| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photos:
Kim Bowden / Pacific Media Centre) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
NEW ZEALAND: Young Pasifika embrace new media,
oldies stick to ‘trusted’ media
While younger and expatriate Pacific audiences
are quick to embrace digital media, industry
leaders say older Pacific Islanders continue to
rely on radio, newspapers and television as
their preferred information source.
Tom Etuata, chief executive of Pacific Media
Network, says “routine is hard to break” and
older generations still turn to traditional
media as “they are trusted sources” of
information.
He says although he carries an iPhone, his paper
and pen option is also always close to hand.
“I trust this. The iPhone may go offline at
anytime; Vodafone may not work in certain areas
so there are limitations in terms of new media,”
he says.
Etuata was one of six experienced media
practitioners who took part in a panel
discussion on “the end of traditional media”, to
conclude Friday’s 2010 Pacific Islands Media
Association (PIMA) conference in Auckland.
There is no question that the increasingly
popularity of online social networking sites and
techno-gadgets such as iPhones has impacted
hugely on traditional media with many newspapers
struggling to compete with online media, and
radio stations and television going online to
reach bigger audiences.
But Television New Zealand’s Tagata Pasifika
senior journalist John Utanga, who facilitated
the panel, asked: “Are we heading down a blind
alley, saying, ‘Oh yeah, let’s go all online,’
when in fact most of our people are at home
watching Tagata Pasifika and listening to the
radio?
‘Radio is king’
“You could argue that radio is king when it
comes to getting the message out to our Pacific
Island people here in Aotearoa,” he said.
Tongan media veteran Sefita Hao’uli said it was
the older Pacific Island market that was more
likely to be regular listeners of radio
programmes.
“I think radio to a large extent is
generational. If you look at Pacific Island
radio we are definitely 40-plus if we are lucky,
maybe even 50-plus.”
Hao’uli said one of the key aims of Pacific
radio brands, particularly Radio 531pi, was to
retain the use of Pacific languages on air and
“while that remains there will always be that
older generation which relies on that as being
the only medium they have”.
Setita Miller, director of programming for
Pasifika Broadcasting which operates TNews, said
her company also tailored its programming to
target the older Pacific market.
Pasifika Broadcasting also had an online
presence and most online viewers were logging-on
overseas.
Radio Samoa manager Mataio Sagala said his
company’s website was a hit with expatriate
Samoan communities.
Streamed signal
“We stream our analogue signal so Samoans from
around the globe can hear us. We get calls from
Iraq and the soldiers there saying, ‘Thank you
for broadcasting our language’.”
Taualeo’o Stephen Stehlin, executive producer of
Tagata Pasifika, said from his generational
viewpoint he could not comprehend the degree of
connectedness young people had with online
communities.
“I was completely dismissive of my niece’s
internet relationships.
“I said, ‘That isn’t a real friend, they are
just images on a screen, but I was really
wrong.”
Etuata agrees young people have enthusiastically
embraced new media and this has ramifications
for the manner in which they consume
information.
“Your kids at home are sitting there trying to
do their homework and they have their phone
here, their iPod there, and their assignment in
front of them.”
“Our young audience is in a hurry, they don’t
have time to sit and read. Everything is
instant.”
Apprehensive over reading
Hao’uli said he was apprehensive new media would
be the death of longer-format, well-researched
feature stories, to the detriment of both
informed opinion and reading pleasure.
“It seems to me that the contribution from new
media is, if you are more than a screen’s length
you are considered to be too long.
“I think my children will probably never read
more than a page long and they won’t know what
they will be missing…As an oldie I will miss
that.”
Kalafi Moala, who delivered the conference’s
keynote speech earlier in the day, also took
part in the panel discussion. He was well aware
of his own generational approach to new media.
“I am a traditional media person. Why am I here
at this debate? I feel I am close to being
obsolete,” said Moala, who is publisher and
chief executive of Tonga’s Taimi Media Network
Moala said print was still his company’s main
source of income.
