| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photos:
Tesese Institute) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
NEW ZEALAND: Young Samoan artist's work fronts
Tautai Tertiary exhibition
A young Samoan artist is among a handful of
students whose works are being displayed at a
top university art gallery.
Saimealafo Felesa Tapaleao, 22, is one of nine
pacific artists whose works are being showcased
at the Tautai Tertiary exhibition, at the
Auckland University of Technology St Paul St
Gallery.
The exhibition, dubbed Finding Neitherland, is
being curated by New Zealand-born Samoan artist
Graham Fletcher and is a hotly contested event
for students wanting to show off their work.
The exhibition includes works by emerging
pasifika artists from Whitecliffe, Manukau
School of Visual Arts, Elam School of Fine Arts,
AUT Art and Design School and Unitec.
Miss Tapaleao, of North Shore, is a student at
the University of Auckland's Elam School of Fine
Arts.
She hails from the villages of Sagone and Toamua.
Her work is made up of sculptures of animals and
is a contemporary look at how such animals have
a significance in Samoa and South Africa, a
place where she spent a year studying while in
high school, as a 17-year-old.
"South Africa is a place I have been to and
experienced and I love the animals - they are my
artistic perception. Samoa is my home, so I
thought I'd choose certain animals such as the
moa (chicken) and pe'a (bat).''
The use of animals in her art work is also a
contemporary look at the idea of family, she
said, and symbols creating an overall pattern on
her work represent various people in her
extended aiga - another significant concept
within Samoan culture.
"There are five animals that represent my
family. The elephant is my dad, the big boss.
The giraffe is my mum - no matter what, keep
your head up high. The bat is my brother, who
sleeps during the day and is out at night and
the chickens are my sister and I.''
Miss Tapaleao's work has been chosen as the
front of house display for the exhibition.
She dedicates her work to her late mother,
Felesa Tapaleao nee Potogi, who died in May,
2009.
Finding Neitherland runs until Thursday and is
open to the public.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 - Saimealafo Tapaleao at the
exhibition: Finding Neitherland.
Photo 2 - Saimealafo's art work at
Finding Neitherland.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photo:
Samoa Observer) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
SAMOA:
Rugby World Cup fever
pitch at Digicel
Source:
Samoa Observer
Show the Manu Samoa your support for the Rugby
World Cup (RWC) because if they win the country
wins.
That was the message from Digicel Samoa CEO,
Pepe Christian Fruean prior to the launch of
their Manu Samoa Fever Campaign for the Rugby
World Cup last Thursday (August 4, 2011).
The first feature of the promotion is the 14.5
meters wide and 6m high billboard; showing off
players of the Manu Samoa, in front of its
Vaimea office.
This is the biggest billboard in the history of
Samoa, a symbol that Digicel is behind the
national team all the way.
“We are behind Manu so we encourage the people
of Samoa to show their support so they can train
harder and do well for their country,” Pepe
said.
“If they win Samoa wins!”
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi
agrees. The Chairman of the Samoa Rugby Union
was present to accept a cheque of $100,000 from
Digicel.
He thanked the company and gave the Manu Samoa
some strong words.
“Don’t sneak out for drinks while training,” he
told players present during the launch. “Where
ever you go, the world now holds you up on a
pedestal.”
The PM told the team to simply concentrate on
performing on the field.
“Don’t worry about funding there is enough
donations from companies like Digicel,” he said.
Digicel’s also launched its biggest promotion to
date along with the billboard.
Photo Caption: Digicel have unveiled the
biggest billboard in the history of Samoa, as
part of its support for the Manu Samoa’s Rugby
World Cup campaign. The billboard is launched as
RWC fever grips the country as the countdown
continues. Present at the unveiling were Prime
Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, Pastor
Fa’afetai Fata, CEO Pepe Christian Fruean and
the Manu Samoa team.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photos:
Royal Australian Navy) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
AUSTRALIA:
Western Australian Reservists welcomed home
from Solomon Islands
Source:
Australian Department of Defence
On Saturday (August 6, 2011) Parliamentary
Secretary for Defence, Senator David Feeney,
welcomed home Reservists from the West
Australian based 13th brigade, following their
four-month deployment to the Solomon Islands.
