The Pacific Way

The solidarity amongst the pacific islands delegation to conserve our region and protect it from the ongoing impacts of climate change was evident at the United Nations Climate Change conference or COP27.

Climate Change Experts from the Pacific Community and other CROP Agencies were present in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt to support and lend a voice to the pleas of the pacific people for the developed world to take action in reducing green house gas emissions with the target ‘1.5 to stay alive’.

For half a century the Pacific Community has been working in collaboration with pacific islands countries and territories to preserve, protect and promote the regions unique traditions as custodians of the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture or FestPac.

In July 2022, SPC celebrated the 50th anniversary of FestPac and the launch of the Pacific Regional Culture Strategy 2022-2032. The event coincided with the Pacific Island Leaders Forum and a week long exhibition was held to mark the occasion and setting the stage for the 13th FestPac to be hosted by Hawaii in 2024.

In early September 2022, the fourth cycle report of the Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) was launched in Suva Fiji.

Administered through the Pacific Community’s Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP), over 40,000 students sat for PILNA in 15 pacific island countries and territories.

Through PILNA, the region has set a global benchmark to ensure that children in the pacific get high quality education.

To ensure the region has the capacity and the technical know- how to advance agriculture and aquaculture in the region, a new cadre of experts are being trained through the Australian Center for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR).

The Pacific Community (SPC) is a key partner for ACIAR and SPC and ACIAR have worked in partnership for more than 30 years. SPC helps deliver Australia’s wider strategies to benefit the region’s fisheries, agriculture, forestry and biosecurity sectors.

ACIAR’s scholarship and mentoring programs is increasing regional capacity for long term food security.

Pacific Islands Leaders met in Suva Fiji in July 2022, where the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent was endorsed. The strategy focuses on seven key thematic areas: political leadership and regionalism, people-centered development, peace and security, resources and economic development, climate change and disasters, ocean and environment, and finally, technology and connectivity. The carefully laid out strategy highlights some key areas of concern and implementation guidelines to ensure it trickles down to society.

From the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Pacific Community has worked with donor agencies and partners to strengthen and safeguard the health of Pacific Islanders.

Working with international agencies and local authorities, SPC, the World Health Organisation and the World Food Program helped provide much need medical and humanitarian resources to strengthen COVID 19 preparedness and response.

The Pacific Community (SPC)'s Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) has won the 2022 Island Innovation award for Innovative Island Research. The award, which supported by the Clinton Global Initiative, was presented by Island Innovation, a global network that connects island stakeholders through digital communication and events. It is part of the rapidly increasing interest, recognition and investment being made in Pacific Food systems.  

https://www.spc.int/updates/news/2022/05/the-pacific-community-centre-for-pacific-crops-and-trees-wins-island

As the Pacific region looks towards a post COVID economy, the potential of cocoa is seen as a valuable resource for small hold farmers. Known by local farmers as green gold, the quality of Pacific cocoa is increasingly being recognized internationally, and in some cases the resulting chocolate products have been ranked with some the the best in the world. 

The Pacific Community (SPC) has announced the appointment of Mereseini Rakuita as its ‘Principal Strategic Lead – Pacific Women’. Ms Rakuita will champion the organisation’s work on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls to bring about the transformational changes required to improve the status of women and girls in the Pacific.

“I’m deeply humbled and honoured to be appointed to this role to serve the women, men, girls and boys of this region and to bring about greater gender equality across the region. Success for Pacific Women Lead will take close collaboration and open dialogue with SPC colleagues, member governments, development partners and civil society including faith-based organisations and the private sector.  But I am confident that we share the same vision and that working together, we will achieve it.  I wish to give specific thanks for the support to my appointment from the women’s movements and civil society partners, including the warm messages from the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, femLINKpacific, and the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement.”

https://www.spc.int/updates/news/media-release/2022/03/mereseini-rakuita-announced-as-spcs-principal-strategic-lead

On Saturday 15 January 2022, the Hunga volcano erupted sending a plume of ash and volcanic gas 30 kilometers into the atmosphere and generating tsunami waves across the Pacific. The full impact of this eruption is still being assessed, but the greatest devastation occurred on islands of Tonga.