NEWSPAGE 16 March
2011

(Photos: Marist Auckland Women’s 7’s)

NEW ZEALAND: Marist Auckland Women’s 7’s gain valuable experience in Suva

(Photos: National University of Samoa)

SAMOA: Traditional voyagers open NUS centre's seminar series at Papaigalagala
Source: National University of Samoa

The National University of Samoa Centre for Samoan Studies began its first Seminar series for 2011 on Thursday, 24 February by welcoming speakers from the Samoa Voyaging Society / Aiga Folau o Samoa.

The guest speakers were the Captain, Marc Gondard, and members of the crew, Kalilo and Frani, of the Gaualofa, a traditional sailing vessel.. They discussed past trips on the Gaualofa to Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, and Tahiti as well as their intended pan-Pacific voyage from Samoa to New Zealand and from there to the to North and Central Americas .

For their trip to the Americas, they will be studying with a master Navigator in NZ and Hawaii and the leg of the trip from New Zealand to Hawaii will be sailed completely with traditional navigational techniques and without the aid of modern navigational tools.

The Gaualofa crew has been training hard over the past three months in preparation for their journey and there is much excitement on board the traditional Polynesian voyaging vessel, says the captain.

Gaualofa’s maiden voyage was to Tonga in August 2010 and she has also completed a journey to Tokelau. However, this 12-18 month journey will be her longest yet and, for many of the crew members, it will be their first time on open waters.

“We are very proud of our crew,” said Tuatagaloa Joe Annandale, President of Aiga Folau o Samoa (Samoa Voyaging Society), which has responsibility for Gaualofa.

“They hail from different villages of Samoa and have taken on the challenge to retrace the steps of their ancestors. They will join other Pacific islanders on the voyage and be ambassadors for Samoa, our culture and our heritage as they go from island to island.”

The Gaualofa is part of a fleet of seven traditionally inspired, double-hulled voyaging canoes on loan to Pacific island voyaging societies from Ocean Noise Film Production (ONFP), a not-for-profit organisation based in Germany.

The seven va’a, with crew from more than eight Pacific nations, will participate in the year and a half-long journey to promote cultural revival and ocean conservation. Their voyages will take them through New Zealand, Tahiti, the Marquesas, the islands of Hawaii, mainland USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cook Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

The Aiga Folau o Samoa or Samoa Voyaging Society (SVS) was informally established in the 1970’s when the construction of an Alia /Va’atele was considered a way of reviving the old skills of canoe carving and the lost art of voyaging by the stars (celestial navigation).

Funding for a va’a (traditional boat) was a major constraint but the sponsorship in 2009 by the Okeanos Foundation allowed SVS to obtain its very own va’a “Gaualofa” and for it to become formally established.

The Okeanos Foundation is an international philanthropic organization based in Germany, formed with the objective of protecting the ocean environment and marine life. Its mission then, as now, is to revive traditional Polynesian culture and voyaging techniques and to highlight the importance of environmental issues.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - (L-R) Kaldo Koelling, Harmonee Bruun and Captain Marc Gondard of the Gaualofa at the NUS seminar. Kaldo and Harmonee are members of the crew.

Photo 2 - Members of the audience listen attentively as crew of the Gaualofa tell of their plans for future voyaging.

(Photo: Texas A&M University)

AMERICAN SAMOA: ASCC emphasizes professional development in assessment
Source: American Samoa Community College Press Release

Thanks to funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) has accelerated its program of professional development in the areas of Assessment, Program Review and Accreditation Standards. Two teams of ASCC administrators and faculty recently participated in two separate events, the nation-wide 11th Annual Texas A&M Assessment Conference, and the regional conference of the Pacific Postsecondary Education Council held in Hawaii last month.

Teacher Education Department instructor Sonny Leomiti, who led the ASCC delegation to Texas, offered an overview of the Assessment concept as it applies to academics. “Assessment is basically the process to improve teaching and learning,” he said. “The theme of the conference we attended as “Learn… Share… Innovate”, and it emphasized Assessment as a means of accountability as well as Assessment as a means of transformation. Trainings like this provide direction by emphasizing assessment processes and practices. As campuses define, review, and revise grounds that facilitate ‘Student and Learning Centeredness’, the end product should be tangible results that reflect the institutions’ best teaching and learning practices.”

