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Expanding Community Outreach in the Pacific Islands. Joeli Veitayaki University of the South Pacific veitayaki_j@usp.ac.fj. Mainstreaming Community Outreach. Pacific Islanders are responsible for managing a significant part of the world’s largest ocean
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Expanding Community Outreach in the Pacific Islands Joeli Veitayaki University of the South Pacific veitayaki_j@usp.ac.fj
Mainstreaming Community Outreach • Pacific Islanders are responsible for managing a significant part of the world’s largest ocean • Pacific Islanders are dependent on marine resources • The best lessons for Pacific Islanders are from Pacific experiences and people • Pacific Islanders are owners of the resources • Pacific Islands experiences and aspirations are similar • Regional Organisations can spearhead the regional community outreach
Regional Community Outreach Activities • Regional Organisations all have community outreach activities • Noumea-based Secretariat of the Pacific Community – human welfare, health, marine fisheries research and management • Suva-based University of the South Pacific (USP) - education, training and research • Suva-based Pacific Islands Forum – summit for independent states • Suva-based South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) – technical research on non living resources such as water, integrated water management, coastal management and mapping • Apia-based South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) – environmental management • Honiara-based Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency - manage the tuna resources of the region and assist member countries • Suva-based Tourism Council of the South Pacific – coordinate tourist development
Regional Community Outreach Activities • South Pacific Games • Pacific Festival of Arts • USP Centres in all member nations • USP Open Day to be observed across the Pacific • National Youth Assembly • National Conservational Areas were set up in each country • Turtle Conservation Campaign • Environment Week • International Waters Project • Locally Managed Marine Areas Network • IOI-PI assist women activities in Samoa (workshop on MDG), Solomon Islands (women souvenir outlet, Vanuatu (micro finance) • Exchange and internship programmes
Future of Community Outreach • Successful community development is critical • Awareness has been created sufficiently and good lessons learnt • Appropriate action that take the lessons learnt into consideration is required at all levels • Financial support is required • Failures have to be minimised • Better coordination is required • Partnership is more effective • Better use of university and school students has potential • Youths need to be engaged for future is theirs