“Ten years ago a friend of mine in the US told
me print was dead and he said, ‘You had better
do something really fast’. And my argument to
him was that in the Pacific we are about 20 or
30 years later so maybe one day print will be
dead but we are still at the back here,” he
joked.
Flexible need
But Moala said there was an increasing need to
be flexible and innovative in the direction the
business took.
“The future for us in traditional media is going
to be dependent on how much we adapt, how much
we change.”
Moala said that although the Pacific Island
populations themselves were still largely
reliant on traditional media sources, that too
could rapidly shift.
“We in the islands are going to have to
leapfrog, or at least not so much the media
operations but the people themselves. People who
never knew what it was to talk on a landline are
walking around with two or three cell phones.”
Etuata said the technology in the Pacific
Islands did not yet allow a huge shift towards
new media.
“Once they improve the broadband to the Pacific
things will change. Access will be instant.”
‘Winners and losers’
Matilda Roebeck, a teacher at Tangaroa College
in Otara, said there was a socio-economic divide
as well as a generational gap when it came to
accessing new media in New Zealand.
She said easy access to new media was not yet
widespread in Pacific communities.
“We have a 90 percent Pacific Island and Maori
population [at her college],” she said. “Very
few students have access to internet in their
own homes. So the only way they are able to
access the internet is at school or at public
libraries and at both those places the resources
are very much stretched.”
Roebeck said there would be winners and losers
as a result of the shift in focus to online as a
primary information source.
“I am concerned because the technology is
accelerating and the gap seems to be widening
between those who are able to access this media
and those who are not. The students I see who
can’t access it are getting further and further
behind and that is disempowering for them.
She challenged Pacific media providers to act:
“I just wonder if part of our responsibility in
terms of looking at Pacific media is not just
how we can get the information in a more
up-to-date way but also how are we going to open
up these resources to those like the students I
work with.”
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 - Veteran broadcaster Sefita
Hao'uli: "If you look at Pacific Island radio we
are definitely 40-plus if we are lucky."
Photo 2 - Kalafi Moala: "I am a
traditional media person."
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photo:
United Nations Development Programme) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
SAMOA: UN statement for the observance of the
Samoa tsunami
Source:
United Nations Development Programme Press Release
It has been a year since the tragic Tsunami
disaster which resonated a note of great sadness
around the country and Samoan communities
throughout the world. September 29 will forever
be etched in our hearts and minds as one of the
most heartbreaking days for Samoa. As the
country comes together to commemorate and
remember the villages and families that were
affected, the United Nations Family pays tribute
to the resilience of the affected communities
and retraces its steps to see how it was able to
aid a great country that found itself in
unfamiliar territory and in dire need of
support.
On 29 September 2009, the UN System responded
swiftly and collectively with our humanitarian
and development partners to support Samoa’s
emergency, relief and recovery efforts through
the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC). The
Early Recovery Framework that was developed
jointly by the Government of Samoa, the UN
System and its partners, provided a basis for
rebuilding the lives of those affected by the
tsunami and achieving the development
aspirations of Samoans as reflected in the
universal ideals of freedom, dignity, equality
and human rights.
Immediately after the tsunami, relief goods and
supplies such as, water, food, tarpaulins, water
tanks, seeds, farming implements, medical kits,
female sanitary provisions, and tents were
provided to the NDMO for distribution. Many of
the relief goods were secured from the local
markets ensuring support to the local economy.
