NEWSPAGE 24 June
2011

(Photos: zimbio.com / eventpolynesia.com)

NEW ZEALAND: Warren Fuiava continues undefeated record

SAMOA: 2011 Lapita Pacific Archaeology Conference
Source: National University of Samoa Press Release

2011 Lapita Pacific Archaeology Conference:
“Pacific Archaeology: documenting the past 50,000 years to the present”

The conference will be held from the 27th June to 1st July 2011, and will bring together the leading archaeologists working in the region to present the latest in their research areas. It is the first time Samoa is the host nation and the first time the conference will be held in an educational institution. It is a rare opportunity for Samoan students and members of the general public to learn directly from some of the worlds most famous Pacific Archaeologists.

This is one of the most significant conferences involving Pacific Archaeology and is held every three to four years, this being the 7th to date. The title for the 2011 conference is “Pacific Archaeology: documenting the past 50,000 years to the present.”

The objective is to encourage papers encompassing the whole range of archaeological research being undertaken at present. Themes to be explored include Recording the beginnings - exploring the Pleistocene of Near Oceania; Developments in Lapita archaeology; Obsidian sourcing - where are we now; Post-Lapita archaeology; Advances in biological anthropology; and Historical archaeology in the Pacific, to name a few.

Samoan archaeology will be showcased with the first session dedicated to that theme. Along with presentations, a field trip around the island of Upolu will take conference participants to some well known as well as less visited ancient sites with guided talks by Archaeologists.

The conference is organized by the Centre for Samoan Studies in the National University of Samoa and the University of Otago. The objective of having the conference in Samoa is to showcase the National University of Samoa, and to promote the study and teaching of archaeology.

For further information, please see: http://www.lapita.co.nz
 

(Photo: J. Kneubuhll)

AMERICAN SAMOA: ASCC students prepare for Summer field trip to Tokelau
Source: American Samoa Community College Press Release

Four Archeology students at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) will depart this week for a three week field trip to the atoll nation of Tokelau as part of the "Tokelau Science Education and Research Project", a close and full collaboration between Tokelau communities and leading researchers in different science disciplines from around the world. The ASCC students will join their contemporaries from the National University of Samoa (NUS) to participate directly in field research while also serving as role models and peer mentors for Tokelau students who will also participate.

“Directly participating in field research is the most effective way to attract students to the sciences,” said ASCC Archaeology instructor Dr. David Addison, who will lead the field trip.
“Pacific Islander students are one of the most under-represented groups in the sciences, yet these disciplines are critical to addressing the challenges local communities around the Pacific will face in coming decades with increasing globalization and especially with the changes related to Global Climate Change and the associated sea level rise.” Tokelau Minister of Education Mr. Kelihiano Kalolo added his support for the summer trip. “I fully support this project”, he said. “The Atafu phase has already produced a booklet which is now used as a resource at the schools in Tokelau.”

Participating researchers and students travel to the atoll nation via the only available route, which is by ship from Upolu. “We will be hosted with families in Nukunonu Village on Nukunonu Atoll”, said Addison. “This will allow close contact between the community and the outside researchers. During the last two years when we did this on Atafu Atoll, the students formed strong bonds that continuine today.” The overall project will take place on Nukunonu for about six weeks, but the ASCC students will only stay for the first session of three weeks, which allows them to fulfill six contact hours for the ANT210 "Archaeological Field Methods” course while still getting back to Tutuila in time to spend part of the summer with their families and communities.

When asked about the choice of Tokelau as the site of the field trip, Addison explained the location’s scientific significance. “The atolls north of Samoa have hosted very little archaeological research,” he said. “In contrast, very much is already known about Tutuila and Manu'a's ancient archaeological history. The huge question in Polynesian archaeology is: where did the East Polynesians come from? All of the earliest archaeological sites in East Polynesia share an identical material culture. Linguistically and culturally they are clearly related to West Polynesia (Samoa, Tonga, Futuna-Uvea, Niue, etc), but there is nothing archaeologically in West Polynesia that matches the material culture (adzes, fish-hooks, ornaments, weapons, etc) in those early East Polynesian sites. This is one of the enduring puzzles in Polynesian archaeology. So, we'd like to see if perhaps about 1000 years ago, West Polynesians went to Tokelau, developed new cultural traits, and then became the original settlers of East Polynesia with their newly developed material culture.”