“The workshop offered an array of information on assessment,” continued Leomiti, “such as the pursuit of student success, engaging faculty in assessing critical thinking, developing assessment plans, curricular redesign and institutional effectiveness through the lens of assessment. ASCC participants have been exposed to a variety of assessment processes and practices as posed by other colleges and universities who presented at the conference.” In addition to Leomiti, who serves as Assessment Committee Chairman, ASCC participants included Dr. Daniel Chang (Chairman- Health Services Department); Sal Poloai (Dean- Trades and Technology Division); Letupu Moananu (Chairman, Mathematics Department); Randel DeWees (Faculty, Science Department); Lilian Temese (Faculty, Social Science Department); and Poe Mageo (Faculty, Language & Literature Department).
 
In the same month as the Texas conference, the Pacific Postsecondary Education Council (PPEC) held its own three-day event in Hawaii, which included a discussion of Assessment , Program Review and Accreditation Success, which was attended by ASCC administrators Dr. Kathleen Kolhoff-Belle (Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs), Mikaele Etuale (Vice President of Administration and Finance), Emey Silafau (Chief Financial Officer) and Rosevonne Pato (Director, Office of Institutional Effectiveness). PPEC includes representatives from colleges and universities in Hawaii and across the American Pacific, and the conference included a presentation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), a division of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

“It was extremely helpful to attend the ACCJC/WASC workshop on the first day and a half,” recalled Dr. Kolhoff-Belle. “Too often, ACCJC presentations are California-centric, so I appreciated their efforts to move out into the region, addressing specific concerns of the Pacific colleges. Another unique feature of this conference was the presentation of case studies from specific colleges. ASCC wrote and presented three of the 11 cases, and workshop discussions were facilitated by Mrs. Pato, Mrs. Silafau and me. These sessions let us share specific concerns and ideas for solutions with our counterparts from the other colleges in the region.” Besides the theoretical aspects of Assessment, the conference also touched on ways that technology can aid in the process. “We had an opportunity to review three different software programs used to track Assessment,” said Dr. Kolhoff-Belle, “and it was good to hear presentations from actual colleges using the programs, rather than from vendors looking for new customers.”

Dr. Kolhoff-Belle served on the conference planning committee for the PPEC event, and expressed satisfaction with this year’s turnout. “When the PPEC Chief Academic Officers proposed this conference last November, we envisioned a small gathering of 25 or 30,”she explained. “It was gratifying to see our small idea grow to a three day conference including the ACCJC/WASC and more than 90 participants from Hawaii and the PPEC member colleges.” ASCC will also send a group of participants to the forthcoming Academic Resources Conference (ARC) being held in April that will focus on Assessment and Academic Program Review, as well as information on the development and accreditation of the Bachelors in Education program now under development by the College.

Photo Caption: The ASCC team who participated in the Texas A&M Assessment Conference takes a break from the sessions for a group photo. (l-r) Poe Mageo, Dr. Daniel Chang, Letupu Moananu, Randel Dewees, Lilian Temese, Sonny Leomiti and Sal Poloai.
 

(Photo: Fiji Ministry of Information)

FIJI: Prime Minister: New Melanesian Spearhead Group start
Source: Fiji Sun

The participation of three new countries at this year's Melanesian Spearhead Group meeting in Fiji signals a new beginning.

MSG chair Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama welcomed the interest shown by the Republic of Timor Leste, the Republic of Indonesia and the Luxembourg government to be part of the MSG meeting scheduled for March 31. Indonesia and Timor Leste will be participating as observers while a representative from Luxembourg will attend as a special guest at the leaders’ meeting.

“The granting of observership to Timor Leste and Indonesia is a historic moment in the young life of the MSG and we welcome our neighbours to the MSG family, in their capacity as observers,” Commodore Bainimarama said.

Speaking from Vanuatu yesterday Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola said that preparations for the 18th Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders’ Summit was progressing well.

Ratu Inoke said he had briefed both Vanuatu’s Foreign Minister George Wells and Prime Minister Sato Kilman of the preparation and both were looking forward to coming to Fiji at the end of the month.

This, he said, would be the second occasion that Fiji is hosting the MSG Leaders Summit; the first was in 1997.

The MSG was founded in 1986 and is made up of countries in the Melanesian region.

“It is a legitimate, cooperative endeavour aimed at fostering and accelerating economic development through trade relations amongst Melanesian States and it provides a political framework for regular consultations ensuring that political, social and economic developments including trade, both in terms of exports and imports, is undertaken in a genuine spirit of Melanesian solidarity,” Ratu Inoke said.

