Pacific Media Centre Pacific Scoop: Special Report – By Kai Ping Lew The editorial supervisor watches the students like a hawk as they type frantically, occasionally barking questions about their stories. Her eyes alternate between scanning the laptop in front of her and monitoring the progress of her reporters-in-training doing their best to meet the looming print deadline. The modest classroom is a makeshift newsroom, home to the award-winning University of South Pacific’s Wansolwara student newspaper. Wansolwara is pidgin for “one ocean, one people” and the newspaper covers serious local and regional issues. Founded by the students, its humble beginnings go back to 1996, with 13 first-year student journalists, two passionate lecturers, and the seed of an idea. “There were two things we were thinking when we started Wansolwara. One was that University of South Pacific used to be a hub of student activism in the 1980s, and we wanted to revive that spirit,” says Stanley Simpson, Wansolwara’s first editor. “The second was that as journalism students, we wanted a platform that could be used to showcase our work.” As student publications went, the small team started out with ambitious and in-depth stories, covering topics from school affairs, politics and current affairs in hard news and satirical styles that quickly brought them to the attention of the local media. “I remember that from the early days, we were already writing stories challenging authorities like the government, stories that the mainstream media didn’t even want to go near,” says Simpson. Still going strong Nineteen years later, Wansolwara is still going strong and was early on integrated into the curriculum of the journalism degree offered at USP. Simpson is now editor of Business Melanesia and maintains friendly relationships with his previous lecturers. Wansolwara is now the longest surviving student publication in the Pacific region and continues to cover serious news on a quarterly basis. It is printed as liftout in the daily newspaper Fiji Sun and also mailed around the Pacific region. With more than 20,000 copies it has the largest circulation of any student newspaper in Australasia or the Pacific. Wansolwara has won numerous awards both at national and international level including the Fiji Media Excellence awards, the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) awards, and Australia’s Journalism Education and Research Association (JERAA) Ossie Awards. “A major strategic advantage for Wansolwara is that it does not face some of the restrictions the mainstream media does in the Fijian context, such as the ownership structure and the commercial pressures that come with it,” says USP journalism programme co-ordinator Dr Shailendra Singh. He adds that USP gets some talented and enthusiastic students who are able to produce high-quality work under the guidance of the lecturers. “I think Wansolwara offers an opportunity for students to cover news, and there’s a lot to cover both at USP and in the region. The students really like working on the paper and the learning outcomes are quite good.” Crash course Sharol Kondaiya has been writing for Wansolwara for seven months and credits the experience for giving her a crash course in practical news-gathering skills. “There’s always something new for me to learn every time I work on a story, and the guidance our editor Irene gives us highlights our mistakes and shows us where we can still improve,” says Kondaiya. Third year student Emmanuel Duane Mar made a gamble when he picked up journalism after dropping economics as his second major. “Journalism was a risk for me because I initially didn’t ever consider it as a career path,” he says. “Most (journalists) are overworked and underpaid, and in Fiji the government can crack down hard upon media for critical reports against it.” Mar has covered significant issues in the region in his tenure at Wansolwara, including coverage on the negative impacts that pollution from a resort was having on a village along the Coral Coast which garnered some mainstream media attention. “I learned a lot here. Met people, took risks, fell and got back up. I wouldn’t replace it for anything.” Threats, problems It’s not all rainbows and roses as the students face problems ranging from threats to being ostracised in their role as Wansolwara journalists. A student investigating the misuse of funds by the USP Student Association was assaulted, and in another incident Samoan student Vicky Lepou who wrote about the decreasing pass rates of Samoan students faced backlash both from her peers and the Samoan government. (Today she is Misa Vicky Lepou and a journalism lecturer at the National University of Samoa.) “Pacific Islands nations are very strongly bound by their culture, so social and cultural ostracisation can be quite a serious thing,” says Singh. “These are unwelcome developments, but in some respects we’ve come to accept them as part of the job of training journalists. This is the reality they will face in the real world, and we get an opportunity to learn how to cope with them these things happen.” For supervising chief editor Irene Manarae, who left a long and respectable career as a Fiji Times senior journalist to take up the job, the position offers its own unique compensation. Guiding, educating “The reason I took up this position was in order to guide and educate the upcoming generation of journalists,” she says. Manarae believes that despite the chilling effect placed by the Fiji Media Industry Development Decree, she believes there is still room for journalists – including student journalists – to write stories which encourage healthy debate about issues in the public interest. “The most rewarding thing, for me, is when our students choose journalism as a career. It’s difficult and doesn’t pay well, but when students decide to answer that calling, I feel like what we do here is worth it.” Kai Ping (KP) Lew is in the 2015 Asia-Pacific Journalism Studies paper and is doing an honours programme in journalism at AUT University. She was recently in Fiji. Wansolwara Online The Wansolwara story – a Pacific Journalism Review history –]]>

