NEWSPAGE 16 December
2011

(Photo:  Maori Party)

SAMOA: Celebrating 50 years of friendship with Samoa
Source: voxy.co.nz
 
2012 marks both the 50th anniversary of Samoa's independence and the 50th anniversary of the unique Treaty of Friendship between New Zealand and Samoa.

To celebrate these two milestones, a full calendar year of events in Samoa and New Zealand is being planned under the banner Samoa 2012 on the website www.samoa2012.co.nz facilitated by the Pacific Cooperation Foundation.

Proposed activities include many cultural exhibitions and performances, a stamp series, a commemorative coin and the promotion of Samoan language week/ Taua le Gagana.

Pacific Co-operation Foundation CEO Meg Poutasi says; "with over 130,000 Samoans calling New Zealand home, celebrating 50 years of Samoan independence is significant to New Zealand and a wonderful opportunity to recognise the strong ties we have and the contributions the Samoan community has made within New Zealand.

"Not only does the Samoa 2012 programme allow us to celebrate the past, but we can build on what has been achieved so far and look forward to another 50 successful and prosperous years."

Nick Hurley, New Zealand's High Commissioner to Samoa, says both governments are planning a series of high-level visits between the two countries along with sporting events, publications, cultural exhibitions and performances. "It is the perfect moment to celebrate the contributions of Samoans to New Zealand and New Zealanders to Samoa," he says.

Register your event on samoa2012.co.nz

A dedicated website - www.samoa2012.co.nz - will GO LIVE January 2012 detailing information on the 2012 celebration activities. Submissions for inclusion on the website are welcome (restricted to events in New Zealand and Samoa only).
 

AUSTRALIA: World bank to improve aviation in Pacific islands
Source: World Bank Press Release

World Bank Board of Directors approved a US$ 62 million grant to improve aviation in the Pacific region and make air travel safer and more efficient for people travelling to and from the Pacific Islands. Supported by the Government of Australia through the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility (PRIF), the first phase of the Pacific Aviation Investment Program will focus on Kiribati, Tonga and Tuvalu, and will boost trade and tourism across the region.

Safe and efficient air travel is critical to support tourism and to connect Pacific Island countries to each other and larger markets, including Australia, the United States and New Zealand. On average, tourism contributes twenty percent of GDP in Pacific Island economies and a large share of employment. Aviation is also important for humanitarian reasons including rescue operations, getting people to medical treatment, or carrying supplies during emergencies, such as Tuvalu’s recent drought crisis.

In the Pacific Island countries, many airports are in poor condition. Runways have deteriorated, and essential airport infrastructure such as navigation aids and fire safety equipment need to be urgently upgraded. Improvements are needed to ensure air travel in the region meets minimum international safety requirements.

Designed to increase aviation safety and security, the Pacific Aviation Investment Program will focus on key airport infrastructure for international travel such as runways, navigation aids and lighting; aviation sector reform, and improving airport management and operations.

“Pacific Island countries are among the most remote in the world, with populations dispersed across huge distances and vast expanses of ocean. Greater connectivity is therefore key to help link people to jobs, markets, services and even their families,” said Ferid Belhaj, Country Director for the Pacific Islands for the World Bank. “The World Bank is significantly scaling up its engagement in the Pacific Island countries, and supporting better aviation is a critical part of its long-term strategy for growth, poverty reduction and expanding opportunities across the region.”

As well as investments in infrastructure, support will be provided to oversight bodies through training, technical regulations and manuals. The Program will help improve regional integration through shared flight information and harmonizing safety requirements.

The first stage of the Program is being supported by the Government of Australia through PRIF (US$ 3.19 million) and the International Development Association, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries. A further US$ 63 million could be available to other eligible countries (Samoa, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands) in future phases.
 

(Photos: ABC News)

KIRIBATI: Two i-Kiribati men make discovery after 33 days lost at sea
Source: Radio New Zealand International

Two i-Kiribati men have a good yarn to tell after being lost at sea for 33 days, and also discovering the fate of a relative who got lost on the same route more than 50 years ago.

The men got into trouble on October the 22nd when their global positioning system stopped working.

Having to survive off fish they caught, a month later they were blown into the island of Namdrik in the southern Marshall Islands, about 560 kilometres northwest of their home atoll of Marakei in neighboring Kiribati.

