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Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society

The Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society serves the Society's purposes by serving the interests of the global Internet community through its presence in the Pacific Islands. It focuses on local issues and developments, and as an impartial advisor to governments and the public on matters of significant interest to Pacific Island people.

http://www.picisoc.org

(Added: Thu Apr 21 2005   Modified: Thu Jun 29 2006   Hits: 372)

Tahiti: Nuclear cover-up stokes tension with France

Oscar Temaru, the pro-independence president of the Tahiti Nui (Temaru's preferred name for the French colony known as French Polynesia), dropped a political bombshell in the Pacific country's parliament on July 28. Temaru released a letter from a respected government health expert in Paris that officially confirmed for the first time what most Tahitians have long known and France has always denied: that French nuclear explosions in their territory have increased cancer rates throughout the Tahitian islands. The revelation has further strained tensions between the Temaru-led coalition government and Tahiti's colonial masters in Paris. (Norm Dixon, Green Left Weekly, Towards Freedom, 16 August 2006)

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/872/

(Added: Fri Aug 18 2006   Hits: 239)

"Making Their Own Rules" Police Beatings, Rape, and Torture of Children in Papua New Guinea

Human Rights Watch, 2005. This report is based on research in Papua New Guinea in September 2004, as well as additional information gathered by HRW researchers between May 2004 and July 2005. Papua New Guinea's serious crime problem is being met with a violent police response. Children, who make up nearly half of the country's some 5.6 million people, are especially vulnerable. Brutal beatings, rape, and torture of children, as well as confinement in sordid police lockup, are widespread police practices. Although even high level government officials acknowledge this, almost nothing has been done to stop it.

http://hrw.org/reports/2005/png0905/

(Added: Wed Nov 16 2005   Hits: 357)

A Toolkit for Pacific Youth: Localising the MDGs

This is the first Pacific specific MDG action toolkit aiming to empower the many youth in the region. The toolkit contains general information about what are Millennium Development Goals, why they were initiated and evidence to the progression of these Goals in the Pacific. It also focuses and mainly contains solutions and steps that Youth in the Pacific can take to achieve these Goals in their community. (Youth for a Sustainable Future Pacifika, August 2006)

http://www.peacechild.org/YSF/toolkit.htm

(Added: Fri Aug 18 2006   Modified: Mon Jul 02 2007   Hits: 435)

Better learning, better future : education and training sector strategy for the Pacific

The overall goal of the education and training sector strategy is to improve learning outcomes for the poor and disadvantaged in the Pacific. This document explains that ADB support would enhance the supply of and demand for equity, quality, and relevance of education services. The three strategic objectives are: * education strategies relevant and responsive to national development objectives and client needs * effective public, private, and development partner resource allocations for basic education, and * enhanced capacity of the PDMC to manage and deliver a quality basic education service. These three strategic objectives are closely related and mutually reinforcing in support of the goal of an increased national capacity to use resources effectively to deliver an improved quality education service that responds to national needs and objectives. (ADB, July 2005)

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Policies/Pacific-Education-Strategy/default.asp

(Added: Wed Feb 14 2007   Hits: 129)

Christian Custom and the Church as Structure in 'Weak States' in Melanesia

This paper investigates certain characteristic associations in the governance of three of the four independent states of Melanesia: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. First, the seemingly paradoxical amalgam of Christianity and tradition or custom which serves as an uneasy ideological basis for national unity and identity. Second, the always ambivalent, often tense intersections of Christianity and 'politics'. Finally, the significance of the churches, with their intensely local roots but broadly global reach, as alternative structures in the context of ineffective or even absent state institutions. (Bronwen Douglas, Australian National University, Paper given at the international conference, Civil Society, Religion & Global Governance: Paradigms of Power & Persuasion, 1-2 September 2005, Canberra)

http://law.anu.edu.au/nissl/douglas.pdf

(Added: Thu Oct 12 2006   Modified: Fri Jan 12 2007   Hits: 211)

Environmental Indicators: South Pacific

UNEP has published new Environmental Indicators Reports to assist countries of Asia-Pacific measure progress towards sustainable development goals. Published in simple, graphical form they allow policy makers to use benchmarks and assess trends in 30 different economic, social and environmental areas. (UNEP, 2006)

http://www.rrcap.unep.org/indicator/ISP.pdf

(Added: Mon Oct 16 2006   Modified: Fri Mar 28 2008   Hits: 276)

Fiji's peace in a suitcase

This article look at Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, a Fijian grassroots activist flown in to bring firsthand expertise to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office's historic conference on UN Resolution 1325 for women's participation in conflict resolution and decision-making. Their "suitcase radio" project, a mobile radio station, takes radio to women in Fijian communities. Currently secretary of Fiji's National Council of Women, Sharon has worked with many organisations over the years, to include women in Fiji's political life and tap their contribution to peace. She founded the women's media NGO femLINKpacific to ensure women's voices are heard. (Rosemary Bechler, Open Democracy, 6 June 2006)

http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-resolution_1325/fiji_3615.jsp