Government’s co-ordination efforts at NDMO were
supported by an UN Disaster Assistance
Coordination team comprised of IT, logistics and
cartographers, allowing for effective
monitoring, utilization and targeting of relief
and humanitarian resources coming into Samoa
Technical resources of the UN System were also
made available to the government ministries to
assist with rapid assessments and the early
recovery framework, covering a range of
specialties that include: coordination,
logistics, public health, protection, child
protection, food security, agriculture,
fisheries, nutrition, livelihoods, water and
sanitation, shelter, education, reproductive
health, GIS, , disaster management and emergency
preparedness, governance, infrastructure, damage
assessment and environment. Building on the
Early Recovery Framework, a more detailed damage
and loss assessment (DaLa) was conducted to
complement the ER Framework which formed the
basis of a longer term prioritization and
infrastructure. The DaLa assessment was
conducted by colleagues from UNESCAP, FAO,
UNHABITAT, ADB and the World Bank. In addition
the UN Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) coordinated the work of 23 scientists
from the International Oceanographic Commission,
who assessed the wave impacts, run up heights;
as a measure of increasing community resilience
and improving disaster preparedness in the
future.
As per their respective mandates and objectives
the United Nations Agencies in their various
capacities supported Samoa through different
projects and activities. Where others were able
to contribute financially some gave technical
assistance or a mixture of the two. In the
immediate aftermath of the tsunami, UNDP
emergency relief funds to the value of $100,000
USD assisted with delivery of emergency food,
water, and shelter in Manono-Tai among other
areas. Since then the UNDP sponsored, Government
of Samoa-led, Early Recovery Programme funds of
US$400,000 USD is operational in 10 affected
communities - Manono-tai, Ulutogia, Utufaalalafa,
Mutiatele, Lotopue, Malaela, Satitoa, Vailoa,
Lalomanu, and Saleaumua, with another 13 to be
added in the second half of 2010 covering all of
the 23 villages affected by the Tsunami.
To date, UNDP has delivered approximately 40% of
its recovery resources. These resources range
from the provision of boats and fishing
equipment to jump start fishing efforts in
Manono-tai to providing Disaster Risk Reduction
training in conjunction with the Disaster
Management Office. For example, in the village
of Mutiatele the Women’s Committee who manages
the fishing equipment supplied by the Early
Recovery Project, has been able to increase
their income to the value of $400 SAT per month
by renting out the fishing equipment to village
fishermen. The Early Recovery Program also
teamed up with the Ministry of Agriculture to
train tsunami affected villagers in the art of
composting in order to provide organic foods for
family and tourist consumption as a part of the
effort to ‘green’ communities as a basis toward
promoting eco-friendly tourism in Samoa.
UNICEF also made available financial and
technical assistance in their mandated areas of
Child Protection, Water and Sanitation,
Education and Nutrition. Working closely with
its UN partners such as UNFPA and WHO, and other
partners such as Save the Children, World
Vision, OXFAM, and RedR, UNICEF was involved
closely with the Samoan Government Ministries
and Corporations in both the relief and recovery
period. UNICEF’s coordination work was
comprehensive, some specific examples of the
work include; the supply of ‘school a box’ and
‘recreational’ kits for children in the affected
areas; guidance on child protection issues for
psychosocial teams visiting the affected areas;
supply of water to affected areas, supply of
nutrition, health and sanitation media messages;
nutrition assessment of affected areas; national
measles campaign; needs assessment for affected
schools and preschools; development of water
supply plan; supply of play equipment for 4
early childhood education centers.
The World Health Organization via the generosity
of the Italian Government since the tsunami has
made available to the Ministry of Health
$170,000 USD and the Government of Andorra made
available €10,000 EUR to be used in their public
health efforts in the affected areas. In support
of families to re grow their crops the Food and
Agriculture Organization through the Ministry of
Agriculture provided 59,158 tools, 23,000
planting materials and 19,000 seeds for
distribution.
In terms of protection of the people affected
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) conducted a pilot project on
monitoring post disaster displacement following
the tsunami in September. The monitoring was
designed to help bring a better understanding of
the protection issues and main concerns of the
affected population. The pilot project was
implemented in partnership with the Ministry of
Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD).