Besides its historical value, Tokelau also provides a dramatically vivid example of a human population’s extreme vulnerability to changing environmental conditions. “Global Climate Change and the associated sea level rise will have unknown impacts on low-lying atoll communities and their very limited terrestrial resources,” Addison pointed out. “This project aims to create baseline data on these resources with the participation of Tokelau students.
When some of these students become interested in science research and decide to make science their careers, they will build on this baseline data in the future with their own continuing research. They will also be able to serve as resources for their local and national communities as these communities confront the challenges of the coming decades.”

According to Addison, Tokelau serves as a microcosm of the situation all of mankind now faces. “The world community is finally understanding that we are one human species living on a homeland, Earth, with limited resources,” he reflected. “We can see every day in the news how world leaders are trying to deal with the challenges raised by this realization. Well, Tokelau's leaders and people had to deal with these challenges about 1000 years ago. Their atolls have extremely limited terrestrial resources, so their culture has developed very wise and effective techniques of resource management and allocation. We think that Tokelau has lessons for the whole world to learn, and we hope to document Tokelau's experiences with managing limited resources while perpetuating a vibrant and creative culture and society.”

Participating students will pay for their travel to and from Upolu and their housing and food while there. From Apia to Tokelau and back, their travel and living expenses will be covered by the project, and they will only be responsible for their own "pocket money". The project is funded through a USA National Science Foundation grant entitled "Archaeological, Geomorphological, and Ethno-ecological Investigations of Tokelau: Origins, Migrations, Adaptations, and Ecological Dynamics of an Atoll People". The project would not be possible without the continuing help and support of the Taupulega (island governing councils) and the Council of the Ongoing Government of Tokelau.
 

Photo Caption: ASCC Archaeologist Dr. David Addison (back, right) and his students make
preparations for their trip to Tokelau. The students will spend three weeks
studying Tokelau's unique environment and culture.

(Photo: Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme)

FIJI: FinED Fiji first professional development workshop for primary teachers
Source: Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme Press Release

The Fiji Financial Education Curriculum Development (FinED Fiji) Project, involves the integration and strengthening of financial education within the school curriculum over a two year period. By 2013, it is expected that on an annual basis, 197,000 students will have exposure to financial education at all schooling levels from Class 1 through to Form 6. This groundbreaking initiative is funded by the Australian Aid Program in Fiji and is jointly managed by the Ministry of Education and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme. Young Enterprise Trust of New Zealand, are the providers of specialist and technical services to the Project.

The FinED Fiji Project’s first professional development workshop for primary regional champion teachers is being held at the UNDP Pacific Centre in Suva this week from the 14th -17th June 2011. The Workshop, the first of many, brought together thirteen primary school teachers who teach classes 3 and 4, from three school districts in Fiji, the Deputy Secretary Professional of the Ministry of Education, curriculum advisory officers of the Ministry and Project personnel.

During the Workshop, the teachers were exposed to financial education and the Project, financial education learning outcomes, methods of integrating the management of money and investing within Class 3 with extension to Class 4. Most importantly, they were trained in the use of financial education student resources and teaching and assessment materials.

Regional champion teachers are the pioneer teachers who, together with the Divisional Offices, will be actively involved in facilitating training and financial education professional development in their school districts. They have the exciting role of being actively involved in integrating financial education within the curriculum as well as being the first to teach financial education within their schools at Class 3.

Ms. Mereia Turuva of Holy Family Primary School, Labasa was very grateful, “this workshop is timely and it will benefit these children at early stages of their lives. Once they develop these financial skills it will be lifelong and will benefit the children and the nation as a whole.’’ Ms. Shaleni Rai-Tauniu of Yat Sen Primary School, Suva, echoed the same sentiments, “this has been a great opportunity for me, this workshop will help me be a better teacher and mother and I will be more financially capable and financially equipped to make wise choices.”

The following primary schools and teachers are the financial education regional champions at the primary level.

REGIONAL CHAMPION SCHOOLS REGIONAL CHAMPION TEACHERS

Drasa Avenue School: Mrs Emma Brook
Holy Family Primary: Mrs Mereia Turuva
Jasper Williams Primary School:Mrs Sarah Gibson Qiokata
Labasa Sangam Primary School: Ms Shalini Sami
Levuka Public Primary School: Mr Josefa Vananalagi
Nadi Airport School: Ms Harieta Turgaiviu
Nadi Muslim Primary School: Mr Fazim Sheik
Naseakula District School: Mrs Anaseini Tuinaosara
Nehru Memorial Primary Schoo:l Ms Akashna Sharma
St. Mary’s Primary School :Mrs Sainimili Mataitoga
Suva Primary School :Ms Vikatoria Kurisaqila
Veiuto Primary School: Mr Paulo Rauto
Yat Sen Secondary School: Ms Shaleni Rai-Tauniu

The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) is a Pacific-wide programme helping to provide sustainable financial services to low income households. It is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and operates from the UNDP Pacific Centre.
 

