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(Photos:
Photosport / 3 News / Townsville Bulletin / Action Photographics) |
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NEW ZEALAND: Kiwis captain amongst NZRL award
winners
Source:
New
Zealand Rugby League Press Release
Kiwis captain Benji Marshall and Vodafone
Warriors player Shaun Johnson were both
acknowledged for their stellar performances
during the 2011 year at the NZRL Awards held
at the Raye Freedman Arts Centre in Epsom
tonight.
Benji Marshall was named Kiwi player of the
year while Shaun Johnson, who attended with
his father and partner, was named Kiwi
Rookie of the year. Jason Taumalolo, who
played in the Junior Kiwis winning team at
Newcastle last month, and was also a member
of the North Queensland under 20s grand
final side, was named the Junior Player of
the year.
Winners of the Grassroots Club of the Year,
the Porirua Vikings are one of the biggest
clubs in the Wellington Region, have 83
volunteers and a long time commitment to
their community. They are involved in a
number of projects in partnership with the
Porirua City Council and also receive
support from the Ministry of Development to
continue their work in this area.
Henry Perenara, winner of the Match official
of the year, was unable to attend the awards
as he refereed the England v Wales Four
Nations match on the weekend, capping off a
busy year in which he progressed from
referring in the National Youth Competition
to international appointments.
Sam Perrett, who was unable to join the end
of year tour with the Kiwis due to injury,
attended the awards and spoke about his trip
to Christchurch in May, when he along with
Nathan Cayless, Chase Stanley, Glen Turner
and Anthony Cherrington, visited schools,
the hospital and attended a local Community
camp. He then announced the winners of the
Match Official of the Year, Women’s Player
of the Year and Domestic Player of the Year
awards.
Jim Doyle, NZRL CEO said “Every year we have
a number of quality nominations and this
year was no exception. It’s great to see the
geographic spread of our winners which
reinforces the fact that rugby league is
going from strength to strength across New
Zealand. It’s a real positive for us to be
able to acknowledge our players here and in
Australia. They continue to support the game
by playing for their country and are an
inspiration to our younger players as they
follow the pathway to international
success.”
During the evening Richard Blackmore, Tony
Tatupu and Tony Tuimavave were also honoured
as past Kiwis.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 - Kiwi Player of the Year, Benji
Marshall (Wests Tigers).
Photo 2 - Kiwi Rookie of the Year, Shaun
Johnson (Vodafone Warriors).
Photo 3 - Junior Player of the Year,
Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys).
Photo 4 - Match official of the year,
Henry Perenara.
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(Photo:
Samoa Tourism Authority) |
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SAMOA: Samoa celebrates in living colour!
Source:
Samoa
Tourism Authority Press Release
To mark its Celebrate Samoa Year, Samoa Tourism
Authority has launched its new look Samoa Image
Library, with 500 new images celebrating
everything that is Samoan.
With images by famed destination photographer
David Kirkland, the image library captures the
beauty of Samoa and her people.
The library (www.samoaimages.com) is a press
only site and requires applicants to fill out a
form to apply for logins and access to the site.
It hosts a variety of images perfect for
editorial and advertorial purposes, which are
available for downloading in hi resolution jpg
and eps formats. The images are also available
for use to trade partners for marketing and
information collateral such as brochures, EDMs,
website destination pages and catalogues.
The image library documents the relaxed
adventure activities available to all who visit
Samoa such as swimming with turtles, exploring
lava fields, the cultural experience to be had
at Robert Louis Stevenson’s museum, the
excitement of the Siva Afi (fire knife dancing)
all in a backdrop of the stunning Samoan land
and seascapes.
“David Kirkland manages to capture the true
essence of the destination, its people and its
culture. The colours, the smiles and the life in
these images are pure magic” says Peter Sereno
of Samoa Tourism Authority.
“We at Samoa Tourism Authority worked very
closely with David in ensuring that the images
shot are unique and easily identifiable as
Samoan.”
