopted at 62
schools around the country, including Nanakuli
and Waianae high schools this year.
The model emphasizes project-based learning and
problem-solving and trains teachers to be
"facilitators" who guide students in finding
answers, rather than telling them what they need
to know. New Tech has shown success in improving
everything from attendance to test scores.
Yesterday, Nanakuli students and their parents
got an introduction to the New Tech model in
laptop orientations scheduled throughout the
day. In the sessions, students excitedly opened
boxes with their computers, got a quick
introduction on how to use them and were told
that the New Tech model was something they would
grow to love.
"You are going to have a very different learning
experience," New Tech Network President Monica
Martinez told one group of students. "It's an
approach to learning that's really different.
It's hard but it's also fun."
After a morning orientation, several students
said they were looking forward to the start of
school.
"We're going to excel," said student Branielle
Young-Velarde, adding that Nanakuli students are
often "stereotyped" as poor performers. "As a
school we can work together."
Student Jarrinn Aipolani said he is proud of his
school and is looking forward to seeing it
shine. "Nanakuli is not what they expect it to
be," he said. "Nanakuli is better."
That is the kind of talk that gives teachers
chicken skin. Just ask Cara Cornelison, who said
New Tech has gotten her excited about teaching
again.
"I think we need to tell these kids not what
they can't do, but what they can do," said the
36-year-old, who has been teaching for 15 years.
"It (Nanakuli) absolutely can be turned around.
Why not?"
Michael Schaffer, 28, a math teacher at Nanakuli,
said New Tech is something he believes will get
students interested in learning and coming back
day after day.
The entire freshman class of 150 at Nanakuli
High School will participate in the New Tech
program, while about 200 freshmen at Waianae
High School will follow the model.
Each incoming class at Nanakuli will be a New
Tech one, so in four years the entire campus
will follow the model. Waianae could also go to
a complete New Tech campus, but for now it will
be one of several academies offered at the
school.
The process of choosing the New Tech model for
the schools started about 18 months ago, when
the Department of Education and several
community partners were looking for
out-of-the-box ways to turn around struggling
campuses.
Kamehameha Schools donated the $450,000 needed
per school (which goes to training and support)
to participate in the New Tech Network, and
worked with the Nanakuli and Waianae campuses to
write strategic plans for how to implement New
Tech -- and how to gauge whether it is working.
Kamehameha Schools, the DOE, neighboring public
elementary schools and other community groups
donated about $350,000 to buy new laptops.
Shawn Kanaiaupuni, Kamehameha Schools public
education support division director, said New
Tech is about preparing students to learn and
work in the 21st century. "It's a chance to
empower the students by taking part in their own
learning process," she said.
Teachers who form the core of the New Tech
academies at Nanakuli and Waianae high schools
went through training earlier this year to learn
the model and also visited schools on the
mainland where New Tech has worked, including
one in a disadvantaged Los Angeles neighborhood.
New Tech is being showcased as an important part
of a radical restructuring of struggling Hawaii
schools, especially those on the Leeward Coast.
Nanakuli and Waianae are part of what the DOE is
calling Zones for School Innovation, where
administrators will get more authority to
incorporate new methods to address low test
scores, high dropout rates and poor attendance.
Photo Caption: Nanakuli High School
students get new laptops as part of the national
New Tech program.
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NAURU: Australian Defence Force disposes of
unexploded ordnance in Nauru
Source:
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) recently sent
an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) detachment
to Nauru to investigate unexploded ordnance on
the island nation.
The ordnance, believed to be material from World
War II, was discovered at a mine complex and
posed a threat to the safety of employees.
The EOD detachment was sent as part of Operation
RENDER SAFE - Defence’s enduring operation to
provide EOD support to South Pacific Island
nations for the disposal of unexploded ordnance
(UXO).
The detachment arrived in Nauru earlier this
month to evaluate and help safely dispose of the
material.
The Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant
General Mark Evans, said unexploded ordnance is
a common problem throughout the South Pacific.
“Unexploded ordnance is a troublesome legacy of
the Second World War and has been an ongoing
problem for the island nations of the South West
Pacific,” Lieutenant General Evans said.
“The Australian Defence Force has identified the
dangers of UXO and has an ongoing commitment to
assist its Pacific neighbours with the
identification and subsequent destruction of
this material so that island communities can
live safely.
“Operation RENDER SAFE is our response to this
threat and ensures we continue to provide
support through the deployment of trained
personnel to deal with this WWII legacy.”
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WORLDWIDE:
Carvers prepare for the Netherlands
Source:
Toi
Maori Aotearoa Press Release
After the recent launching ceremony and naming
of 'Te Hono ki Aotearoa' waka taua on Saturday
26th June 2010 at Aurere, Bay of Islands, the
waka is now being prepared to be transported by
ship to the Netherlands.
Four carvers, Dr Takirirangi Smith (Master
Carver from Ngati Kahungunu who lives in Whitby,
Porirua), Sam Hauwaho (from Tuhoe, who lives in
Waiwhetu, Lower Hutt), Brett Rollo (Ngapuhi,
Scottish descent who lives in Wellington) and
Hinangaroa Smith (Ngati Kahungunu who lives in
Whakatane) will travel to the Netherlands on
Saturday 31st July 2010 to carve posts and barge
boards for a waka shelter over a 4 week period.
The waka shelter will house the new waka taua.
At the same time the carvers leave for the
Netherlands, kaihoe (paddlers) will assemble for
the first of three wananga in Hamilton in
preparation for the hand over of the waka taua
in October.
The ceremonial waka will be on permanent loan to
Volkenkunde Museum, and will remain as a working
exhibition. Njord Royal Rowing Club based in
Leiden will work alongside Volkenkunde Museum
staff to maintain and crew the waka while it is
in their care.
The official handover of the waka to Volkenkunde
Museum will occur on the 18th October 2010
amidst an elaborate ceremony.
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