Pacific Media Centre In spite of an increase in interest in Pacific languages from second and third generation Pacific Islanders in New Zealand, critics say the government “doesn’t value Pasifika languages and cultures”. Asia-Pacific Journalism reports in the wake of Pasifika Education Centre funding cuts. Pacific Scoop: Report – By Mata Lauano Language retention among second and third generation Pacific people is on the rise, but recent funding cuts to a major education provider is jeopardising this. Labour MP Su’a William Sio says funding cuts to the Pasifika Education Centre could mean the demise of a charitable trust that exists to preserve, maintain and promote the use of Pacific languages. This doesn’t bode well for the retention of Pacific languages in New Zealand, says Su’a. In a press release about the funding cuts and the government’s playing of a “political hot potato” with who holds responsibility, Su’a says the Pasifika Education Centre is a vital community asset. Its loss would mean the end of one of the oldest Pasifika education centres that has been serving communities for decades. “Answers from Minister for Pacific Peoples Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga to questions around funding cuts to the Pasifika Education Centre send a clear message to Pacific communities that the survival of PEC to deliver Pacific languages and cultures is not a priority to him and the National government,” says the MP. Funding cuts occurred despite an increase in enrolments from those wanting to retain their mother tongue, according to Loto Pasifika team manager Caroline Harris who says there has been a substantial increase. “We’ve seen a huge increase, I’ve been in the job since 2013 and there’s been a huge increase of young people coming through to the language classes.” Interest in Pacific languages Data released by Statistics New Zealand from the 2013 census showed fewer New Zealand-born Pacific people could speak their native language than in the 2006 census. Academics were predicting that at the current rate of decline at the time, some Pacific languages were on the brink of extinction. However, over the last few years there has been an increase in young people of Pacific descent interested in learning the language of their parents, says Harris. She says second and third generation Pacific are wanting to take the classes and learn the language, not just for personal reasons, but because they realise that as part of their work learning a Pacific language connects them better with their community. So it becomes important professionally as well. Overall the increase in enrolments to the Pasifika Education Centre is due to the search for cultural identity, says Harris. “They come in because for them they tell us it’s about their identity.” Identity language In the midst of this possible drawback to a huge resource for the retention of Pacific languages in New Zealand, the Cook Islands communities at least have gained a new language tool with the launch of the Cook Islands dictionary app. The app is a companion to the online bilingual dictionary of the Cook Islands languages, which covers all languages and dialects of the islands. The director of AUT’s International Centre of Language Revitalisation, Professor Tania Ka’ai, says it is important to give as much publicity as possible to the health of Pacific languages in New Zealand especially as it informs more than just language. “Language is all about our identity; it’s an expression of who we are. It informs why we eat the food we eat. What our traditional knowledge is, from the heavens, to the sea, to the land, and to our family.” Glen Innes librarian June Tangiia, who works closely with the Cook Islands community in the area, believes the app will be a good resource for New Zealand-born Cook Islanders trying to learn the language. “Because we don’t have a lot of those resources in the library, having language materials like these from other sources is an excellent idea,” said Tangiia. Rita Maro, who is part Pukapuka, Mangaian and Rarotongan, said language retention is an issue for the Cook Islands community on the North Shore as well. Maro, who runs cultural and arts activities in the area, says her daughter is planning to set up some Cook Islands language evening classes next year, and the new app and dictionary will be a helpful resource. “It’s good for our young ones to learn the language.” Professor Ka’ai says the Language Centre is now primed to begin working with communities from Niue and Tokelau to start a similar project to that of the Cooks Islands, an online dictionary and eventually an app for each language. Pacific language tools Second generation Niuean Steven Kivatapulu Jackson says a Niuean language app would be amazing as he himself is not fluent – despite being the only one out of his three siblings who is able to speak the language conversationally. “My other siblings can’t speak it but can understand it. I’m the only one who went to a Niuean preschool.” He says there isn’t much in terms of resources for the Niuean language and so an app would be a great tool for the younger generation who want to retain their language but do not have time to attend classes on a regular basis. “In terms of resources for Niuean language at least, there’s hardly anything out there and I think for a phone app it would be perfect because you carry it in your pocket wherever you go and it’s available to you at any time.” Mata Lauano is a student journalist on the Asia-Pacific Journalism Studies paper at AUT University. She is completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Communications (Journalism). –]]>

Pacific Media Centre “We were among the first media people allowed in in decades. The challenge now is to see if other media outlets in New Zealand will take the opportunity to try and apply.” Asia-Pacific Journalism reports on the West Papua mission by Adrian Stevanon. Pacific Scoop: Report – By Latifa Daud Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo lifting the foreign media ban in West Papua is a promising step, says Māori Television Native Affairs producer Adrian Stevanon. Stevanon has recently returned from West Papua, saying the experience was “interesting” and his programme is being broadcast tonight. “Going in you’re not so sure how things are going to play out on the ground. I felt pretty safe the whole time,” he says. “For all the things I’ve read about the region, what videos I’ve watched online – my own experience was quite different. “I was worried about my safety and it turned out I really had nothing to worry about as long as you use your common sense.” However, Stevanon says because permits are still hard to get, it makes reporting about the region difficult. “I think mainstream media should care and should take an interest in what is happening in West Papua. “On the flipside if it’s so hard to get in it makes it extremely hard for New Zealand journalists to send their own people in. “We were among the first media people allowed in in decades. The challenge now is to see if other media outlets in New Zealand will take the opportunity to try and apply [for permits].” Mainstream media reporting Radio NZ International journalist Johnny Blades has received his media permit to visit the region. He says Papua generally does not feature on most mainstream media outlets in New Zealand. “Most mainstream media have other fish to