By the end of March 2010, OHCHR had completed
the fieldwork for the second periodic monitoring
on post disaster displacement. The monitoring
team covered 10 selected villages (Saleaumua,
Poutasi, Lepa, Malaela, Satitoa, Manono Tai,
Lalomanu, Vailoa, Mutiatele and Saleapaga) that
were severely affected by tsunami last year. The
second monitoring took place six months after
the tsunami. The information collected from the
monitoring is designed to provide useful
feedback to the Samoan government and early
recovery partners to help improve their
interventions. The pilot project is being
implemented in three phases: two months, six
months, and twelve months after tsunami. At the
end of each monitoring phase OHCHR will prepare
a report to be shared with the government and
key partners.
The road to recovery and healing remains a long
and difficult process however it is the people’s
determination and their resilience that has
motivated and inspired the UN Agencies to push
forward and continue with the rebuilding
efforts. We would like to assure the public that
the UN System remains steadfast in its
commitments to this country. Under the
leadership of the Samoan government and in
collaboration with our implementing partners the
UN remains confident that Samoans will enjoy a
safer, secure country with an informed and a
more disaster resilient population.
Photo Caption: United Nations Resident
Coordinator, Nileema Noble.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
AUSTRALIA: Oz students donate to Samoan children
Source:
Australian High Commission Press Release
Sydney's Burwood Girls’ High School yesterday
presented the Samoa Victim Support Group with
3090 tala to assist child victims of sexual
assault.
Groups of students from the Australian school
have been travelling to Samoa over the past 10
years as part of a Society and Culture course.
Burwood Girls’ High School teacher Patrice
Simpson worked as a teacher at Tuasivi High
School in 1982/3 as a member of the Australian
Volunteers Abroad Program.
During their visits the students have always
felt welcomed by the wonderful hospitality
extended to them by the families of many
villages, especially in Savaii where they have
enjoyed ‘home-stays’.
They cherish the friendships they have made and
the memories they take with them back to
Australia.
In July, the students became aware of the ‘Say
No to Rape’ campaign conducted by SVSG.
Upon returning to Australia they decided to
raise money to donate to the organisation.
Yesterday, Mary Kelliher, who taught at Avele
College in 1982/3, presented the 3090 tala
cheque to SVSG at their Apia office.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photo:
Oceania Football Confederation) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
COOK ISLANDS: OFC Women’s Nations Cup day five
review
Source:
Oceania Football Confederation Press Release
The fifth day of action in the OFC Women’s
Nations Cup 2010 turned out to be an historic
one for the young Cook Islands team as they
joined New Zealand’s Football Ferns in making it
through to the semi-finals.
Coach Jimmy Katoa and his charges booked their
spot with a thrilling 2-0 win over Vanuatu and
have now become the first side from their
country to qualify for the semi-finals of a
tournament.
New Zealand’s path out of the group stages had
already been assured with their two earlier
victories but they continued their free-scoring
form, posting a 7-0 win over Tahiti, who join
Vanuatu in being eliminated.
The Cook Islanders had to wait until the last
ten minutes of their match to be sure of the
groundbreaking win. They had dominated much of
the game without being able to score until Dayna
Napa provided the finishing touches to a
breakaway in the 83rd minute.
That sent their vocal supporters delirious and
they were on their feet again just minutes later
when captain Mama Henry smashed a powerful shot
into the top corner.
The midfielder was delighted to have led her
girls into the record books.
“We’ve made history so it’s something to be
proud of,” she says. ”Our goal was to get as far
as we can and this was what we had in mind.”
Henry sees no reason why they can’t now go even
further and challenge for the title.
“I know my girls and when we put our hearts into
things we really go for it. If we can make it
this far then I’m confident we can win the next
game and make it to the final.”
In the afternoon’s other match, a spirited
Tahiti effort kept the Ferns out until the 36th
minute when youngster Bridgette Armstrong
climbed high to head home Ria Percival’s corner
for her first senior international goal.
The Tahitians kept their discipline and
defensive structure after the break and
frustrated the Kiwis to no end. But with the
strong wind behind them, the home side
eventually took control with Amber Hearn giving
them a two-goal cushion on the hour mark.