“These men and women have served their
communities and their nation with pride, working
toward the continued security of the Pacific
region and that of our close neighbour, Solomon
Islands.“
A team of approximately 80 Australian Reservist
soldiers from Combined Task Force 635 returned
home after a highly successful deployment to
Operation ANODE, commencing in late March 2011.
Operation ANODE is the name for Australia’s
contribution to the Australian-led Regional
Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI)
and has been running since 2003.
“Reservists like those returning home today
bring a number of different skills to
Australia’s continued commitment to RAMSI, as
well as to their employers when they return to
their regular civilian work,” Senator Feeney
said.
“Our troops have been very effective at engaging
with the local people and gaining their trust
and confidence in a very short time, working
alongside soldiers from New Zealand, Papua New
Guinea and Tonga.
“The continued dedication of Reservists supports
RAMSI’s contribution to the maintenance of peace
and security in the Solomon Islands.”
They will be replaced by 115 soldiers,
comprising primarily of Reservists from NSW’s
5th Brigade.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 - HMAS Wewak sailors conduct
training, during the transit to Kakabona Beach
in the Solomon Islands.
Photo 2 - An Australian Army vehicle
reverses onto HMAS Wewak's tank deck for transit
to Honiara in the Solomon Islands.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photo:
Solomon Star) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Monument for scouts, coast
watchers unveiled
Source:
Solomon Star
A monument dedicated for scouts and coast
watchers of the World II was officially unveiled
at the Commonwealth Street yesterday.
Governor General Sir Frank Kabui the guest of
Honour unveiled the memory statue.
Three local scouts who served during the World
War II Alesasa Bisili, Thomas Titiulu and Edward
Lulumani also witnessed the ceremony.
Designed and built by local artists Frank Haiku
the monument features two local and two allied
force scouts and coast watchers working together
during the battle in May 1942 on the ground of
Guadalcanal.
The tallest statue was a coast watcher wearing
caps and looking ahead using binoculars on the
lookout for their enemies.
The other finger resembles a local holding a
bush knife with his finger pointing to the sea.
The other finger is an allied officer at his
side in uniform and with a riffle slung across
his back peers through the binoculars to where
his eyes are being directed.
At their feet, squatting radio operator calls in
position of the enemies-the coast watchers and
Solomon Islands scout in action.
Taking up their position on a base two to three
meters high on the seaward end of the
commonwealth street in the Point Cruz section
the cement-and wire-mess soldiers will forever
reprises the pivotal role the coast watchers and
scouts played.
Speaking during the unveiling ceremony Chairman
of the Solomon Islands Coast watchers trust
board Sir Peter Kenilorea said the unveiling of
the monument was a long-overdue tribute to the
bravery of our people.
It is the first national monument for the
country and applies the title 'Pride of our
Nation'.
He said the memorial will become part of other
memorials in Honiara that are dedicated to the
bravery, courage and tenacity of the many young
men, women who fought for their respective
countries.
He said scouts have played a critical role
aiding and supporting the Coastwatchers who
efforts were critical to the success if the
Guadalcanal Campaign-which became the turning,
point in the Pacific war.
A street party was also organized to mark the
unveiling of the monument later in the day.
Photo Caption: Three of the Coast
Watchers posing in front of the monument.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photo:
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
VANUATU: Residents of Epi Island to have all
weather roads come 2013
Source:
Secretariat
of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press
Release
By 2013 the 3,000 residents on the island of Epi
in Vanuatu will have access to all villages
through a new road and the relocation of the
island’s main airstrip, as part of the Pacific
Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) project.
