NEWSPAGE 23 September
2009

(Photo: Te Puni Kōkiri)

NEW ZEALAND: Māori entrepreneurial spirit thriving in Auckland

(Photos: Fatu Tauafiafi)

SAMOA: Samoa scores historic cricket win over Cook Islands
Source: Fatu Tauafiafi

It's been a 10-year wait but Samoa has finally achieved its first win over the Cook Islands. "They have been our bogey team", says Samoa Captain, Geoffery Clarke. "But now that we've done it, and in style it's a nice feeling as it sets us nicely for the crucial game against Vanuatu tomorrow. (September 22, 2009)"

Samoa was set-up for its historic win by a near faultless spell of medium pace bowling by man-of-the match Lautala Fuimoana. "With figures of 2-wickets for 7-runs off 10 overs, that's just phenomenal", says team mate, Dean Seuoti. "It's great for local Samoan cricket to have a local player like Lautala achieve these bowling figures against the best cricketers in the Asia Pacific region. It just shows that the talent is here and we just need more tournament and event to showcase and allow younger players to come on board."

Samoa is now well placed to force its push for Associate Membership. General Manager, Tina Macumber says, "There's a lot that needs to go our way. One of the criteria is that we beat an Associate Member twice and since we did that against Vanuatu in teh Twenty/20 competition means if we beat them tomorrow then we have a real case to push with the ICC.

"And then there's competition to reach the final on Friday we're pushing for. I dont want to think too far ahead but it's exciting for Samoan cricket as this is the goal we've been aiming for and it's tantalisingly close."

As for Captain Geoff, the approach against Vanuatu will be the same as all other games. "We just aim to win. If we get that under our belt then the results, fruits or benefits will follow by default."

Vanuatu scored a stylish win against the Indonesians reaching their target with the lose of only one wicket.

Both Samoa and Vanuatu have shown they both have the bowlers and batters to win. Tomorrow will be an exciting game and one that has alot riding for Samoa. Whatever the outcome, it will be a game worth watching.

The EAP Tournament is the biggest cricket in the East Asia Pacific region and the first time all 8-premier men's team are participating. For the first time the top 112 men's cricket players are in the one tournament. Sponsored by ICC Development Program through Global sponsor Pepsi, the tournament sponsor is Samoa's premier communications provider, SamoaTel.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Ben Mailata hits the winning run.

Photo 2 - Samoan Captain Geoffery Clarke is congratulated by Cook Island team members.

Photo 3 - Man of the Match, Lautala Fuimoana.
 

(Photo: J. Kneubuhl)

AMERICAN SAMOA: Call centre representatives conduct fact finding meeting at ASCC
Source: American Samoa Community College Press Release

Representatives from American Samoa Service Associates, the investment group behind efforts earlier this year to establish a call center in the Territory, visited the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) this past Tuesday to conduct a fact finding meeting with students from the College. The two hour meeting took place in the ASCC Lecture Hall, and was attended by several hundred students from departments as diverse as Business, English, Fine Arts and the Institute of Trades and Technology, along with members of the Student Government Association, who organized the event.

“Our group is conducting due diligence or a fact gathering. We are not offering to set up a call center at this time,” said local American Samoa Service Associates partner Avamua Dave Haleck, who was present at the meeting. “This meeting is fact finding only. Any movement forward toward a call center in the future will be based, in part, on the results of this meeting. One of the more important factors we came to research is the English speaking and comprehension of the potential labor pool; the accent of the local population when speaking English; and, the dynamics of the potential labor pool in conversational English.”

Along with Avamua, the visiting party included American Service Associates President Mark Hunsaker, along with partners John R. Dwyer Jr. and Brian O’Shea, as well as Elek Toth, Senior Vice President-Asia Operations of NCO/RMH Teleservices Asia Pacific, Inc., and the latter firm’s Director of Recruitment, Arlynne Fausto. College President Dr. Seth Galea’i and Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs Dr. Kathleen Kolhoff also attended, along with many ASCC administrators and faculty. Following remarks from the guests and the screening of a video that detailed operations at a call center run by NCO Group in the Phillipines, the visitors took an extended period to converse in small groups with the students present.

During the final question and answer segment, Elek Toth and other members of the visiting team answered numerous questions about opportunities in the call service industry, and did not shy away from some of the sensitive issues associated with the attempts earlier this year to get the call center project moving. One student asked what had become of InfoTech American Samoa, the previous partner with American Samoa Service Associates, whose representative had given a similar presentation at ASCC just this past February. Mark Hunsaker explained that changing economic conditions in American Samoa had led InfoTech to withdraw from the call center project, but that his group is now working with NCO Group to research the possibility of still bringing the industry to the Territory. Another student inquired whether the pending increase in the Territory’s minimum wage would influence NCO Group plans to do business in American Samoa, to which Toth replied that the wage would be just one of many factors taken into consideration before his company makes its final decision.