Hearn scored the goal of the match in the 75th
minute with a 25-yard screamer before Anna
Green’s back post header made it three less than
a minute later. The other goals went to
Sweden-based midfielder Kirsty Yallop, Sarah
Gregorius (her fourth of the campaign) and Ria
Percival, whose stoppage-time corner sailed over
Poroni Turana - the only blight on the
goalkeeper’s outstanding afternoon.
New Zealand coach John Herdman was pleased with
the performance despite the slow start.
“We certainly didn’t go out lethargic but I
think we were trying to adapt to their style of
play which we don’t encounter very often. Back
in the day we were renowned for that style
ourselves and you can see why teams would play
like that,” he says.
“It was frustrating as a coach and for the
players but we need to learn how to deal with
all situations. In the last 25 minutes we
recognised that we could start sending centre
backs forward and really overload them and
that’s when we caused them problems.”
Attention turns to Group B tomorrow with Tonga
facing Papua New Guinea on the North Harbour
Stadium artificial pitch and Fiji meeting
Solomon Islands on the oval ground, both matches
kicking off at 3.30pm. Papua New Guinea have
already made sure of a semi-final berth but the
other three sides have everything to play for.
LIVE text updates of every match will be
available online at oceaniafootball.com
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photo:
Solomon Star) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Feratalona cultural, tourism
centre gets help
Source:
Solomon Star
Feratalona cultural & tourism centre received
assistance of 150 thousand dollars from the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism yesterday.
The assistance received was purposely to fund
their tourism project in order to upgrade
Feratalona cultural centre.
Feratalona tribe from Langalanga lagoon in
Malaita was building a cultural centre in
Matalibore island where all their tribal
cultural site located.
The idea to build the centre was mainly to
preserve their cultural heritage and at the same
time able to earn income from it.
The centre was used to showcase cultural site
and artifacts that belong to the tribe.
It is where they build houses where women in the
tribe were able to display their shell money
making ,war canoe making and other Cultural Tabu
site that were in the islands .
Spokesman for the tribe Mr Linus Ogali said that
they came up with idea and started building the
centre in year 2006.
The centre was officially opened in July this
year whereby they received only day tours.
He said from that small number of visitors it
somehow benefit the women to sell their shell
money products without coming to Honiara.
He added that the only problem they had is in
terms of marketing and promoting the centre to
the outside visitors.
However he said that with the recognition the
Ministry of culture & Tourism had for their
centre they have a positive mind that they can
be improvement in term of promoting the cultural
site, as they were now thinking of working
closely with the Solomon islands Visitors Bereau
.
The 150-thousand dollars assistance received
will mainly be used to build resthouses, shell
money making houses , toilets and other
important facilities needed.
Mr Ogali said that they happy with the progress
they were making and want to thank their Trustee
Mr Plascid Walekwate Junior for helping them and
all their other tribal members in Honiara for
assisting them carrying out the project.
Photo Caption: Permanent Secretary of
Culture and Tourism Ministry Luke Eta, right,
handing over the cheque to Mr Silas Wade of
Feratalona tribal association.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
WORLDWIDE:
Meetings to address federal management of US
Pacific Island fisheries
Source:
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management
Council Press Release
Scientists and fishery managers will meet the
next two weeks in Honolulu to make
recommendations on the management of Hawaii’s
longline fishery, American Samoa’s longline and
large pelagic vessel fisheries, and other
federally managed fisheries in the US Pacific
Islands. The Scientific and Statistical
Committee (SSC) will meet 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Oct. 6 to 8 at the Western Pacific Regional
Fishery Management Council office, 1164 Bishop
St., Suite 1400, Honolulu. The Council’s
executive and budget standing committee will
meet 2 to 5 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Council office.
The full Council will consider recommendations
by the SSC, standing committee and other
advisory bodies, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 12 to
14, at the Laniakea YWCA-Fuller Hall, 410
Atkinson Dr., Honolulu. Eric Schwaab, assistant
administrator for NOAA Fisheries, is scheduled
to open the Council meeting on Oct. 12. Council
recommendations are transmitted to the Secretary
of Commerce for final approval.