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(Photo:
J. Kneubuhl) |
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AMERICAN SAMOA: ASCC host Career and Energy Fair
Yesterday, the Student Government Association (SGA),
its offshoot group the ARRA Student Workers, and
the Student Services Division counselors at the
American Samoa Community College (ASCC) teamed
up to host a Career and Energy Fair on the
campus malae from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The
event featured a number of booths offering
information on potential careers in the public
and private sector, as well as energy awareness
displays and entertainment from the College’s
student clubs based on energy conservation.
The Territorial Energy Office, Environmental
Protection Agency, Department of Commerce,
Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources,
ASPA, Public Works, Public Health, CNR/Land
Grant and the Historic Preservation Office were
all invited to participate in the Fair, along
with a number of private businesses and ASCC
academic departments. Students from elementary
schools which have hosted visits by the ARRA
Student Workers were also invited to the Fair,
at which the winner of an essay contest for 5th
graders was announced.
With the ARRA Student Workers arranging the
“energy” components of the Fair, ASCC counselor
Alison Hurst explained what was on offer for
students exploring the “career” side of the
event. “Our aim is to give the students of ASCC
and high school seniors an opportunity to
connect with local agencies in order to explore
job skills, career opportunities, academic
skills, and life-long learning goals in jobs
that will motivate them to continue and advance
their education,” she said. “We hope that
students will make the connection between their
education and their future career goals. We are
also excited to partner with the SGA for the
Energy Fair so we can all become more aware of
how to be responsible community members and
conserve our natural resources.” Hurst and her
fellow ASCC counselors, who include Mark Mageo,
Annie Panama and Matesina Willis, invited more
than 25 public agencies and private businesses
to have representatives present at the Fair.
From the 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., students at ASCC as
well as those visiting from the local elementary
and high schools had the opportunity to enjoy
the many displays and plenty of time to speak
with representatives from the invited businesses
and government agencies. At 11 a.m., the
ceremony took place to announce the winners and
acknowledge the participants in the elementary
school energy awareness essay contest, as well
as their instructors.
Photo Caption: ASCC Student Government
Association President Dona Maifala (left) and
reigning Miss ASCC Toefuataina Taai, seen here
enjoying a Halloween moment, both also serve in
the campus organization called the ARRA Student
Workers, who teamed up with the College's
Student Services Division counselors to host the
Career & Energy Fair on Tuesday on the ASCC
malae.
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(Photo: Fiji
Times) |
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FIJI: Work starts on dialysis centre
Source:
Fiji Times
Work on the country's first dialysis centre
has commenced as stakeholders gathered for a
ceremony to lay part of the foundation
yesterday.
The 13-station centre, meaning it will have 13
dialysis machines, being built at Extension
Street in Suva will offer some respite for those
who suffer from kidney disease or failure as
they wait for kidney transplants.
Kidney Foundation of Fiji chairman Dewan Maharaj
said the construction of the dialysis centre and
purchase of the land would cost about $1.4
million.
"Without government funding, we are running a
dialysis centre in Fiji. Don't ask us how we do
it," he said.
He said many people believed the dialysis centre
would not be possible, adding that the
accomplishment of a dialysis centre was the
result of a "long journey for the board".
Mr Maharaj gave thanks to God for the
"opportunity to serve our citizens" and hailed
the government of India for its $100,000
contribution to the foundation.
He said there were other donors who contributed
as much as $300,000, some of which used to treat
kidney patients.
"Whatever we collect, we use on our patients. It
costs $60 to treat one patient. The number of
patients fluctuates because some have a
transplant and old cases come in late. But we
maintain 45 people at any one time," Mr Maharaj
said.
Photo Caption: Kidney Foundation of Fiji
Chairman Dewan Maharaj.
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(Photos:
Pacific Islands Applied GeoScience Commission) |
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NEW CALEDONIA: SPC meets to examine critical
issues facing region
Source:
Pacific
Islands Applied GeoScience Commission Press Release
Major threats to the Pacific region will be a
part of discussions in a two-day Ministerial
meeting to be held at the Secretariat of the
Pacific Community (SPC) from November 7 and 8 at
the Noumea headquarters of the regional
organization.