In regard to the visitors’ primary goal of assessing the English language skills of the ASCC students, John R. Dwyer of American Samoa Service Associates made a favorable comparison between the English he heard spoken at ASCC and the speaking styles of the mainland. “Even in Hawaii, many speak with a pidgin accent, which I do not hear at all among you,” Dwyer told the ASCC students. “The way in which phone operators at a call center speak English can be a crucial factor, since customers often feel ill at ease when talking to operators in foreign countries. If customers in the United States speak to operators in American Samoa, I think they’ll feel confident they’re talking to another American, which could be a major advantage.”

The meeting concluded with everyone present tentatively hopeful that a call center in American Samoa could someday become a reality, although Avamua emphasized that the venture is still very much in the research stage. “Since this is a fact finding mission, the group was mostly interested in hearing from the students, and in
particular listening to the way they speak, as this is key to the group. American Samoa Service Associates was not so interested in presenting all that they can offer, as there will
be plenty of time for that should they reach the decision that American Samoa will be their next location for a call center.”

Photo Caption: Members of the investment group American Samoa Service Associates, who are continuing to research the possibility of a Call Center in the Territory, visited the ASCC campus this past Tuesday to give a presentation before a packed audience. Joining the group for this photo are the ASCC Student Government Association, who organized the visit.
 

(Photos: Fiji Government / British Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

FIJI: Sri Lanka and Fiji seek wider areas for bilateral exchanges
Source: Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama proposed that Sri Lanka and Fiji seek wider areas for bilateral exchanges in human resources in the fields of legal and medical services and technical cooperation, in keeping with Sri Lanka’s policy of a more Asia centric focus on international cooperation, when the Foreign Minister of Fiji, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola called on him today (21/09) in New York. The Fijian Foreign Minister was thankful for the six Sri Lankan judges who had been recruited to serve in Fiji when their Chief Justice had visited Sri Lanka. They exchanged views with regard to the procedure of processing the Continental Shelf applications which both Sri Lanka and Fiji have filed and underlined the need to seek a fast tracking of this process.

The two Foreign Ministers also discussed the envisaged way forward following the suspension of Fiji from the Commonwealth. In keeping with the position President Mahinda Rajapaksa has advocated for Fiji, Minister Bogollagama informed that Sri Lanka took the position that countries should not be punished by exclusion from international platforms and groupings and underscored the imperative need to address national issues in accordance with domestic compulsions whilst respecting international norms which includes a realistic time frame. He observed that while the Fiji interim government was unable to fulfill the bench marks of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), the undertaking that engagement would continue with the Commonwealth, demonstrated and acknowledged the intended cooperation by Fijii which was gratifying. Foreign Minister Bogollagama opined that Fiji should be seeking in making changes to its political agenda to create political pluralism through Constitutional reforms in a timely manner.

The Fijian Foreign Minister conveyed the appreciation of his Prime Minister for the understanding of the situation in Fiji which was reflected in the position taken by Sri Lanka during the recent deliberations of the CMAG and this issue. We explained the difficulties in meeting the time lines established by CMAG in respect of reactivating the political dialogue of the leaders and the elections to be held by 2010. The Fijian Foreign Minister informed that the interim government is seeking to initiate a national dialogue with the participation of the countries citizens. Further, it is his Government’s wish to ensure socio-economic reform prior to the holding of elections which would take at least three years. He referred to the interim government seeking bring about reforms on land use and the Constitution in order to bring about a system of equality to both the indigenous people and Fijian Indians.

Photo Captions: Foreign Minister of Fiji, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola; Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, Rohitha Bogollagama.
 

WORLDWIDE: Biodiversity recognised in International Treaty for food and agriculture
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community Press Release

Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are crucial in feeding the world’s population. They are the raw material that farmers and plant breeders use to improve the quality and productivity of our crops. The future of agriculture depends on international cooperation and on the open exchange of crops that farmers all over the world have developed and exchanged over 10,000 years. No country is sufficient in itself - all depend on crops and the genetic diversity within these crops from other countries and regions.

In November, 2001, the FAO Conference adopted the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), which is a legally-binding treaty covering all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Six countries in the Pacific region have ratified the treaty, namely Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Pitcairn Islands and Samoa.

