NEWSROOM 15 July
2009

(Photos: Amplifier Magazine / Fulbright NZ / Evening Post / Brown Pages)

NEW ZEALAND: NZ artists to participate in worldwide celebration of indigenous art

(Photos: Australian Department of Defence)

SAMOA: Australians proud to work on humanitarian mission in Samoa
Source: Australian Department of Defence Press Release

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has been helping to change lives in Samoa over the past two weeks, delivering vital engineering and dental aid as part of the US sponsored Humanitarian Civic Assistance Mission PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP 2009.

The Australian contingent, comprising of 12 Army engineers and one Air Force dental hygienist, have been working alongside US and New Zealand personnel refurbishing a primary school on the Samoan island of Savai’i and renovating the National Hospital in Apia. Health professionals from the US, Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand saw over 3000 patients.

“The experience so far has been life changing,” Australian Army Engineer Lieutenant Mick Collaros said. “Working with the local Samoans on the construction site was a humbling experience; they worked 12 hours a day to help us. They were generous and hospitable, really looked after us.”

Mission Commander, Commodore Andrew Culley, United States Navy, recognised the achievements of the ADF.

“The Australians are an integral part of the entire mission and did a fantastic job in Samoa,” he said.

PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP is a US sponsored training and readiness mission which works through, with and by a diverse range of militaries, Governments and non-government organisations to develop interoperability in delivering effective humanitarian and disaster relief aid in the Pacific.

The 2009 mission is visiting Samoa, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and the Republic of the Marshall Islands to deliver much needed engineering, medical, dental and veterinary aid.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Australian Army Sapper Josh Fuller works with local Samoans to renovate a primary School in Savai’i as part of the PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP 2009 Humanitarian Civic Assistance mission.

Photo 2 - Australian Army Sappers enjoy the celebrations at the Ribbon Cutting ceremony celebrating the completion and handover of the local school they had been helping renovate in Samoa as part of Humanitarian Civic Assistance Mission PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP 2009.
 

(Photos: U.S. Department of Agriculture)

AMERICAN SAMOA: Agriculture appropriation legislation to benefit American Samoa
Source: Office of Congressman Faleomavaega Press Release

Congressman Faleomavaega announced recently that the U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 266-160, has passed H.R. 2997, legislation making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes. Of particular interest to American Samoa are provisions under Title IV, Domestic Food Programs, which stipulate the amount that American Samoa Government (ASG) would receive under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) for FY 2010. These two programs continue to provide for the basic needs of our people.

“Formerly known as the federal Food Stamp Program, SNAP focuses on nutrition and putting healthy food within reach of the low income households. Over the years, this program has provided assistance to our low-income people and families to buy the food they need for good health,” Faleomavaega said.

“In 2002, Congress passed legislation that would provide block grants to ASG and Puerto Rico for the purpose of carrying out their nutrition assistance programs (Public Law 107-171, Title IV, Section 4124) (7 U.S.C. 2028). The amount received by ASG is adjusted based on the cost of food in the Territory. Under the new appropriation bill, H.R. 2997, ASG would receive $7.5 million in FY 2010, $500,000 more than the amount appropriated for FY 2009,” Faleomavaega explained.

“In addition to SNAP, our Territory also receives funding for the WIC program. Under the WIC program, low-income pregnant women, new mothers, and infants and children at nutritional risk of American Samoa receive nutritious foods, nutrition education, and access to health care. For FY 2010, the total appropriation for all States and territories including American Samoa would be $7.5 billion. While the exact amount for American Samoa is not yet determined at this point, the assumption is, the final amount would be more than what ASG received last year,” Faleomavaega added.

“I thank my colleagues in Congress for continuing to recognize and provide for the needs of our Territory,” Faleomavaega concluded.

Photo Captions: The American Samoa Government (ASG) is to receive a $7.5 million block grant under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

FIJI: Pacific Youth Festival opens with colourful ceremony

Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community Press Release

About 300 young people from around the region have gathered this week in Suva, Fiji, for the 2nd Pacific Youth Festival, which runs from 11-18 July.

The festival was launched on Saturday morning when youth delegates from 14 participating Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs), wearing colourful Pacific prints, marched through the streets of Suva to an opening ceremony held at Albert Park, on the edge of the city centre.

The president of Fiji, Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, officially opened the festival during a ceremony that included a traditional Fijian welcome and cultural performances from many different Pacific delegations.

President of the Fiji Youth Festival Alumni 2006, Jacob Itautoka, presented the resolutions from the 1st Pacific Youth Festival that was held in Tahiti, French Polynesia, in 2006.

The aspirations, issues and concerns raised by young people in 2006 are captured in the Pacific Youth Strategy 2010.

Mr Itautoka said young people are taking the lead in youth development by involving themselves in processes aimed at finding solutions to their problems.

The festival aims to bring young people in the region together to discuss, share and highlight youth concerns and youth programmes that address these concerns.

A youth delegate from Papua New Guinea (PNG), Mavis Tito, says she hopes to find out if young people from all Pacific nations are facing the same challenges as in her country.

‘I expect to learn and participate in the programme of good governance and finding youth identity,’ Miss Tito says. ‘All nations have their own issues but I am hoping to find out if the challenges faced by youths [in other countries] are the same as in my country and see if there is a good solution to take back [home]’.

Another PNG youth delegate, Nathan Hukula believes the festival will help highlight the role that globalisation is playing in the lives of Pacific young people.

‘Globalisation is affecting how the youth in our communities are behaving. Young people are challenged to strike a balance between culture and modernisation. [The festival] gives us a chance to discuss and strengthen ideas and put our cultural differences aside’, Mr Hukula says.