fry, insular issues such as housing prices, injuries to All Blacks …. Coverage of foreign stories falls into a fairly narrow category here. “I would venture to say many media outlets are used to their foreign news being dished on a plate for them, without actively going out to learn about the complexities of our wider region.” Accessing verifiable information is the challenge, which is why gaining a permit is a step forward for Blades. “Previously I was declined a visa, but this year – since President Jokowi’s announcement that foreign media restrictions were lifted – a few of us have got journalist visas. “It can be very difficult to contact people in Papua region due to the remoteness of the place, its patchy telecommunications and language barriers. “Yet the telecommunications scene does seem to be improving and there are now frequent reports filtering out from various actors on the ground. These reports however are often not easy to verify.” Local reporters still sceptical A report by Stephen Hill at the University of Wollongong, Papuans and Jokowi are hostage to Indonesian politics, mentions the scepticism of local reporters regarding the lifting of the media ban. His decision was announced in May 2015 on a visit to Papua, one of three scheduled for the year. “Jokowi announced the lifting of the ban on foreign media and released five political prisoners who he then met personally. “However, between 20 and 30 people remain incarcerated and local journalists are sceptical about the lifting of the media ban, which they regard as window dressing that will still exclude reports of human rights abuse. “On this visit, Jokowi also announced a slate of new infrastructure investments in energy, tourism, manufacturing and communications.” He also argues that the fabric of Indonesian politics would ultimately hinder potential progress in Papua. “Jokowi is in a bind of his own making. He is a man of vision and integrity frozen by the politics of his time.” “Papua awaits escape from being held hostage to wider Indonesian politics. But escape for the Papuans first requires Jokowi to escape his political shackles in order to deal with human rights abuses in Papua.” ‘Do more’ plea Leilani Salesa, spokeswoman for Oceania Interrupted, says part of the reason why the New Zealand media has not shown much interest in the region is because of our relationship with Papua. Oceania Interrupted is a collective of Māori and Pasifika women who use art to raise awareness about West Papua. “It’s largely to do with our contemporary relationship with West Papua. We don’t have a direct relationship like we do with Samoa.” She also argues that the situation calls for the New Zealand media to step up in what she describes as “the world’s forgotten decolonisation struggle’. “This is a situation whereby people can exercise their own power and we know that can happen through social media and citizen journalism. That is one way to spread the message. “They have the responsibility to do their job.” The same can also be said for the New Zealand government, according to Salesa. “We have a Prime Minister who is willing to mobilise and send troops to other parts of the world because the rights of other people are threatened and put at risk and yet on the issue of West Papua his lips are almost sealed.” More campaigning Green MP Catherine Delahunty says the New Zealand public should continue to campaign for West Papua. “We need to campaign hard, we need to keep making it visible, we need to keep telling the stories, we need to keep hosting West Papuan guests and we need to keep opening it up for public understanding.” Delahunty says the difficulty imposed on local reporters puts the responsibility on the international community. “They are dependent on us. Because they don’t have freedom they need us to speak out because that’s the job of all concerned citizens no matter what country we come from.” “The more secrecy, the less people know about it and the more vulnerable the people of that country become.” Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully rejected Delahunty’s call to apply pressure to Indonesia at the 2015 Pacific Islands Forum to allow for an investigation into human rights abuses in West Papua. “They are absolutely bound up in keeping good with Indonesia. They want to make sure they can continue their trade relationship and they don’t do anything that could imply support for West Papua. “They have bought the line that West Papua is part of Indonesia.” View on Native Affairs at 8.30pm tonight The Pacific Media Watch freedom project at AUT’s Pacific Media Centre has been reporting West Papua for the past two decades. Watch for Alistar Kata’s video report later today. Latest Pacific Media Watch report –]]>

Pacific Media Centre   Nauru’s recent announcement that it would ban transshipping practices makes it the third Pacific Island country to do so. Asia-Pacific Journalism reports on the impact for the region. Pacific Scoop: Report – By Kai Ping Lew Nauru has joined the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu to become the third country in the Pacific to ban the controversial practice of transhipping. The ban comes in the wake of the Rainbow Warrior III discovering Taiwanese longliner Shuen De Ching No 888 operating illegally in its waters, including offloading its catch to a mothership and keeping incomplete records of its catch. The practice of transhipping allows longliner vessels to stay out on the high seas without coming to port for long periods at a time by transferring their catch to other ships. This results in the “laundering” of fish, making it difficult to identify where the tuna was caught and where the fish is consumed and allows overfishing to occur. Being at sea for long periods also allows the vessels to evade regulations checks as vessels use the high seas pocket to use unapproved fishing methods and carry out questionable human rights practices. “For them they’re just sitting there like a facility and all they do is fish all year round,” says longtime Greenpeace campaigner Lagi Toribau on the Rainbow Warrior. “The Pacific Islands are losing out on potential economic returns, but also in a lot of cases we don’t even know how much fish is being taken out and that affects the assessment of the overall fish stock.” Fish stock status Not knowing the status of the fish stock has significant implications as scientists and policymakers depend on the information reported by boats. Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) estimates show that the Western and Central Pacific Ocean tuna catch is worth between US$4 billion to US$5 billion. Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu have banned the practice for foreign fishing vessels. New Zealand and Tokelau have banned the practice “with exceptions”, whereas Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and the Cook Islands allow the practice with government authorisation. Toribau said Greenpeace was pleased Nauru had taken such a strong stance against transhipping and the environmental organisation hoped that other Pacific Island countries would follow in their footsteps. “If the countries that ban foreign vessels only decide to ban it altogether, then we would almost have a majority of Pacific Island countries that border the high seas which are in the middle of the countries’ national waters. “If that happens, we can start eliminating vessels that are choosing to just be high seas and force them to have a licence with a Pacific Island country,” said Toribau. Samoa adopts a laissez-faire approach as it does not deem fish caught outside Samoan waters as contributors to the economy such as revenue generated by fees collected from boarding and inspections conducted on the vessels. Strict regulations Samoa’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Assistant Chief Executive Officer Joyce Samuelu Ah Leong said the regulations in their country only allowed transhipping in their designated port, under strict regulations set by the Western Central Pacific Fishing Commission (WCPFC). Ah Leong said since these vessels did not fish in Samoan waters, they did not catch “Samoan fish” and do not impact on the domestic fishing industry. “Our regulations are very clear and we do have good relationships with foreign fishing companies wanting to tranship in our port,” said Ah Leong. Other Pacific Island fleets are feeling the pinch due to the declining South Pacific albacore fish stock. According to Greenpeace, hundreds of workers were laid off in Fiji and only one vessel in the Tongan fleet continues to fish. Lost fish The Pacific Island nations are small in land area but comprise vast ocean states, thus most of their natural resources are underwater. According to the WCPFC, six major fishing powers account for the 70 percent of the region’s total tuna catch – Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Only 20 percent is caught by Pacific Island fleets. In an effort to reclaim some of these profits, PNG Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Mao Zeming recently announced at the Pacific Islands Forum that from 2016 all tuna caught in archipelagic waters must be processed in Papua New Guinea as a condition of licence for access to fish in Papua New Guinea waters. Effectively, vessels that are not linked to processing plants will not be given fishing days in the archipelagic waters, and processing plants will receive more fishing days the more fish they process. “For too long there is so much leakage of raw materials in the region that is flooding the markets in Asia and Latin America pushing the prices of raw materials down,” he said. Mao said the problem was that both foreign and local fleets harvest the resources and take them away to other countries to be processed. Lack of political will While requiring the fish caught in archipelagic waters to be processed in Papua New Guinea may improve the local economy, questions of unethical fishing practices like transhipping and overfishing still need to be addressed. Toribau said that the current level of overfishing will cause the stock of bigeye and yellowfin stock to drop. “We expect that at this time there will be less vessels, but we see that people are building bigger vessels, more efficient boats, and that does not match with the situation and the status of the fishery,” said Toribau. “There isn’t a shortage of awareness, warnings, or scientific advice. Where we’re stuck is the political will, as the governments are defending the interests of the industry.” Toribau added that New Zealand had a critical role to play in taking a stand against transhipping as it had a major political role in the region and was heavily involved in Pacific Islands fisheries. “This is an opportunity for New Zealand to show leadership and stand in solidarity with other Pacific nations.” Failing that, Toribau sees the last resort for action being a change of consumer habits to send price signals to the market. “It’s about time consumers start demanding for sustainable tuna as knowing there is a market for it is the only reason the industry is surviving,” said Toribau. Kai Ping (KP) Lew is in the 2015 Asia-Pacific Journalism Studies paper and is doing an honours programme in journalism at AUT University. –]]>

Pacific Media Centre   Sharing knowledge and skills of traditional art forms – ranging from tattooing to drumming – provide insights into a distinct culture, reports Asia-Pacific Journalism. Pacific Scoop: Report – By Georgina Harris The Auckland War Memorial Museum recently hosted six Cook Island artists as part of Creative New Zealand’s Pacific Heritage Artists Project. A day of demonstrations, talks and workshops on September 12 allowed the specialist artists to share knowledge and skills of their heritage art forms – ranging from tattooing to drumming – that are distinct to the Cook Island culture. The project is a Creative New Zealand annual exchange intended to support Pacific art links with New Zealand. Piloted in 2012 with seven heritage artists from Samoa, the programme is aligned with certain celebrations in the Pacific such as language weeks or independence. Tonga was chosen in 2013 with Niue following last year. This year was tied with the 50th anniversary of self-governance in the Cook Islands on August 4. Senior outreach programmer at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Ole Maiava, said the response was “very positive”. He said there was good feedback from attendees, especially regarding the talks by master tattooist Tetini Pekepo and master vaka navigator Tua Pittman. Navigation techniques At his talk, Rarotongan Tua Pittman spoke of his time on the vaka Marumaru Atua, including visits to San Francisco, Niue and Sydney. Marumaru Atua mixes modernity with traditional navigation techniques; while using the stars and clouds for directions there is also a GPS on board “for safety”. One of the crew keeps on eye on the GPS but does not disclose the information to the rest of the team. Pittman said his passion and love of Cook Island culture was intertwined with vaka and navigation. Jemima Peau, senior weaver (Raranga Rito) said she was there to “represent the weaving mamas” of the Cook Islands with her hats, jewellery and fans. Peau is from the village of Omoka on the island of Penrhyn, and currently lives in Rarotonga. She was taught to weave by her mother. She said that weaving was a connection to Cook Island culture as the material used from the coconut tree was unique to the Pacific. Speaking about her time in New Zealand, Peau said she was appreciative of