Major agenda items to be considered by the SSC
and the Council include the following:
* Hawaii Longline Bigeye Tuna Catch Limit
Management: The National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) has published a proposed rule to
limit the catch of bigeye tuna in the Western
and Central Pacific Ocean by U.S. longline
vessels at 3,763 mt (8,278,600 lbs) annually
through 2011. This is consistent with the
recommendations of the Western and Central
Pacific Fisheries Commission, to which the
United States is a party. The Council will
consider changing the fishing year for the
Hawaii longline fishery, which currently aligns
with the calendar year. In 2009, the fishery
reached its bigeye quota on Dec. 29th. This
year, it is expected to reach its quota in
mid-November. Hawaii demand for bigeye tuna
spikes during the holiday season.
* Hawaii Longline Catch Shares: Current federal
policy supports the use of “catch shares,” also
known as individual transferrable quotas, to
manage fisheries. As a first step to considering
a catch shares program for the Hawaii longline
fishery, NMFS logbook and fishery permit
databases have been merged into a single
database that describes ownership patterns,
vessel and permit sales, associated catch
reports and other characteristics. Council staff
will report on how the merged database could be
used to generate catch shares for the Hawaii
longline fishery based on catches from 2000 to
2009.
* American Samoa Longline Large-Vessel Closed
Area: The SSC and Council will examine measures
to enhance the available fishing area for the
American Samoa longline fleet. Currently,
pelagic fishing vessels greater than 50 feet in
length are prohibited from fishing out to
approximately 50 nautical miles offshore from
the islands in the archipelago. This prohibited
area was implemented in 2002 to separate large
and small vessels. The American longline fishery
prior to 2002 was comprised primarily of small
artisanal longliners, known locally as alias.
Despite the closed area and a limited entry
program established in 2004, the alia fleet has
declined. In 2009 and 2010, only one alia
operated. Measures to be considered acknowledge
the transformation of the American Samoa
longline fishery to a conventional large vessel
monohull longline fleet as well as the recent
Presidential proclamation establishing the Rose
Atoll Marine National Monument and closing about
9,000 square nautical miles to commercial
fishing.
* Process for Establishing Annual Catch Limits:
The Council is expected to take final action on
measures to address the current federal policy
requiring that annual catch limits (ACLs) be
established for all federally managed stocks.
The SSC and Council will review alternatives for
establishing annual biological catches on which
the ACLs are based. They will also consider
statutory exceptions for some stocks and a suite
of accountability measures.
Other major agenda items to be considered by the
Council:
* Community Development Program exemption
request to teach native Hawaiian students to
fish commercially using traditional basket gear
and methods in the Hawaiian Islands longline
closed area.
* American Samoa longline limited entry program
modifications to include two class size
categories (small and large) instead of four
class size categories; a three-year minimum
landing requirement of 500 lbs of managed
pelagic fish for the small vessel category and
5,000 lbs for the large vessel category; and
eligibility criteria limited to US nationals and
US citizens, with no other qualifying criteria.
Final action on the American Samoa longline
limited entry program is scheduled for March
2011, when the Council convenes in American
Samoa.
As part of the Council meeting, a free Fishers
Forum will be held 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 12, at the
Aloha Tower Marketplace. Open to fishermen,
ocean users and the general public, “Marine
Spatial Planning: Fishermen and Ocean User
Perspectives” will feature informational booths,
a panel discussion, a public forum and more. It
addresses President Obama’s program to zone the
ocean for different uses, including emerging
offshore energy and aquaculture ventures. Free
validated parking at Aloha Tower Marketplace or
Topa Center.
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management
Council was established by Congress to manage
fisheries in offshore waters around Hawaii,
American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands and the US Pacific
remote island areas. For more information or the
agendas, visit www.wpcouncil.org or email
[email protected]; phone (808) 522-8220,
or fax (808) 522-8226.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