Our Correspondent Giff Johnson says they discovered that an uncle who was lost at sea from Marakei in the 1950s landed at the same place, where he married into the community.

“One woman on the island who still speaks the Kiribati language so they were grateful for that but imagine drifting for 33 days, 350 miles, and then landing on a little coral atoll and turning out there’s a bunch of your relatives there.”

Photo Caption: The two rescued Kiribati fishermen.
 

(Photos: Islands Business)

USA: America is back and with it the spectre of the cold war?
Source: Islands Business
 
America is back in the Pacific. And there is no mistaking about Uncle Sam’s intention, which has spiced every major speech by senior officials from President Barack Obama down.

For example, on his recent visit to Australia following APEC, President Obama underlined the USA’s renewed commitment to the region in a major address:

“Our new focus on this region reflects a fundamental truth—the United States has been, and always will be, a Pacific nation. Asian immigrants helped build America, and millions of American families, including my own, cherish our ties to this region.”

“From the bombing of Darwin to the liberation of Pacific islands, from the rice paddies of Southeast Asia to a cold Korean peninsula, generations of Americans have served here, and died here. So democracies could take root. So economic miracles could lift hundreds of millions to prosperity.”

“Americans have bled with you for this progress, and we will never allow it to be reversed,” he said.

According to President Obama, the decision on this new roadmap for the Asia Pacific is ”deliberate and strategic.”

“Here, we see the future…As President, I have therefore made a deliberate and strategic decision—as a Pacific nation, the United States will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future, by upholding core principles and in close partnership with allies and friends”.

“This is the future we seek in the Asia Pacific—security, prosperity and dignity for all. That’s what we stand for. That’s who we are. That’s the future we will pursue, in partnership with allies and friends, and with every element of American power.”

“So let there be no doubt: In the Asia Pacific in the 21st century, the United States of America is all in.”

The first tangible evidence of this commitment will see increasing use of the Australian airspace and sea-lanes by US military aircraft and ships.

This month. some 250 US Marines will move into Darwin on a six-month rotating basis. A full roll out of the plan will involve about 2, 500 military personnel moving Down Under.

And wherever he spoke, the language President Obama used was the same.

Take for example the question and answer session at the CEO Business Summit at the recent APEC meeting in Hawaii on November 12.

“The United States is a Pacific power and we are here to stay.”

“...across the board, whether it’s on security architecture, whether it’s on trade, whether it’s on commerce, we are going to continue to prioritise this region,” he said.

“...In Australia, we’re going to be focusing a lot on the security alliance between our two countries, but that obviously has broader implications for U.S. presence in the Pacific,” President Obama said.

The President also made his intention known about what to say in Bali, Indonesia, where the ASEAN meeting was being held last month (November).

“When we get to Bali for the ASEAN meeting and the East Asia Summit, we’re going to be speaking, again, about how can we, a great Pacific power, work with our partners to ensure stability, to ensure free flows of commerce, to ensure that maritime rules, drilling, a whole host of issues are managed in a open and fair way.”

“And one of the things that I’m very encouraged about is the eagerness of countries to see the U.S. re-engaged in this region.”

On the same day (Nov 12) at APEC’s Host Performance and Cultural Program in Hawaii, President Obama again said:
“...We are bound together by an ocean. We are bound together by a common belief and a common concern for our people—their aspirations, their hopes, their dreams.”

At a 16 November joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Canberra, the President again reiterated the US commitment to re-engage in the region.

“We are two Pacific nations, and with my visit to the region I am making it clear that the United States is stepping up its commitment to the entire Asia Pacific.”

“In this work, we’re deeply grateful for our alliance with Australia and the leadership role that it plays. As it has been for six decades, our alliance is going to be indispensable to our shared future, the security we need and the prosperity that we seek not only in this region but around the world.”

“... this deepening of our alliance sends a clear message of our commitment to this region, a commitment that is enduring and unwavering,” he said.

On November 17 President Obama addressed servicemen at the Royal Army Air Force Base in Darwin where he paid tribute to Australians and Americans for standing together from World War One.

“....Aussies and Americans like you have stood together since World War I, the war in which so much of your national character was born—your incredible ANZAC Spirit.”

“But, in a sense, it was here, in Darwin, where our alliance was born— during “Australia’s Pearl Harbor.” he said.

