NEWSPAGE 15 November
2010

(Photos: Department of Labour)

(Photos: Tesese Institute of Administrative Studies)

SAMOA: Tesese Institute the first Microsoft IT Academy in Samoa
Source: Tesese Institute of Administrative Studies Press Release

Tesese Institute of Lalovaea is the first Microsoft IT Academy in Samoa to deliver Microsoft E-learning courseware such as Mos 2003, Mos 2007 (Word, Excel, Access) to name a few. Tesese Institute is the only Microsoft Testing Centre on the island.

"It is a blessing for the people of Samoa to receive Microsoft qualifications which will open job opportunities not only in Samoa but overseas” according to Tesese Institute's Managing Director, Emoni Togamau Tesese.

Tesese Institute was founded by the late Pastor Tasi Tesese (Taga, Savaii) and Mrs Avagananofoa Puni Tesese (Samatau, Upolu) to provide typing and computing skills as well as equipping the young people of Samoa in office and administration work.

The school has served the people of Samoa for 40 years and has produced some of Samoa's finest executives in Government Departments and the private sector.

Dr Mamea To'a Emosi Puni (Chairman of the Board of Directors) wishes to acknowledge and thank the Samoan Government, EventPolynesia, MedCen, Emayse, Kew Consult, friends and families for their great support over the years.


Graduation 2010

Date: Thursday, 18 November 2010
Time: 10.00 am
Venue: Maota o Tupulaga, EFKS Hall at Mulinuu

Guest Speaker:
Afioga Fepuleai Sinapi Moli
Chief Executive Officer
Samoa Qualifications Authority

Invocation and Presentation of Awards:
Afioga Fuimaono Viiga
Supervisor, Human Resource
Latter Day Saints and
Member of the Industry Advisory Committee, Tesese Institute

Presentation of Certificates:
Susuga Fuliese Fatu
Principal
Adventist College

Master of Ceremony:
Tofa Pa'u Teleiai Edwin Fereti Puni
Managing Director
EventPolynesia Ltd

For more information on Microsoft and other courses, contact Foliga Misimoa, Head of School, Ph 2184 or email: [email protected].

Photo Captions: Emoni & Graduation class 2007.
 

(Photo: J. Kneubuhl)

AMERICAN SAMOA: Apprenticeship and Re-Train classes attract local workforce
Source: American Samoa Community College Press Release

The Apprenticeship and Re-Train classes currently underway at the Trades & Technology Division (TTD) of the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) have attracted a large number of tradesmen seeking professional certification, as well as workers displaced by the recent cannery closure and seeking an alternate career. Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Apprenticeship and Re-Train classes offer workers in the community a chance to upgrade their skills or learn the basics in a new field, a strategy designed to foster stability in the local economy by keeping individuals employed.

TTD classes in the areas of automotive, auto body, carpentry and welding take place in the evening, with sections divided between the more advanced Apprenticeship courses and the entry-level Re-Train courses. “Apprenticeship is a combination of on-the-job-training and related classroom instruction, in which workers learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly skilled occupation,” said TTD Apprenticeship Coordinator Fred Suisala. “Our Apprenticeship program offers local tradesmen the opportunity to earn certification by incorporating their current work experience. The Re-Train program, a separate project, seeks to assist individuals who need re-employment, especially displaced workers from the cannery, by offering this free training opportunity in the fundamentals of several trades.”

Suisala said that 124 people have enrolled in the free evening classes, 77 in the Re-Train program, and 47 in the Apprenticeship sections. “We have a real diversity of participants,” he reflected. “Besides former cannery employees, the Re-Train classes include individuals from ASTCA, Tradewinds Hotel, Sight and Sound, Western Union, insurance companies, NAPA and ASPA, as well as members of the public just interested in a new career. We also have technicians from Samoa Motors, ASCO Motors, Haleck Motors, NAPA, Samoa Maritime, SPEX Airlines, ASG Motor Pool, ASPA, Starkist, Young Electrical Contractor, Impress Samoa, LBJ and some from independent contractors enrolled in the Apprenticeship program.” Apprenticeship courses include Automotive Suspension/Steering & Alignment (AUTO 804); Automotive Electrical/Electronic Systems (AUTO 806); Plans, Drawings, Specifications and Building Codes (CARP 800); and Advanced Shielded Metal Arc Welding (WELD 840), while the Re-Train courses are Introduction to Auto Body Technology (ABR 800); Introductions to Automotive Technology (AUTO 800); Introduction to Carpentry, Blueprints, Construction Math, Terminology, Hand/Power Tools and OSHA Regulations (CARP 499); and Introduction to Oxy-Acetylene Welding (WELD 800).