Creative NZ choosing rito weaving to be one of the heritage art forms. ‘Awesome success’ The artists also did demonstrations and workshops at Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington and Fresh Gallery Otara. Makerita Urale, Creative NZ’s senior arts adviser for Pacific Arts, helped initiate the pilot through the agency’s international team. Urale said the programme had been well-received since its first year. “It’s been an awesome success in terms of sharing each different country each year.” Urale said there was great importance in keeping the heritage arts alive. “It’s not just about making material things like the vaka or a hat or piece of jewellery; the making of these works incorporates a lot of our cultural identity, our history and our creative process.” The programme is free, something that Urale said was deliberate. Partner institutions Creative NZ partners with public institutions such as Te Papa and Auckland Museum but decided last year to include Fresh Gallery Otara as it is an area where a lot of Pacific people are. Consultation is key to the project with CNZ receiving advice and support from experts and curators at Te Papa and other leading Pacific figures. CNZ also decided to bring a cultural adviser on board to help. “Everything is run past the cultural advisor to ensure the right kaupapa and protocol” said Ms Urale. This year was Cook Islander Caren Rangi who is on the CNZ Arts Council and sits on the board of NZ on Air. Rangi helped to run the programme and host. There is also an artist liason co-ordinator. This year Tuaratini Raa took this position. This role is taken by someone with knowledge and standing who can engage with the community. Cultural ‘conversation’ Ana Sciascia, the Creative NZ international advisor who helps co-ordinate the programme with Urale, emphasised the importance of the cultural exchange, or “conversation” between the tangata whenua of Aotearoa and the visiting artists. This year was the first time the artists were formally hosted by the contemporary Maori art collective Toi Maori Aotearoa, where Sciascia said the visiting artists saw the “strength of coming together as a collective for the arts of your culture”, something she said was inspiring for the Cook Island visitors. They are also taken behind the scenes of the Te Papa Pacific collection and given a tour of exhibitions at Auckland Museum with the curators. At present the programme only visits Auckland and Wellington, something that Sciascia said would remain for the time being, due to budget restraints. The nation for next year’s project has not yet been decided. Both the Auckland Museum and Te Papa purchase work from the heritage artists each year, and Urale acknowledges this is a positive for Pacific arts. “It will be available for future generations and will be looked after properly.” Georgina Harris is a postgraduate student journalist at AUT University. –]]>

Pacific Media Centre   “Pacific communities don’t have a lot of role models leaving behind legacies for young Pacific …” Asia-Pacific Journalism reports on one strategy based on dance. Pacific Scoop: Report – By Susan Epskamp Walking into a dance studio for the first time can be daunting, but all expectations and fears evaporate as soon as you hear the laughter. And there is a lot of laughter coming from a New Zealand dance studio every Thursday night. “Poetry in motion, straight up contemporary techniques, and then we will finish with some improvisation to make everyone feel all good.” This is how Jahra Wasasala, associate artistic director of Ia Manuia, starts her dance class in Auckland’s Wellesley Dance Studio. Ia Manuia is a dance initiative for Pacific communities started by three friends with a passion for Pacific youth and the continuation of Pacific values. Executive director Veronica Ng Lam explains: “My very good friend, Thomas Fonua, rang me and said ‘You know how we always said we would create a dance company when we were old? And provide opportunities to young Pacific people who wouldn’t otherwise have these types of access? “Well yeah, that time has come now.” Thomas Fonua was a winner in the Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Awards last December, which landed him a cool $10,000 prize from the Creative New Zealand fund. Vision space He has transformed this into providing a space where it is possible for young Pacific leaders to pay it forward. Ng Lam says “paying it forward” is the vision behind Ia Manuia. “Pacific communities don’t have a lot of role models that leave behind legacies for young Pacific people to pick up the reigns and carry on with,” she says. “Most people know statistics about Pacific people are not necessarily positive. So our dream has been to leave something positive for the next generation to pick up and move forward again.” Phoebe Carr, who identifies as Tuhoe and Ngati Awa, heard about Ia Manuia through social media, and loves the class for its celebration of Pacific values. “I really love the concept of it being a special space for Pasifika people. “I think that is real cool for any space to build on our common ground as Pacific Islanders and Māori.” Shared learning Jahra Wasasala couldn’t say yes fast enough to the opportunity to bring back what she has learnt over her extensive career to her people. “It’s a traditional thing, where when you leave the village to go off and learn and grow, you bring back what you have learnt to your people and share it. “It’s a remarkable thing.”| Wasasala wanted to open doors to contemporary dance and make it more accessible to the community. “We want to make it part of the people,” she says. In an Ia Manuia class, Wasasala will use text, language, pictures, and combine them with movement to create contemporary dance. This is to make the process of contemporary dance visible, and seem transparent to those who attend. ‘Really scared’ “People who turn up to their first dance class are really scared,” she say. “This way, they can see it is normal, organic and intuitive to create contemporary dance.” Ia Manuia is not appropriation as the class does not use direct traditional movements that would appear in cultural Pacific dance. “I am figuring out how to ingrain Pacific ideology to feed into our work naturally. I try to include Pacific values holistically to the class, making them aware of our faith.” Ng Lam says that Pacific people attending the class are the lowest in the numbers they have. But, she says, this is a reflection of the dance industry. “While it is about Pacific, we are still encompassing those who aren’t,” says Ng Lam. “What is important to us, more than anything, is that our Pacific values are displayed and honoured.” Safe place This is something that has struck long-time member, Linda T, a New Zealand-born Samoan who tutors