“Against overwhelming odds, our forces fought back, with honor and with courage. The Prime Minister and I just paid our respects at the memorial to one of the ships lost that day —the USS Peary. And we looked out at those beautiful blue waters, where so many Australians and Americans rest where they fell, together.

“The days after Darwin were tough. Some thought Australia might fall. But we dusted ourselves off. We picked ourselves up. We rebuilt. And thanks to the extraordinary generation of troops, we went on to victory in the Coral Sea and at Midway and at Milne Bay.

“When that war was won, and as another raged in Korea, our countries forged a new alliance. We pledged our “collective defense for the preservation of peace and security.” And that’s a promise we’ve kept ever since,” the President said.

“As I said in Parliament earlier today, our alliance is rooted in the bonds between our people, and the democratic values that we share and our commitment to stand with each other through thick and through thin, no matter what.”

“On this 60th anniversary, we are saying together, proudly: Yes, we have the strength for the burden laid upon us, and we have the power to protect and guard our own, here in the Asia Pacific and all around the world.”

America’s commitment to re-engage in the Pacific has other implications as well not only in business investment and commerce but also in military terms.

Militarily, increased US presence could touch off a new arms race with Washington and its allies on one side and China and its friends on the other.

China’s meteoric economic and military rise on a global scale, it seems, has touched off a raw nerve in Washington, which has been busy watching Beijing’s every move.

In more ways than one, China’s ascendancy on the global superpower scale is probably a blessing in disguise for the tiny islands of the Pacific—long forgotten in Washington.

The announcement by President Obama to re-engage in the Pacific is an assurance of sorts by Washington that the Asia Pacific region was never reduced to a blip on the radar screen. Its strategic importance remains unaltered.

Photo Caption: Obama with pacific leaders at this years APEC conference in Hawaii.
 

VANUATU: Another Boost for Quality Primary Education in Vanuatu
Source: UNICEF Press Release via Scoop Independent News
 
The Government of Vanuatu today launched a set of newly developed standards to improve quality primary education in the nation. The Vanuatu Minimum Quality Standards for Primary Schools will help guide Primary School …PORT VILA, 14 December 2011 -The Government of Vanuatu launched a set of newly developed standards to improve quality primary education in the nation. The Vanuatu Minimum Quality Standards for Primary Schools will help guide Primary School Committees to use their school grants to provide all students with a quality primary education.

The 15 quality standards respond to the most relevant and pressing needs for guidance expressed by stakeholders in the education sector. They include guidance on improving access to schools, effective teaching and learning, gender equality, protection of children and strengthening community participation and day to day management of schools. The quality standards will enable tangible implementation and monitoring of key strategic goals of the Vanuatu Education Road Map (VERM) addressing holistic development of schools under the 2011-2015 Ministry of Education’s Corporate Plan.

During today’s launch, Representative Dr Isiye Ndombi of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Pacific shared: “The standards support the delivery of primary education which is available, accessible, affordable and acceptable to all. They are for all children in Vanuatu regardless of gender, ability or background. The standards support the removal of barriers to children’s education, so that all children can complete primary school education and achieve the national prescribed learning outcomes. Ultimately, this will help all children to acquire the skills, knowledge, values and attitudes which are necessary to become responsible, active and productive citizens of Vanuatu”.

The Director General of the Ministry of Education, Mr Jesse Dick, said that the development of the national school quality standards is one of many steps to boost the quality of education in Vanuatu and will eventually lead to the achievement of MDG 2 (Universal Primary Education). He added that he is very pleased with the outcome of all the consultations and the hard work of many educators, communities and students involved.

“The Ministry would like to thank and recognise the collaboration of the VERM pool partners, Australia, New Zealand and UNICEF, for their support in the development of the Vanuatu Minimum Quality Standards for Primary Schools. This is another important step in the journey of school improvement initiatives”, said Mr Jesse Dick.

“UNICEF Pacific highly values the fruitful cooperation between the Ministry of Education, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management to ensure that all primary schools in Vanuatu have access to school grants. This innovative partnership is unique in the Pacific and is an excellent example of how Ministries can work together for the benefit of improving the quality of education for all Vanuatu citizens. Supporting this partnership the quality standards provide a great example of how to ensure fairness and inclusion of all children, including the most vulnerable and marginalised, in primary education. We wholeheartedly congratulate Vanuatu with this excellent achievement”, Dr Ndombi said.