SMALL ISLANDS VOICE GLOBAL INTERNET FORUM

1. SMALL ISLANDS VOICE GLOBAL INTERNET FORUM

2. Vision Statement The Small Islands Voice Global Forum (SIV Global) is a mechanism for the general public in small islands to discuss sustainable development issues and to share experiences and solutions

3. Starting in September 2002 • SIV Global began as a 3-month experiment • Response to the first message on the construction of a major road in Palau was overwhelming • SIV Global quickly became a fixture of Small Islands Voice

4. First discussion theme Discussion started with road development in Palau

5. Responses came from all walks of life • ‘Thanks for sending me this article, I am a mackerel salesman and I can tell you by just looking at the ocean that the road is a major contributor to the pollution of our marine environment’. • ‘I am very interested in the comments outlined in this article’. Minister of Tourism, Nevis

6. Newspaper editors wrote in • ‘Thanks so much for sending us this article and feel free to send more....we'll publish it in our paper’. Diario Belau, Palau • ‘I write from the StandPoint newspaper in the British Virgin Islands. I was impressed with the discussion, since we on small islands often feel like no one understands our problems’.

7. How SIV Global works (1) • A theme article is prepared • This is placed on www.sivglobal.org through Scotland on Line, and • Sent out by email to an ever-increasing list of addresses (now 20,000+) • Responses are received in Paris

8. How SIV Global works (2) • Key responses are compiled into a one-page article which is posted on the forum and sent out by email 2 weeks later • Process continues until discussion decreases – usually about 2-months – and then a new theme article is posted

9. How SIV Global works (3) • Once a theme is finished, ALL the responses are compiled and placed on the SIV website at www.smallislandsvoice.org

10. Selecting discussion themes • Newspaper articles are a good source • Through collaboration with island partners • Sometimes a contributor to the forum sends in a theme article • Other organizations

11. Newspapers provide themes Local island newspapers are a good source of theme articles for SIV Global

12. Themes discussed so far (1): • Road construction in Palau, Pacific, Oct-Nov '02 • Beach access in Tobago, Caribbean, Nov '02 - Feb '03 • Tourism policy in Seychelles, Indian Ocean, Feb-May '03 • Foreign investment in Cook Islands, Pacific, May-Jul '03 • Increased youth crime and violence, Caribbean, Jul-Sep '03

13. Themes discussed so far (2): • Export of spring water from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Caribbean, Sep-Dec '03 • The 'right' type of tourism development for Aitutaki, Cook Islands, Pacific, Jan-Mar '04 • Preventing illegal deep sea fishing around small islands, Mar-May '04 • Solving island garbage problems, Jun-Aug '04 • Climate change: is it an urgent issue in small islands? Aug-Nov '04

14. Themes discussed so far (3): • Are we becoming dependent on disaster relief? Nov-Dec '04 • Communities planning their future, Feb-Mar '05 • Freshwater supplies in small islands, Fiji, Apr-Jun '05 • Sustainable development, Anguilla, Jun ’05 ongoing

15. Learning as we go: ‘An emailed response to my column posed the question: Do you live in a small island? If I did, I was urged to "tell us what you think". I thought: "spam". But something stayed my hand as it moved quickly to the delete key and I read the message through to the end. It was, in fact, an interesting discussion on a problem peculiar to the people of some island states scattered around the planet. New Zealand Herald, July 2004

16. Attention-grabbing opening lines SMALL ISLANDS VOICE Do you live in a small island? Tell us what you think. ********************************‘Climate change is not like terrorism, it is terrorism’ was one response to………….

17. SIV Global and the future • New themes to be covered • Testing an approach to discuss solutions, not only issues • Expanding the list of email addresses