at Future Skills in Manukau. “It’s open to anyone, and anyone has been coming!” she laughs, “Although they say that it’s for Pacific, it’s all encompassing.” Although with no dance background, Linda feels Ia Manuia is a safe place. No-one is there to judge or watch you. “I am not a dancer. I just thought – there are no watchers here. There is no-one who cruises in and starts from the sidelines.” Ng Lam says Ia Manuia is a space that exists for young people, especially young Pacific people, to feel like they can participate in an underrepresented area. “This is what makes me really proud of Ia Manuia.” Creative New Zealand’s Dance Review Report 2014 says that it recognises that heritage and contemporary Pacific dance are not separate and unconnected, but instead operate on a continuum of practice. “Our recent Pacific arts review has retained as a priority that Creative New Zealand should continue to support projects and activities that assist New Zealand’s Pacific Island’s peoples to create, present, and participate in.” Susan Epskamp is a student journalist on the Asia-Pacific Journalism Studies paper at AUT University with a passion for people. –]]>

Pacific Media Centre   Nine Pacific countries now national “roadmaps” for the transition to digital broadcasting. Without a digital switchover, Pacific broadcasters face increased costs, reports Asia-Pacific Journalism. Pacific Scoop: Report – By Matthew Hutching Following the Pacific Media Partnership conference in Apia last month, there are plans for Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga to start the transition to digital broadcasting within the next two years. The conference was organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and International Telecommunication Union with the aim of addressing the challenges of content production, new technologies, and digitisation of broadcasting in the Pacific region. So far, the ITU has helped nine Pacific countries develop national “roadmaps” for the transition to digital. They include Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga. ABU technology director Dr Amal Punchihewa says without the digital switchover, Pacific broadcasters face increased costs for analogue broadcasting and loss of revenue to digital pay-TV platforms. He is advocating the development of hybrid broadcasting, a system that combines digital broadcasting with internet content. “The media industry has been undergoing enormous changes,” he says. “Audiences rely on non-linear media services to consume at anytime, anywhere and on any device. Hence, delivery should be agnostic to device, time, and the location of access.” Speaking at the conference, BroadSpectrum Consultants director Andrew King said the main challenges to digital switchover were power supply availability and reliability, and equipment installation and operation. The biggest challenge is seen to be financial, with the high cost for governments, broadcasters and consumers to replace infrastructure and equipment. A document detailing the outcomes of the conference said that both VHF and UHF frequency bands, which are used across Pacific nations, are being reduced to allow for more mobile services. It said that for the digital switchover to work effectively, spectrum planning and digital broadcasting standards should be set across the Pacific region. Lack of infrastructure is the major hurdle for internet access, especially outside cities in the Pacific. According to the 2015 State of Broadband report, more than 90 percent of people in nearly 50 of the world’s least-developed countries have no connectivity at all to the web. Radio New Zealand International reporter Koroi Hawkins says the poor communication and internet access across the region is slowly improving in urban centres. “But it is still almost impossible to file from rural areas in the Pacific,” he says. Hawkins delivered a presentation at the PMP conference on his experience as a journalist covering the aftermath of Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu. He says he enjoyed the mix of presentations, including real world experiences from broadcasters in the Pacific and technical demonstrations from the people behind the scenes making the broadcasting possible. Hawkins says other highlights of the conference included the presentation by NHK Japan on their extremely well-coordinated disaster response plan, which they practise every day after their broadcast. He said lack of communications infrastructure is not the only challenge for media in the Pacific. “I feel Pacific journalists and broadcasters have a huge responsibility on top of their mandate to inform, educate and entertain,” he says. “We take part in the development of the attitudes, policies and politics of the Pacific as we pursue a better future, or sadly any future for some low-lying atolls, for families and children.” Matthew Hutching is a postgraduate student journalist in the Asia-Pacific Journalism course at AUT University. –]]>

Pacific Media Centre   Abuse at sea – “we were paid nothing at all”. One of a series of testimonials by abused fishermen. Video: Greenpeace Transhipment – the process of transferring fish at sea from a smaller fishing vessel to a larger storage vessel – has been linked to overfishing, and calls have been made for a Pacific-wide ban. Asia-Pacific Journalism reports. Pacific Scoop: Report – By Michael Neilson Pressure is mounting to outlaw Pacific region transhipments – a practice linked to overfishing – after Nauru’s decision to impose a ban in its waters. This decision follows Greenpeace’s discovery of the Taiwanese longliner Shuen De Ching No. 888, which the environmental organisation claims had been fishing without permission near Nauru’s waters for two months. Along with an illegal amount of shark fins, Greenpeace said the logbook also showed an implausibly low catch of five tonnes, suggesting the vessel had been transferring undocumented fish to another ship. Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior III has been traveling throughout the Pacific over the past few months, monitoring the tuna industry. Speaking from the ship before to the discovery, senior oceans campaigner Karli Thomas told Pacific Scoop Greenpeace was pushing for a regional ban on transhipments to be on the agenda at the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting in December. “The tuna fisheries in the region are out of control, and particularly the longline sector. “[Transhipment] is giving fishing vessels the ability to stay at sea almost indefinitely, and some of these fleets are fishing only on the high seas.” She said the Pacific Island nations are losing out: both their fishermen, as tuna stocks are plundered, and on jobs and income as the vessels bypass their ports. Greenpeace are also concerned with the ability to monitor human rights violations. “Their crew can’t get off, so if they are in a situation of exploitation they don’t have the chance to get away,” said Thomas. Too many boats “There are too many boats chasing too few fish,” said Bubba Cook, western central Pacific tuna manager for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “Big eye tuna down is down to 16 percent of unfished levels, and yellowfin down to 20 percent. Skipjack and albacore stocks are still salvageable but we need to act now,” said Cook. There are currently almost 3500 longliners and 300 purse seiners operating in the WCPFC waters. Charles Hufflett, chairman of the Nelson-based Solander group, which has had an associate longline fishing company in Fiji since 1981, said while the number of vessels and amount of fish being caught is increasing, the catch per ship is falling. “You’ve only got to go to Suva harbour and see 130 vessels anchored off there, all quite new. It’s just over capacity.” Regional transhipment ban There is currently a ban on transhipments for purse-seiners in the high-seas, in the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) area, but longliners are excluded. Nauru joins the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, which also have total bans on transhipment in their exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, Vanuatu and Samoa all have bans on foreign vessels only, New Zealand and Tokelau prohibit the practice “with exceptions”, and the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands allow the practice with government authorisation. Thomas said this showed there was awareness it was a damaging practice and there needed to be a regional agreement to stop vessels from finding loopholes. Politically challenging Cook said that although a ban on transhipments, and high-seas fishing, were the “simplest solutions”, they were politically difficult. “The WCPFC is a consensus-based decision-making body, and you only need one country to object, then nothing happens. “When you have countries that are so heavily dependent on transhipment, like many of the Asian states, you’ll never get them to agree to a full ban.” Cook said more resources were needed to go into properly monitoring transhipments. “We need to make sure observers have the tools they need and the protection they need to do their job on 100 percent of the transhipments, both on the receiving vessel and on the delivering vessel.” This view is consistent with that of New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries. In a statement to Pacific Scoop, a spokesperson said such issues would not get consensus from the WCPFC, as it would be shut down by distant water fishing nations, whose fleets would be impacted on economically “To build consensus around better management of these issues, New Zealand is working on clearly defined limits for fishing on the high seas, strengthening of current rules for transhipment, and better management of and research into the impact of FADs.” Necessary practice Hufflett said only those nations that wanted more ships to use their ports were pushing for a regional ban, and that it would not solve the problem of overfishing. Hufflett said transhipment makes economic sense for some vessels, although his company did not perform the practice. “If you want to catch fish the most economic way, such as a purse seiner 10 days away from American Samoa, it is ridiculous to say it should go back and forth, when it could just tranship on the high sea with observers and proper control.” Hufflett said with video-monitoring systems (VMS) and proper observers, transhipping should not be an issue. He was more concerned with the highly subsidised foreign fleets that local fishermen could not compete with. Fix at the market Hufflett said the market could address overfishing, by certifying the fish and certifying the buyers. He said this could be done with proper catch-documentation and restrictions on importers, so they only imported properly documented fish. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification system, of which Solander is a member, follows a similar procedure. Instead of focusing purely on the methods used to catch fish, they ensure the fish are coming from sustainable sources, analyse the impacts the catch methods have on their particular marine eco-system, and that the fish can be traced back to those sources. “Our chain of custody standard looks at traceability to ensure no illegal or unregulated fish, or non-certified seafood is mixed or substituted with MSC certified seafood,” said MSC regional director of Asia Pacific, Patrick Caleo. Caleo said awareness about buying traceable, sustainably caught seafood is growing, and so too economic opportunities for the fishing industry. Michael Neilson is a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies student journalist at AUT University. Greenpeace calls for regional ban – following Nauru –]]>

Pacific Media Centre   Thousands of children in Papua New Guinea are currently receiving little or no education because of a severe drought making drinking water scarce, reports Asia-Pacific Journalism. Pacific Scoop: Report – By Ida Brock Children playing in the schoolyard is an increasingly rare sight in Papua New Guinea these days. The country is currently battling a severe El Niño-driven drought which is leaving the country low on drinking water, says Dr Mike Bourke from the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. He has recently been in Papua New Guinea to assess the situation. “Right now, the immediate impact from the drought is on water for drinking and washing. That affects the schools. Tens of thousands of school children are not at school at the moment,” he says. The closing of schools has also been noticed by disaster manager and emergency coordinator Wonesai Sithole from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). “The schools are low on students because the flow of water is decreasing. Many of the schools are only running half days. But it’s only in the areas directly affected by the drought,” he says. However, the closing schools aren’t the only drought consequences that are impacting on the lives of PNG villagers, according to Dr Bourke. “We are also starting to see an increase in diseases such as typhoid and diarrhoea. Later, we can expect to see dysentery and an increase in malaria. The malaria increases because the streams stop flowing and become little stagnant pools instead. That allows the mosquitoes to breed more and we end up having malaria in places where we usually never see the disease,” he says. Frost hits food crops The first sign of a lengthy drought creeping in on Papua New Guinea came when the country’s Highlands got hit by frost. That happened