Kia Orana John,
Hello from the Cook Islands... it's been good to read all the talk on our
web todate.We have received the report from last years meeting in October
Wellington.Just one correction the address for Framhein and I are the other
way round. My PO Box is 650 and Framheins is PO Box 97. So could these
corrections be made so we get the correct mail even though they are
identical.
Keep up the good work John.. keep the web buzzing. Kia Orana also to the
other Pacific Islands..have a Prosperous Year from the Eastern side of the
Pacific.
KIA MANUIA
HARRY.
----- Original Message -----
From: John Bartram <Jbartram@col.org>
To: <tvet-pacific@hub.col.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2002 9:52 AM
Subject: RE: [TVET Pacific] FW: THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY CELEBRATES 55 YEARS OF
EXISTENCE: IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE, FOCUS IS STILL ON PEOPLE, RESOURCES SUVA
> thanks Nic
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: IRC
> Sent: Thursday, 7 February 2002 11:48
> To: tvet-pacific@hub.col.org
> Subject: [TVET Pacific] FW: THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY CELEBRATES 55 YEARS OF
> EXISTENCE: IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE, FOCUS IS STILL ON PEOPLE, RESOURCES SUVA
>
>
>
> > THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY CELEBRATES 55 YEARS OF EXISTENCE: IN A GLOBAL
> > VILLAGE, FOCUS IS STILL ON PEOPLE, RESOURCES SUVA, Fiji Islands
> > (February 7, 2002 - Oceania Flash)---The oldest Pacific regional
> > organization, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, a grouping of
> > 22 Pacific countries and territories and five metropolitan powers, on
> > Wednesday celebrated its 55th birthday with a determination to respond
> > to the growing challenges the region faces. Originally known as the
> > South Pacific Commission, SPC came into being on February 6, 1947, as
> > a result of the signing of the "Canberra Convention," which set up a
> > body fully dedicated to the region. The founding members were the
> > metropolitan powers present at the time in the Pacific region: the
> > United Kingdom, Australia, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands and
> > the United States. In 1999, to mark the turn of the millennium, member
> > states agreed to change the old name to "Secretariat of the Pacific
> > Community," which allowed retention of the SPC acronym. But "While the
> > Canberra Agreement has remained its founding agreement, today's
> > Secretariat of the Pacific Community bears little resemblance to the
> > original SPC of 1947, just as today's Pacific has also changed
> > considerably," the SPC stated on Wednesday in a media release. "The
> > organization has retained a strong sense of renewed commitment to the
> > development of the Pacific Islands, maintained its original bilingual
> > nature (English and French), and shown a capacity not only to adapt to
> > changing needs but to anticipate them, in order to better fulfill its
> > mandate to improve the well- being of all Pacific Islanders." SPC'
> > Director General, Guam Islander Lourdes Pangelinan, elected in 1999 as
> > the first woman to head the organization, acknowledges that although
> > the Pacific, like the rest of the world, has entered "a modern era of
> > technology and instant communication, with Internet and
> > teleconferencing, online searchable databases and downloadable
> > publications . . . human resource development is still at the crux of
> > all the efforts of our dedicated staff to improve the well-being of
> > the people of the region. "As island countries today address the
> > challenge of striking the right balance between resources, population,
> > and development in the Pacific, SPC is putting all its efforts in
> > helping them achieve that priority goal. In doing so, we are lucky to
> > have the renewed support of our donors and development partners, in
> > spite of difficult economic conditions worldwide, and to enjoy the
> > full confidence of all our member countries," she said. Major donors
> > to SPC (which operates on an average US$ 25 million yearly budget) are
> > Australia (about a third), France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom,
> > several United Nations programs and the European Union. The financial
> > resources are used primarily for programs in public health,
> > agriculture, forestry, marine resources and fisheries as well as
> > social development. "SPC's efforts are increasingly focused on
> > achieving wise, efficient and cost-effective utilization of land, sea
> > and human resources across the Pacific region," Pangelinan said. This
> > includes using modern technologies to cater for the growing needs in
> > the Pacific region, which faces challenges in terms of land use, food
> > security, ocean level rise, alarming population growth rates, a
> > growing number of HIV/AIDS cases and the difficulties of competing in
> > a globalized economy, to name a few. However, in the age of
> > globalization and state-of the-art technologies at one's fingertips,
> > the focus remains on people. This often involves striking a difficult
> > balance: that of using the latest technologies and, at the same time,
> > preserving the Pacific's customs, cultures and traditions. "We're all
> > called to be responsible stewards of the region's resources. We are
> > committed to a guardianship role and will continue to provide the
> > governments and administrations of the Pacific region the best
> > information, advice, assistance, training and research services they
> > need to help them make informed decisions about their future
> > development and well- being," SPC's Suva-based Senior Deputy Director
> > General, Dr. Jimmie Rodgers, said. "The fate of future generations of
> > Pacific Islands people will depend upon the wisdom of decisions made
> > by today's generation of Pacific leaders and decision makers," Rodgers
> > said. As for the future, Rodgers sees a mix of determining factors
> > that will shape the Pacific region's future. "Where SPC will head will
> > be, in part, determined, by factors from outside the region. In part,
> > it will also be determined by what member countries see as priorities.
> > SPC being a technical organization, our focus will still be in the
> > area of sustainable management of Pacific island resources. That is
> > our theme: to provide this guardianship and advisory role," he told
> > Oceania Flash. As for further integration of Pacific services, or the
> > concept of a "Pacific Union," many bridges still remain to be crossed.
> > "A lot of people are also talking about the concept of Pacific
> > regionalism. But a concept similar to that of the European Union is
> > still for our countries to decide. Already, there are moves towards
> > common trade agreements within the Pacific. Those, in a sense, are
> > examples of mechanisms, on a small scale, that show how island
> > countries can get better benefits as a group, rather than as
> > individual countries. "At the moment, there are four to five regional
> > organizations, providing support to member countries. It's conceivable
> > that those technical organizations could improve their cooperation and
> > we've already started doing this through our CROP (Council of Regional
> > Organizations of the Pacific). So it's conceivable that this
> > mechanism, maybe in five, ten, twenty years down the track, will
> > provide more effective, more collaborative approach to regional
> > issues. As to the question of integration of these organizations, that
> > is a question that members will have to consider in terms of benefits
> > and disadvantages." SPC Members The Secretariat of the Pacific
> > Community implements programs that benefit 22 Pacific Island countries
> > and territories. These are: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated
> > States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati,
> > Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands
> > (CNMI), Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Pitcairn Islands, Samoa,
> > Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and
> > Futuna. The 27 members of the Pacific Community include the above
> > Pacific Island countries and territories plus the five remaining
> > founding countries: Australia, France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom
> > and the United States of America. SOURCE: Pacific Islands Report
> >
>
>
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