(Photos: Geraldine Coutts / Radio Australia)

NEW CALEDONIA: Pacific Games with attitude
Source: ABC Radio Australia News

A promise by the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, to open the 14th Pacific Games in New Caledonia is looking more hopeful of being fulfilled.

The games will be held from August 27 to September 10.

Black-suited officials milled about in the French territory in the tropical sunshine last week - a sign seen as distinctly optimistic for a presidential visit.

The slogan for the games is "Pacifique Attitude" and a Sarkozy team visited the colony to sort out protocol, security and media coverage for a visit.

Harold Martin, president of the government of New Caledonia, speaking to Radio Australia's Pacific Beat, promises these games will be the biggest and the best.


22 nations

Twenty-two Oceania countries will participate in 27 sports at 37 competition venues spread throughout the three provinces.

Five thousand para-athletes and able-bodied athletes will be competing for gold.

The games also boast a number of firsts.

All athletes will be housed at a single venue. It is the most expensive Pacific games since the first events in 1963, with a massive price tag of 2.5 billion francs.

Commercial sponsors have made big contributions.

One of the more unusual venues is the stainless steel swimming pool at Dumbea, which the athletes claim they love because they can see their reflections in the bottom of the pool which allows them to make adjustments to their strokes.

Dope cheats beware: 350 spot checks are scheduled for the two weeks of competition.

Finishing touches are still being applied to the new and refurbished facilities but organisers claim they are ready to go.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Pacific Games stadium in Noumea, set against the mountains of New Caledonia.

Photo 2 - Finishing touches; apartments at Pacific Games athletes village, New Caledonia.

WORLDWIDE: Pacific Islanders sail to summit in canoes
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser

Seven double-hulled sailing canoes from Pacific island nations as far as New Zealand arrived on Maui Wednesday morning (June 22, 2011), as part of several visits in the Hawaiian Islands including Oahu, where they will participate in an environmental conference.

The Kava Bowl Ocean Summit 2011, June 30-July 3 at Hawai‘i Imin International Conference Center in Manoa, is intended to focus attention on problems facing the Pacific Ocean, including global warming, pollution and acidification, organizers said.

Okeanos — Foundation for the Sea, a summit sponsor, says the private gathering will bring together scientists with indigenous peoples who are directly affected by the changes in the ocean, and people trying to influence environmental legislation.

Okeanos founder Dieter Paulmann said the trans-Pacific voyage puts people in touch with nature, to reconnect with their ancestors and to see the need to care for future generations.

"We have an ethical responsibility," Paulmann said.

"We have to keep our resources... for future generations."

Okeanos officials said they are looking for strategies that will help to reduce ocean pollution and deal with rising sea levels.

Chad Baybayan, the way-finding navigator in residence at Hawaii island's Imiloa Astronomy Center, said holding an environmental conference about Pacific Ocean problems with native islanders represents a "major paradigm shift."

"What better platform to explain it than through the eyes of islanders?" he said.

Others listed as sponsors include the East-West Center, Stanford University, the Stockholm Environmental Institute and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Voyage commodore Magnus Danbolt said the crews' common goal is to raise one voice from the Pacific to highlight oceanic problems.

"The ocean is in trouble, and we need to take care of it," Danbolt said.

Danbolt said rising sea levels are forcing some islanders, including those living in Kiribati, to plan for eventual evacuation.

Danbolt said the fleet is making stopovers to various islands to pay homage to the Hokule‘a voyagers who used traditional way-finding to make the historic Hawaii-Tahiti sail in 1976.

The Hokule‘a voyage supported the assertion that Polynesians could have navigated thousands of miles centuries ago and has inspired islanders from other Pacific archipelagos to establish voyaging societies.

Crews on the seven sailing canoes relied upon traditional way-finding, noninstrumental techniques to navigate to Hawaii, Okeanos officials said.

The voyage from New Zealand or Aotearoa to Hawaii with stopovers, including one at Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas, totaled some 6,500 nautical miles and took 59 days, officials said.

The sailing canoes were designed with traditional double hulls but made of fiberglass, to avoid cutting down large trees, officials said.

The canoes are the Faafaite from Tahiti, Gualofa from Samoa, Marumaru Atua from the Cook Islands, Te Matau a Maui from Aotearoa, Uto Ni Yalo from Fiji, Ohana Waa from Hawaii, and two pan-Pacific canoes: the Haunui and Hine Moana.