A representative of the Banaban Group from Kiribati, Eriuta Hiwi, agrees that the festival shows the unity of Pacific nations and helps to boost the morale of young people.

‘It gives youth the chance to adopt good values as they are often blamed for many problems,’ Mr Hiwi says. ‘This festival really helps to change the mindsets of youth in the Pacific region’.

The theme of the 2nd Pacific Youth Festival is “Actioning the youth agenda”. Discussions will focus on promoting healthy living, Pacific identity, climate change adaptation, and governance, peace and security.

PICTs participating in the festival are: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna. Student delegations from French Polynesia and New Caledonia have also travelled to the festival.

Festival background:

The Pacific Youth Festival is a week-long event held every three years. The first festival attracted 1,000 participants from 24 PICTs as well as Australia and New Zealand. It focused on nine themes, including education and training, social and professional integration, sustainable development, cultural diversity, health, equality, peace promotion, active citizenship and good governance.

The main events at the festival include presentations, panel discussions and workshops on various youth issues. The festival also facilitates inter-regional communication and network building opportunities. Side events include cultural performances and sports.

Photo Caption: Felise Colati and his granddaughter Makaela (age 4) watch the opening ceremony of the Pacific Youth Festival at Albert Park in Suva.
 

(Photo: Japan Times)

TUVALU: JICA agent seeks to save Tuvalu
Source: Japan Times

Touring Pacific islands for three years proved a turning point in the life of Kazuyoshi Ogawa, a former radio program director who used to work many hours of overtime.

He now lives in Funafuti, capital of Tuvalu, a nation of atolls and coral islands in the Western Pacific that has drawn world attention as it faces being submerged by rising sea levels due to global warming.

Ogawa, 49, is a specialist in charge of coordinating a variety of Japanese assistance programs and a development policy adviser to the Tuvalu government in Funafuti, located on a small island whose average elevation is less than 1.5 meters above sea level.

He was sent there by the Japan International Cooperation Agency on a year's assignment that has just been extended for another year because Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia has placed confidence in him.

Ogawa visits Ielemia without an appointment and talks about measures to deal with the erosion of the seashore and disaster prevention.

He describes Tuvalu as a "wonderful country where people don't cheat each other and don't expect others to return good will with favours."

He toured the Pacific islands for three years after quitting his radio job, during which he often put in 200 hours of overtime a month. "I wanted to be of help to make islanders happy," he said in a recent interview.

He wrote a book on his travels and became a researcher at the non-profit Japan Institute for Pacific Studies based in Tokyo.

Ogawa said sometimes the telephones in Tuvalu don't work and the tap water is rainwater preserved in tanks.

"Everything is uncertain," he said. "Airplanes sometimes don't fly. Those who go to an outlying island by ship sometimes cannot return because of bad weather. Such things don't bother people. Meanwhile no one gets mad when I suddenly try to see someone without an appointment."

He said people in Tuvalu and the surrounding islands have many things in common with Japanese, pointing out that they "abhor confrontation, let the flow of time resolve problems, are polite and take their shoes off at home."

Ogawa is joined by his wife and their 6-year-old daughter under swaying coconut trees on holidays.

Photo Caption: Kazuyoshi Ogawa.

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

WORLDWIDE: Reviewing the Pacific waste management strategy
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release

A 10 year solid waste management strategy for the Pacific region is currently under review. Adopted in September 2005, by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) members, this strategy is now under the microscope, being evaluated by Pacific countries and territories.

The vision of the solid waste management strategy is “A healthy and a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable Pacific for future generations.”

The goal of the strategy is for the “Pacific island countries and territories to adopt cost-effective and self sustaining solid waste management systems to minimise the negative effects on public health, the environment, the economy and way of life.”

There is the focus to help speed progress to reach this goal. The challenges faced is what the Solid Waste Officer of SPREP, Esther Richards, is hoping to identify and address, so good waste practices become the norm for the region.

“We know there are things to be done, like develop a landfill and establish good collection systems, but there seems to be something fundamental that challenges us from achieving that. Whether it is lack of finance, lack of political will or something deeper, we are hoping to find out what it is and address it.” Richards said.

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has supported SPREP in assisting with effective solid waste management in the Pacific the agency has also funded several workshops which bring the region together to review the 10-year waste strategy.

Over the month of July SPREP Member countries and territories will meet to appraise the strategy through 4 different meetings. The Micronesia group of islands met in Guam in early July. This week the Atoll islands of the Pacific have come together in Apia, Samoa for 3 days to assess the strategy. They will be followed by a gathering of the Polynesian and then Melanesian group of islands.

“For the Micronesia countries, they didn’t make many changes in terms of the content of the strategy. They were concerned about the need for continuity that the same subset of people works on this so, come future meetings, participants are well informed of the background and the issue” explained Richards.

Within the strategy itself, the Microneisan countries outlined the need for better networking.

Today marks day one of the Atoll Countries review meeting, and having heard the country case study presentations, Richard has identified one common theme which stems from this.

“The need for public education and awareness and the need to integrate that into overall communications strategy’s has come out loud and clear from the first day of this meeting, having heard country case studies.”

Each Pacific region subset meeting has nominated a chair person. Once all the Pacific islands countries and territories have met to review the Waste strategy, Richards will combine all comments into one draft outline.

In August, all 4 chairpersons will meet with Richards to finalise the changes in the strategy which stem from the review.

Photo Caption: Participants attending the Atolls meeting in Apia, Samoa.