On Timor Leste, Indonesia’s attendance he said - “Appropriate communication will be dispatched shortly by Fiji, in its capacity as Chair of the MSG, to Jakarta and Dili inviting them as observers to the MSG.” While in Port Vila, Ratu Inoke was briefed by the MSG Secretariat on the agenda of the summit.

“It looks as though we have a few items to dispose, but with Melanesian spirit, I’m confident that we will be able to accomplish our task,” Ratu Inoke said.

The MSG Summit officially starts on Wednesday March 23, with the Trade Officials Meeting (TOM), the Leaders’ Summit proper is scheduled to be held at the Vale ni Bose Complex in Draiba on March 31.

Photo Caption: Fijian Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola.
 

(Photo: Pacific Islands Applied GeoScience Commission)

KIRIBATI: Kiribati receives phosphate report on Banaba Atoll
Source: Pacific Islands Applied GeoScience Commission Press Release

Ten years of research has culminated in the Banaban Report, a detailed study of phosphate mining on the Kiribati atoll island of Banaba (Ocean Island).

The report, produced by SOPAC and commissioned by the Kiribati government, was presented to its President Anote Tong in a special ceremony in Suva recently.

SOPAC is a division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

In presenting the report, SOPAC’s Director, Dr. Russell Howorth said that the contents were a milestone of achievement.

“The challenges of sustaining such work over the long period of time is an endorsement of both Kiribati and SOPAC’s partnership commitment to the project,” said Dr. Howorth.

Joining Dr. Howorth at the presentation was SPC’s Deputy Director General, Mrs. Fakita ‘Utoikamanu, who said that SPC would investigate the use of its wider resources to further develop the resources on Banaba Island as an extension of the report.

President Tong accepted the report on behalf of the Kiribati government and thanked SOPAC for all the support it has given “to his country over the years.”

Photo Caption: Kiribati President Anote Tong (Left) receives the Banaban Report from SOPAC Director Dr. Russell Howorth (Right), while SPC Deputy Director General (Centre) Mrs. Fakita ‘Utoikamanu looks on.

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

WORLDWIDE: Discussions underway on mobilising climate change resources
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release

The Pacific Climate Change Roundtable (PCCR) is officially underway in Alofi, Niue with the theme “Mobilising Climate Change Resources for the Pacific”.

With the concern of Pacific countries being the most vulnerable on earth to the impacts of climate change, over 100 delegates from all over the world are gathering at the four day conference to address the urgent need to accelerate climate change finance through welcoming the increase involvement of donors and partners.

At the opening ceremony, a minute of silence was held in respect and memory of those from Christchurch, New Zealand and Japan who have undergone huge tragedies.

“The tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan, following so closely after the Christchurch earthquake remind us again of the power of nature and the vulnerability of Pacific nations to climate change and to natural disasters. The impacts of cyclone Heta in this country (Niue) in 2004 further underline this vulnerability,” said the Director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

“The issue of climate finance has been repeatedly emphasised by our leaders, and this is reflected in the theme for this roundtable.

“We all recognize that there must be a quantum leap in funding for climate change in the countries of our region, in particular for focused adaptation and mitigation programmes. We greatly appreciate commitments made under the Copenhagen Accord to provide 100 billion US dollars per annum by 2020 to support climate change efforts by developing countries,” he added.

“Climate finance must support systems and structures which exist at national and regional levels. It is vital that donor efforts be coordinated and sharply addresses the priorities developed by Pacific countries.”

Premier of Niue, Hon. Toke Talagi hopes that one of the outcome of the PCCR are set plans for adaptation measures and mitigating infrastructure to help the Pacific survive the current trends until countries are able to at least stabilise their climate situation and hopefully reverse it; as it is already clear and recognised that these are generational decisions and new phenomena.

“Our current work of preparing the budgets to help implement the five-year National Strategic Plan will help us with our climate change objectives priorities and funding options.

“For the funding institutions and donor countries we urge you not just to pledge the funds but to ensure they are released in a timely manner so that we can activate our plans and programs.”

The Roundtable is seen as the premier forum for discussion on climate change issues in the Pacific involving all agencies and stakeholders as partners.

The meeting is currently underway and is from the 14th to the 18th of March.

Photo Caption: Premier of Niue, Hon. Toke Talagi delivering his opening statement at the Pacific Climate Change Roundtable.