“The Re-Train courses are introductory for entry level positions, similar to our regular daytime courses,” explained Suisala, “while the Apprenticeship courses aim for the experienced technicians currently working in their respective industry but seeking certification in that field. A combination of TTD faculty and local professionals serve as the faculty for the evening courses. “An ASCO Motor Service Manager and a Samoa Motors Parts manager teach the automotive courses,” explained Suisala. “A Poly Tech welding instructor and an ASCC instructor teach the welding courses. Auto Body is taught by a local automotive business owner, while the Carpentry class is taught by a local contractor.”

The positive community response to this semester’s Apprenticeship and Re-Train classes has raised the possibility of both programs continuing after the period made possible through the ARRA funding. Although plans have not reached finalization, Suisala said the TTD has begun discussions on how to offer at least the Apprenticeship program on a regular basis. “TTD will offer these courses under the current arrangement till September 2011,” he said. “With regards to the future, we are working with the TTD Local Apprenticeship Council on a Sustainability Plan to continue the Apprenticeship program with sponsors from both the public and private sectors.”

To show the community the work being done within the TTD, the division is planning a Trade Fair for later this month. The event will showcase the skills learned and mechanisms constructed by students in the regular daytime TTD classes as well as the Apprenticeship and Re-Train programs. Suisala said the TTD has yet to finalize the date of the Trade Fair, but that he hopes the public will visit the event to experience firsthand the full range of trade and technology instruction available within the division. The date and time of the TTD Trade Fair will be announced in the local media.

Photo Caption: ASCC Trades & Technology Division automotive instructor Fred Suisala (center/upper row, in white shirt) gathers some of the many community members currently taking the division's Apprenticeship and Re-Train classes in the evening.
 

(Photo: Fiji Times)

FIJI: Beauty advocates anti-drug abuse
Source: Fiji Times

Lavenia Uluilakeba, will undoubtedly turn heads at Nadi's Bula Festival.

Ms Uluilakeba, sponsored by Hasmat Entertainment, is looking to address a major issue affecting youths - substance abuse.

"I have witnessed many youths drinking excessively and taking drugs and I want to encourage them to stop, to turn a new leaf," said Ms Uluilakeba.

The 24-year-old villager of Natokalau on Matuku says more effort needs to be put into combating substance abuse among young people.

"Many youths begin drinking and taking drugs at a very young age and it is not healthy," said Ms Uluilakeba.

She will also be advocating social unity by appealing to people to let go of their differences.

"Bula Fesitval comes once a year and the people of the Jet Set town should celebrate it in style to help raise awareness of the need to extend the Nadi Hospital mortuary and help the Nadi School of Special Education."

Ms Uluilakeba said the pageant was not only about glamour and gloss but also about individual character-building.

"I urge the people to come out and support this cause," she said.

Ms Uluilakeba is the second eldest of four sisters and a brother.

She was raised in Suva and is employed at Raffles Gateway in Nadi.

The week-long festival begins later this month on November 27.

Photo Caption: Lavenia Uluilakeba.
 

(Photo: Mick Sibley / University of Auckland)

NEW CLAEDONIA: Clever New Caledonian crows go to parents' tool school
Source: BBC Earth News

Young New Caledonian crows learn to use tools by going to "tool-school", where they can observe their parents at work.

These crows are renowned for their extraordinary intelligence and ability to fashion tools to solve problems.

Now a new study has revealed more about how they do it: wild New Caledonian crows live in unusually small family groups, scientists say.

That allows parent birds to take juveniles to tool-using sites, and let young birds play with "grown up" tools.


Talented toolsmiths

Birds belonging to the crow family such as magpies, crows and ravens, known as corvids, are renowned for their innovative behaviour, relatively large brains and general intelligence.

Even among this group, New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) stand out: they make the most complex tools of any animal yet studied apart from humans.

For example, they will evolve and improve the shape of their tools over time, and will fashion left handed or right handed tools.

These tools are usually made to help catch insects and other invertebrates.

Earlier this year, scientists at the Department of Psychology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand discovered that the birds were able to use three tools in succession to reach some food.

However, despite these extraordinary abilities, little is known about how wild New Caledonian crows live, and how they acquire these skills.

To investigate, Jenny Holzhaider and colleagues at the University of Auckland studied the social organisation of New Caledonian crows in their natural habitat on the island of Maré, New Caledonia, which lies in the South Pacific Ocean to the east of Australia and north of New Zealand.

Observations revealed that unlike many other crow species, New Caledonian crows are not highly social.

Instead, they tend to live in small, tight-knit family units comprising two parents and offspring from up to two consecutive breeding years.

The parents stay together all year and seem to especially tolerate the presence of the juveniles.