The Theme for this year’s Conference which will
be chaired by the Republic of Marshall Islands
is ‘Climate Change and Food Security - managing
risks for sustainable development’
Food security and climate change are major
topics on the agenda to be discussed by
Ministers from the 22 Pacific island countries
and territories along with Australia, France,
New Zealand and the United States of America who
are SPC founding members. Most of the Ministers
hold Foreign Affair portfolios.
Dr. Jimmie Rodgers, Secretary General of SPC
said that discussions on these important issues
aim to increase awareness of the potential
adverse impacts of climate change on the lives
of Pacific Island people.
“At the same time we want to encourage delegates
to take a more integrated and pro active role in
risk management in order to address the adverse
and increasing impact of climate change to food
and water security,” said Dr. Rodgers.
The discussion on the Conference theme will
culminate with the launch of an important
publication on ‘Vulnerability of Tropical
Pacific Fisheries and Aquaculture to Climate
Change’, a result of major scientific research
work coordinated by SPC over the past three
years. It involved close to 90 authors from 36
institutions globally.
“This research, the first of its kind in the
Pacific, and probably in the world, looks
specifically at how climate change will impact
the region’s most valuable renewable resource on
which all its island citizens rely for food
security and sustainable livelihoods and
economic development - its fish and
aquaculture,” said Dr. Rodgers.
In addition to addressing the dangers
confronting the island countries and
territories, the Ministers will also review
recommendations to be submitted by a four-day
meeting of the CRGA (Committee of
Representatives of Governments and
Administrations) that will precede the
ministerial Conference from November 1 to 4,
also at SPC headquarters.
CRGA meets yearly to examine SPC technical and
scientific work along with policy and governance
issues. It is made up of senior government
representatives from Foreign Affairs and the
various ministries that are beneficiaries of
SPC’s technical work carried out at the request
of island members.
Photo Captions:
Photo 1 - Climate change and food and
water security major themes at SPC meetings.
Photo 2 - Secretary General of the
Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Dr. Jimmie
Rodgers.
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WORLDWIDE: Pacific peacebuilders to receive
small grants
Source:
United Nations Development Programme Press Release
Ten civil society groups from Fiji, the
Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New
Guinea and the Solomon Islands, will receive
small grants between US$2500 and US$10,000 in
2011 to continue peace building efforts in the
Pacific region, the United Nations Development
Programme’s (UNDP) Pacific Centre announced
today.
The winners of the 2011 Round of Strengthening
Capacities for Peace and Development (CPAD)
project’s small grants include Bougainville
(North Bougainville Women’s Federation, Hako
Women’s Collective, Leitana Nehan Women’s
Collective); Fiji (FemLINK PACIFIC); Papua New
Guinea (Voice of Change, Simbu Human Rights
Advocate, Peace Foundation Melanesia); Solomon
Islands (Sycamore Tree, Anglican Church of
Melanesia) and the Global Partnership for the
Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), a
Pacific-wide programme.
In its second year, the small grant initiative
is one of the capacity building approaches of
the CPAD project. It seeks to support strategic
and catalytic peacebuilding projects that
address the key conflict drivers, strengthen the
region’s peace and security architecture and
foster partnerships between government and civil
society groups.
UNDP Pacific Centre’s Conflict Prevention and
Peace Building Expert, Tracy Vienings explained
that an objective of the CPAD project is to also
create a broader understanding of the linkages
between peace and development, and how to also
address the underlying causes of conflict, not
only mediating them as they occur.
The first round small grants in 2010 were given
out to ten civil society groups from Fiji, Papua
New Guinea, Tonga and the Solomon Islands.
CPAD is a regional programme of the UNDP Pacific
Centre that aims to build and strengthen the
capacities of governments, civil societies and
regional organisations in the Pacific for
conflict preventions and peacebuilding.
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