(Added: Thu Jun 08 2006   Modified: Mon Aug 14 2006   Hits: 338)

Help to revitalise Pacific languages

The New Zealand government, as part of the 2006 Budget, will spend $600,000 over the next three years on a programme to revitalise the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau languages that are at risk of becoming extinct in New Zealand. Pacific Island Affairs Associate Minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban said helping Pacific languages to survive and flourish was an important part of New Zealand's identity as a Pacific nation. (Beehive, 19 May 2006)

http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=25818

(Added: Fri May 19 2006   Modified: Thu Jun 08 2006   Hits: 241)

Indigenous and Local Communities' Concerns and Experiences in Protecting their Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions: Vanuatu

Traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, therefore, are the bedrock of cultural identity and community life for the great majority of people in Vanuatu. As Vanuatu has yet to put in place any intellectual property rights legislation, there is an absence of any mechanisms other than custom for the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions (TK/TCEs). Communities lack control over (and require assistance with)the commercial misuse of TK/TCEs and the use of TK/TCEs by outsiders. Examples of misappropriation include the Nagol, which inspired bungy-jumping, pharmaceutical use of kava and ongoing bio-prospecting. (Ralph Regenvanu, paper presented at the 9th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), 24th April 2006, Geneva, Switzerland)

http://www.vanuatuculture.org/documents/RegenvanuIGC2006.DOC

(Added: Mon Jan 15 2007   Hits: 267)

Indigenous epistemology, wisdom and tradition; changing and challenging dominant paradigms in Oceania

This paper, presented by Dr Max Quanchi at the Social Change in the 21st Century Conference examines the value of indigenous epistemologies with particular focus on the Pacific context.

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/archive/00000630/01/quanchi-max.pdf

(Added: Mon Apr 30 2007   Hits: 261)

IP in the Pacific

This folder, gathered by the CTA's Knowledge for Development, highlights organizations, private sector initiatives and collaborative partnerships in the Pacific that are addressing various aspects of intellectual property rights in relation to agriculture and genetic resources.

http://knowledge.cta.int/en/content/view/full/701

(Added: Mon Jan 15 2007   Hits: 124)

Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific 2005 [PDF]

International Labour Organisation, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, September 2005. Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific is the first issue of a new report to be published every second year. The report has two main aims, the first of which is to present major trends in employment and social conditions in the world's most populous and dynamic region, while also drawing attention to key policy challenges posed by the identified trends. The second aim of the report is to contribute to the development of internationally comparable, gender-sensitive indicators to measure progress in decent work. Decent work is a goal, meaning not just whether women and men have any job, but productive employment that provides: an adequate income to keep them and their families out of poverty, security in times of adversity, good working conditions and a voice in decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. To identify decent work gaps, and measure progress made in the different dimensions of decent work - many of which are of a fundamentally qualitative nature - it is crucial to have relevant and up-to-date information.

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/download/14tharm/rep_trends.pdf

(Added: Wed Sep 14 2005   Hits: 277)

Melanesia: The Future of Tradition

By Weiner, James F. Issue 26.3, Cultural Survival. "Despite the political, economic, and physical hazards brought about by Melanesia's increasing exposure to a global world, local communities have responded in ways that augment and enhance their cultural identity and uniqueness. Eager to embrace western modes of life, they nevertheless insist on doing so within the framework of their customary laws and their still profound attachment to their ancestral lands. The constitutional protection afforded their cultural laws in the independent countries of Melanesia is the most secure bulwark against threats to their cultural survival." James Weiner has been lecturer in anthropology at The Australian National University and the University of Manchester and professor of anthropology at the University of Adelaide. Author of four books and many articles on the Foi, he now works as an independent consultant in Australia.

http://www.cs.org/publications/csq/csq-article.cfm?id=1559&highlight=Melanesia:%20The%20Future%20of%20Tradition

(Added: Wed Jun 11 2003   Modified: Tue Sep 12 2006   Hits: 314)

Pacific Archive of Digital Data for Learning and Education PADDLE

PADDLE provides full text access to a comprehensive collection of Pacific education material. This includes publications from the participating Ministries of Education including strategic plans, education legislation, curriculum frameworks and school policies. It also contains national development plans, statistics and budget information for the fifteen Pacific countries. The database will be regularly updated with new material.

http://www.paddle.usp.ac.fj

(Added: Mon Jul 10 2006   Modified: Thu Jul 20 2006   Hits: 178)

Pacific Focus : Documentary Photography

Pacific Focus aims to promote documentary photography practice in the Pacific region. The site offers a free web-based resource for photographers to showcase photo-essays about the people, cultures and issues of the Pacific Islands.

http://www.pacificfocus.org

(Added: Tue Mar 15 2005   Modified: Thu Jun 29 2006   Hits: 257)

Politics: Marine's Relocation Angers the Indigenous Peoples of Guam

In a desperate attempt to save their race, identity and culture, the indigenous people of Guam - the Chamorus - are strongly opposing the relocation of US Marines from Okinawa, Japan, to their country. (Elenoa Baselala, Islands Business, March 2007)

http://www.islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=17311/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl

(Added: Thu Mar 15 2007   Hits: 153)

Privatising Land in the Pacific: A defence of customary tenures

The Australia Institute, edited by Jim Fingleton, June 2005. This paper reflects the growing concern of a number of scholars about the influence of free market ideology on proposals to change land use and land ownership in the Pacific. In a series of papers published by the libertarian think tank, the Centre for Independent Studies, Professor Helen Hughes, an influential figure in the aid debate, has proposed that Australia's aid to Papua New Guinea be made contingent on a farreaching transformation of customary forms of land tenure. These 'reforms' would require land owned and used by traditional groups to be divided up and allocated to individuals who could then buy and sell land in the market. The diverse group of scholars whose views are collected together in this paper argue that such a prescription, far from solving PNG's development problems, would be highly detrimental to the social and economic welfare of that country. When people heard that land reforms along these lines were being proposed in 2001, there were riots in Port Moresby and four people were killed. The authors - who between them have more than 100 years of practical and research experience in the Pacific - argue that Hughes' opinions are informed by an ideological approach rather than an understanding of how land is actually owned and used in PNG and other Pacific countries. They challenge those calling for radical change to land tenure systems in the Pacific to respond to the facts laid out in this paper rather than retreating to free market dogma.

http://www.dev-zone.org/downloads/PrivatisingLandPacific.pdf

(Added: Tue Sep 13 2005   Modified: Thu Jan 12 2006   Hits: 394)

Report on the 2nd Workshop of the Pacific Basin Caucus of Indigenous Peoples for the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

by Fiu Mataese Elisara-Laulu. The agenda for this Workshop was structured into plenary sessions and workshops aimed at generating information and discussions from some 50 participants from the 17 indigenous groups around the Pacific on the themes and agenda items of the Permanent Forum 4th Session to be held in New York on 16-27 May 2005. This Workshop was convened to ensure the views of the Pacific are adequately discussed and any recommendations from this will feed into the New York meeting in May 2005.

http://www.fspi.org.fj/Publications/Samoa%20Newsletter/2nd%20Workshopon%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20of%20Pacific%2026-28%20April,%202005.pdf

(Added: Tue Nov 08 2005   Modified: Tue Nov 29 2005   Hits: 179)

Safeguarding Hawaiian traditional knowledge & cultural heritage: supporting the right to self-determination & preventing commodification of culture

This paper argues that the domination of Western intellectual property law over western markets should not extend to the traditional knowledge and cultural heritage of Native Hawaiians. It explores the meaning of traditional knowledge and cultural heritage according to the Native Hawaiian narrative, and describes the harms exacted on Native Hawaiians as a result of the commodification of culture, specifically, harms to health, the environment, and sustainability. (Danielle Conway-Jones, Howard Law Journal, December 2005)

http://iipsj.org/IIPSJScholarlyActivities/2005IIPSJHLJSymposium/ConwayJonesHLJArticle.pdf

(Added: Tue Nov 28 2006   Modified: Mon Jan 15 2007   Hits: 179)

Signs of hope amid Papua New Guinea's need

This article looks at the debate between churches in Papua New Guinea on how to handle the AIDS epidemic. It also profiles several Papua New Guineans that have received help from various NGO and NZAID schemes, including a microfinance project, a farm, and a project to improve the awareness and safety of Port Moresby sex workers, and 'sensitise' police to HIV and human rights issues. (Julie Middleton, New Zealand Herald, 6 May 2006)

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10381939

(Added: Thu May 18 2006   Modified: Thu Aug 24 2006   Hits: 295)

SPC Cultural Affairs Programme Strategic Plan 2006-2009

The CAP is a programme of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's (SPC) Social Resources Division and contributes to the division's mission to maximise the development potential of Pacific Island people in health, culture and information and enhance the empowerment of women and young people. The programme seeks to preserve and promote Pacific Island heritage for future generations, and works principally in the areas of legal protection, institutional strengthening, artistic and cultural exchanges and awareness raising. This Plan outlines its actions and future directions. Of particular interest is the challenges of protecting traditional knowledge. (SPC, 2006)

http://www.spc.int/Culture/download/English_docs/CAP%20SPP%202006-09.pdf

(Added: Fri Dec 08 2006   Hits: 154)

SPC Demography/Population Programme

Population statistics and socio-economic data for Pacific countries.

http://www.spc.int/demog/en/

(Added: Wed Oct 04 2006   Hits: 211)

The Church in Papua New Guinea

A look at both the positive and negative impacts of the Church on society in this Pacific nation. (Bonnie Flaws, Just Change, July 2006)

http://www.dev-zone.org/downloads/jc6bonnie.pdf

(Added: Tue Aug 01 2006   Hits: 187)

The Church in Samoa

A critical examination of the Church's role in community development - could the Church be doing more? (Tolu Muliaina, Just Change, July 2006)

http://www.dev-zone.org/downloads/jc6tolu.pdf

(Added: Tue Aug 01 2006   Hits: 131)

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