because the El Niño messed up the normal weather systems, explains meteorologist Tom Di Liberto from the Climate Prediction Center at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “Normally, we have trade winds in the Pacific Ocean that blow from east to west, but during an El Niño those winds weaken or even stop. That causes a reduction in cloud cover, and less rain,” Di Liberto says. The reduced number of clouds make the land cool down faster overnight giving more frost days than usual The frost is a big issue in Papua New Guinea, because it attacks food crops like sweet potatoes located in the higher parts of the country. And the dying crops are tremendously disruptive for the country, Dr Bourke says. Frost struck many high altitude locations above the 2000m altitude in July and they struck again in mid-September. “More than 80 percent of all calories consumed in Papua New Guinea are grown there, so when people stop producing because of the frost, many rural people are short of food.” The last time Papua New Guinea experienced such a bad drought was in 1997. Back then, the people changed their economical behaviour to survive; and this impacted on people’s already challenging financial situation. “The people used their savings or sold their pigs for a low price, just to get some money to buy food. As well, many urban based people sent cash or food to relatives in rural places,” Dr Bourke explains. However, the lack of food will not only cut into Papua New Guinean’s bank accounts; it will challenge the entire country’s economy. According to a situation overview made by IOM on September 11, it will cost 35 million kina (NZ$22 million) to bring food to the affected families during the next four months. “The government of Papua New Guinea has so far disbursed K5 million and pledged another K25 million for emergency assistance,” it also says in the situation overview. What to expect But the fact that Papua New Guinea experienced a severe drought only 18 years ago can be a positive upside to how the people handle this one, Dr Bourke says. “Most adults in Papua New Guinea now were alive in 1997 so they know what to expect having lived through the big drought in 1997.” IOM is working with the affected families to make sure they have the right tools to deal with for example health issues following the drought and food shortage. “The main issue at the moment is water conservation and health and hygiene promotion. We are also trying to teach the people how they can work with the water, they have. How they clean it,” Sithole from IOM says. The next step, according to Sithole, is to provide food assistance as quickly as possible to the affected areas and to provide clean water for those who are running low. “We need to show the people how they can preserve the available food and how to supplement that with food aid. And then we need to work with the schools to make sure that there’s water available so they can function properly,” he says. El Niños are alike However, there are signs that this El Niño can end up being even worse than the 1997 event. At present it has already shown incredible strength according to Tom Di Liberto from NOAA. “We are continuing to see this El Niño strengthening. It’s already pretty significant compared to similar events going back to the 1950s. There has only been two previous events that have been stronger at this time and one of them was in 1997,” he says. If the drought ends up being longer and stronger than the one in 1997, it’s difficult to prepare properly, according to Dr Bourke. “If it’s as bad as in 1997, we can make some fairly good predictions as to who will be most affected, what locations, how many people and so on. But if it’s worse than 1997, we’re in unknown territory.” Adding to that, it’s almost impossible to predict how the El Niño will develop. Tom Di Liberto from NOAA says, it might end up acting completely different than the one in 1997. “No two El Niños are the same. They develop in the midst of the already chaotic weather of mother Earth and that makes each El Niño unique.” However, the government is providing as much help to the affected areas as it can, Papua New Guinea’s honorary Consul-General in New Zealand, Dr Peter Goldsmith, says| . “At this in time, it’s reasonable to expect that rain will come. The government is addressing the issue in terms of providing the support it can provide. The Natural Disaster Office is recognising that there is a problem. And it will continue to provide the support needed,” he says. It is not known exactly how many people are affected by the drought. The numbers go from around 300,000 people up to one million. Ida Brock is a Danish student journalist reporting for the Pacific Media Centre and the Pacific Scoop on the Asia-Pacific Journalism Studies paper. Earlier Pacific Media Watch report 9344 –]]>

Pacific Media Centre – Niklas Pedersen reports from Suva. Video: PMC Pacific Scoop: Report – By Niklas Pedersen in Suva A suicide or attempted suicide is now reported every day and a half in Fiji, say police. Over the past three years, 422 people has taken their own lives in Fiji. This is almost three times the number of road fatalities in the same period. Those numbers were highlighted as hundreds of people marched through Suva for World Suicide Prevention day in the middle of September. “This is one of the reports, I’ve noticed a sudden increase in over the last two years. As of now we’re almost receiving a report on suicide or attempted suicide every one and a half days,” says Rusiate Tudravu, Associate Police Commisioner. The suicide prevention day came only two weeks after three young schoolchildren took their own lives in Suva by drinking paraquat. This year ten children under 16 have committed suicide in Fiji. “Suicide is something we really need to raise awareness of. We can all play a part in Fiji in reducing the statistics by simply being more aware and more supportive and knowing where to find expert help, where it’s needed”, says Fiji’s Minister of Health and Medical Services, Jone Usamate. And expert help has been easier to find since the National Child Helpline was launched in April. Almost 4700 calls have been placed to the helpline in the first five months of its existence from children as young as five. “It’s a good tool, because this gives children a platform, where they can voice whatever is bothering them. And slowly we are trying to raise awareness of how the wider community can use our helpline”, says Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Akbar. This week the Fiji government is also taking more extraordinary measures to keep young people from taking their own lives. All schoolchildren have been told to take an anti-suicide pledge,  reports Radio New Zealand. Source: Asia-Pacific Journalism –]]>