"Their social system is based on high quality relationships with a small number of crows, especially immediate family," co-researcher Gavin Hunt told the BBC.

The discovery rules out the idea that New Caledonian crows live in complex social groups, and learn their skills from their peers.

Instead it suggests that the crows develop their tool-using abilities by "keeping it in the family", say the researchers, who publish their findings in the journal Animal Behaviour.

What is more, the parent crows appear to go to considerable lengths to ensure their offspring can learn how to fashion and use tools.

"[Juveniles] closely follow and watch their parents' behaviour, are taken to tool using sites, and are 'allowed' to use the tools of their parents," says Dr Hunt.

Structuring their education in this way may also help explain how the crows improve their tools over time, as young crows may learn from their parent's mistakes.

Photo Caption: A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides).
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

WORLDWIDE: Pacific getting ready to meet new Biodiversity targets
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release

18,000 people from around the world gathered recently in Nagoya, Japan at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10).

14 countries in the Pacific are members of the CBD and the “Pacific voice” was well represented in Nagoya.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) worked in partnership with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) in the Pacific region to provide support and advice to the Pacific delegations at Nagoya.

The meeting discussed how to address the dramatic loss of biodiversity currently occurring on earth. In fact one species is being lost every 38 minutes!

Delegates responded with a new commitment to “Live in Harmony with Nature”.

The conference agreed a number of outcomes, which have significance globally and for our Pacific region.

The Strategic Plan of the CBD or the “Aichi Target” was adopted at Nagoya. This is the new global plan to save the World’s biodiversity and includes a number of ambitious targets.

The “Aichi Target” includes a commitment to halve, and where feasible, bring close to zero the loss of natural habitats and also to protect 17% of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10% of marine areas. Also included are measures to control invasive species and to increase awareness of the values of biodiversity.

“We are pleased to welcome the Aichi Target as a guide for our region to work towards,” said David Sheppard, the Director of SPREP.

“The targets are within our reach as the Pacific region has worked diligently to protect our unique biodiversity. We can boast the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) in Kiribati - the largest marine protected area on earth - now a World Heritage Site. In our Pacific region we also have the Micronesia Challenge, a commitment by the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Guam and the Northern Marianas to conserve at least 30% of the near-shore marine resources and 20% of the terrestrial resources across Micronesia by 2020. The “Aichi Target” will help us strengthen our conservation work across the Pacific.”

Another key outcome from the conference was the Nagoya Protocol covering the access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use.

As an example, and hypothetically, if a pharmaceutical company from Switzerland discovered a plant in the Solomon Islands which could lead to a drug which cured cancer, then that company would now be obliged to share the profits arising with the country.

This historic agreement is of great importance to the Pacific region.

It ensures that balanced access to genetic resources on the basis of prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms. The Nagoya Protocol also ensures the fair and equitable sharing of benefits while taking into account the important role of traditional knowledge.

It is expected the Nagoya Protocol will be in force by 2015. The Global Environment Facility has offered financial support to assist with the early entry into force of this Protocol.

“We have seen history in the making,” said Fiji’s Ambassador to Japan, H.E Mr Isikeli Mataitoga the Head of delegation for Fiji. He added:

“The adoption of the ABS protocol is a major step forward in bringing equity and fairness in the sharing of the profits made by the developed world from the biodiversity resources of the developing world, including the small island developing states.”

The current challenge for Pacific countries is to translate these key outcomes into national biodiversity strategies and to secure support from the international community for their implementation.

Many substantial commitments were made by countries at Nagoya, including a commitment by the Government of Japan of $2billion US to help developing countries protect their biodiversity

“For us in this region, it means working towards identifying opportunities and innovative ways to take these outcomes forward. We have agreed to the Aichi Target now we need to see how and where we can incorporate the different objectives into work we are doing at the national and regional level in the Pacific,” said Easter Galuvao, the Biodiversity Adviser of SPREP.

“In some cases we are on track with the targets, in other cases we need to work harder in a concerted and holistic manner as a region so that by 2020, the Pacific region can once again showcase to the world what we have accomplished as part of our contribution to save our biodiversity.”

These are just several of the many achievements of the biodiversity conference in Nagoya.

There were many more for the Pacific region. Representation from the region ensured a strong Pacific presence was felt and heard as they were a vocal part of the negotiations.

A communications campaign - “The Pacific Voyage” helped ensure Pacific visibility was high and our voices heard at the gathering of 18,000 participants with promotional materials and events which highlighted conservation successes in the Pacific as well as an event which promoted the different types of communication and awareness raising activities on nature conservation.

For SPREP the meeting has helped provide the guide for future work with the different member countries as the region strives to meet the Aichi Targets to help save global biodiversity.