The ITPGRFA is a global treaty for food security and sustainable agriculture, and is vital for ensuring the continued availability of the plant genetic resources that countries need to feed their people. Crop diversity is an essential tool for generating crop varieties that can help farmers manage climate change. Like all other nations of the world, Pacific Island countries and territories do not have enough crop diversity within their borders to sustain productive systems.

Recognising that international cooperation and open exchange of genetic resources are both essential for food security, the Pacific region has placed the collections held by the Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) in the Multilateral System of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).

The Hon. Taua Kitiona, Samoa’s Minister of Agriculture, representing other ministers and the region, attended the 3rd Session of the Governing Body of the ITPGRFA in Tunis, and in the opening ceremony on 1 June formally placed these collections into the treaty system.

“The signing of these agreements by SPC has been fully endorsed by the Pacific region, recognising we live in one world despite the miles between us. To survive the many challenges of this century, we need to work together, sharing our resources and importantly further recognising that the genetic diversity found in genebanks today may become the most important resource we have in shaping an effective response to climate change,” said the Hon. Taua Kitiona Seulala in his address to the governing body of the Treaty.

Countries that are party to the Treaty will join non-party members on 23 to 24 September in a workshop to be held at Novotel Nadi.

Workshop organiser and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) plant genetic resources adviser, Dr Mary Taylor said the focus of discussions will be on the benefits of the ITPGRFA. “The importance of crop diversity to sustainable development in the Pacific region is becoming more and more apparent, especially as farmers try to maintain and improve food production in the face of a changing climate,” said Dr Taylor.

Outbreaks of new pests and diseases can wreak havoc with crops that do not include resistant varieties. This was dramatically illustrated in Samoa in the early 1990s when taro leaf blight totally destroyed taro production because of the susceptibility of the cultivar being used. Climate change is likely to bring other similar challenges.

Legal expertise will be provided by the Treaty Secretariat (FAO) and Bioversity International will also provide assistance.

“Significantly, non-party members will have this opportunity to discuss the Treaty and to raise any issues of concern. Countries that are party to the treaty will be able to determine how best they can implement their treaty obligations in collaboration with SPC,” said Dr Taylor.

The regional workshop is being organised by SPC Land Resources Division, the Treaty Secretariat (FAO) and Bioversity International, with funding support from NZAID and the Treaty Secretariat (FAO).

For more information, please contact Dr Mary Taylor: [email protected], or phone: 7375 228.
 

(Photo: Rugby League International Federation)

WORLDWIDE: Principle sponsor of the inaugural Rugby League Pacific Cup named
Source: Rugby League International Federation Press Release

The Rugby League International Federation is pleased to announce Papua New Guinea’s South Pacific Brewery as principle sponsor of the inaugural Pacific Cup to be held in Port Moresby in October.

The SP Brewery Pacific Cup 2009 will see Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands compete for the chance to join Australia, New Zealand and England in the 2010 Four Nations tournament.

Momentum continues to build around the newest event on the international Rugby League calendar, with today’s announcement a strong show of corporate support from host nation Papua New Guinea.

“SP Brewery is an iconic brand in Papua New Guinea and a long time supporter of Rugby League so to have their support is a tremendous boost,” RLIF Chairman Mr Colin Love AM said today (September 22, 2009).

“The Pacific Cup is set to lay the foundation for the future development of the game in PNG and its Pacific neighbours.

“SP Brewery committing their support is another positive step as we head towards the tournament’s kickoff in October.”

SP Brewery has been a driving force in developing Rugby League in PNG, highlighted by a 21-year commitment as naming rights sponsor for the country’s premier competition.

SP Brewery General Manager Stan Joyce said the company was proud to be associated with the ongoing development of Pacific nations’ Rugby League through its sponsorship of the 2009 Pacific Cup.

“This new and exciting competition to bring together the best Rugby League players in the Pacific Region will definitely elevate the game and SP Brewery is excited to be part of this new concept,” Mr Joyce said.

“SP Brewery remains committed to developing new and exciting brand experiences for our consumers. The SP Brewery Pacific Cup sponsorship is consistent with our strategy to market our brands across the region.”

Tonga, Fiji and PNG already have their place in the draw confirmed while Samoa and the Cook Islands will stage a Pacific Cup qualifying match in Cairns on Saturday October 17 to determine the remaining position.

The four Pacific Cup matches will be held at Lloyd Robson Oval over the weekends of October 24-25 and October 31, with the final to be played on Sunday 1 November.