About 40% of the current roads and Lamen Bay
airstrip on Epi are located next to the high
water mark, resulting in a lot of coastal
erosion problems making roads dangerous and
inaccessible. Studies by the Vanuatu
Meteorological Service and the science component
of the Australian International Climate Change
Initiative (ICCAI) show that sea levels in
Vanuatu have risen by 6mm per year since 1993.
This project will relocate the current roads to
safer ground and includes drainage systems to
allow for run-off. The new design will also
include sedimentation ponds which will limit
sedimentation along the reef. Overall, the main
focus for this road project is to take into
account all possible climate change impacts
including sea level rise.
Vanuatu is one of the countries in the PACC
project, a 13 million dollar regional project
that helps coordinate national ‘on the ground’
activities in 13 island countries to help them
adapt to climate change in three main areas -
food security and production, coastal management
and water resources management. The focus for
the Vanuatu PACC is coastal management.
The regional PACC project is implemented by the
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment
Programme (SPREP) with the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) as an implementing
partner. It is funded by the Global Environment
Facility (GEF).
“The communities on Epi are going to benefit
from this project which will give them roads
that are accessible all throughout the year and
even in the event of extreme climate events the
roads will still be safe and usable,” said Brian
Phillips the Vanuatu National Climate Change
Coordinator.
“This will help the communities in many ways,
for example, farmers will be able to have
continuous access to roads that can help them
get their produce from the gardens to the
markets and even to the coastal areas for
shipment off Epi.”
For Vanuatu their PACC project has established a
partnership with a New Zealand climate modeling
company called Clim-systems Ltd. This
partnership has linked PACC to a World Bank
supported initiative for the implementation of a
coastal erosion stabilization project that will
support the adaptation intervention on the
island of Epi. The PACC contribution to this
project is USD 750,000.
“The Vanuatu Ministry of Works is now planning
designs to improve the roads based upon the
vulnerability and adaptation assessment carried
out and other technical support given,” said
Phillips.
“Come 2013 we want to make sure the people of
Epi have infrastructure that is resilient to all
possible impacts of climate change.”
Photo Caption: Lamen Bay airstrip on Epi
Island, Vanuatu.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(Photo:
Oceania Football Confederation) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
WORLDWIDE: Pair of referee courses held
Source:
Oceania Football Confederation Press
Release
The progress of the FIFA-funded Refereeing
Assistance Programme (RAP) in Oceania has
continued with the successful staging of referee
courses in Samoa and American Samoa.
The courses each took place over five days and
were conducted by referee development officer
Massimo Raveino (Tahiti), instructor Neil Poloso
(Solomon Islands) and fitness trainer Kader
Touati (France), who together are responsible
for the running of the RAP across Oceania.
"The objective of these courses is to
consolidate and improve the performance of the
referees and assistant referees," Raveino
explains.
"We are working on improving the referees'
techniques and their knowledge on the FIFA Laws
of the Game. The management of the game and
players by the referees is very important these
days."
The participants were also given the opportunity
to work with fitness instructor Touati and had
to take part in a fitness test covering both
speed and endurance.
OFC places high importance on developing
world-class match officials and in 2008 referee
development in the Pacific received a huge boost
thanks to the introduction of the RAP. The
programme has two objectives - to prepare
referees for international competitions,
particularly the various FIFA World Cups, and to
develop referees in each of OFC's 11 member
associations through scouting and education.
The RAP team has established a structure that
aims to improve the quality and quantity of
referee education. This has resulted in several
new courses, organised for both men and women,
being held throughout Oceania featuring the
latest teaching resources and up-to-date
equipment. OFC's technical department works
closely with the RAP team to organise the
education programme.
Proof that the initiatives are working can be
seen in the increased level of representation
for Oceania at international tournaments.
The most recent example of this is the OFC match
official trio of New Zealand referee Peter
O'Leary and assistant referees Ravinesh Kumar
(Fiji) and Jackson Namo (Solomon Islands), who
are currently in Colombia taking part in the
FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Photo Caption: The RAP team took the
American Samoa participants through the course
at Pago Park.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
