Vosa

Episode 1 of season 2 celebrates Pacific creativity.

We're excited to announce that season 2 of Vosa is launching on Friday 26 November with new host Mere Nailatikau. We have so many great stories to share over the coming months so please keep an eye out for new shows each fortnight. 

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Welcome to Episode 10 of Vosa. This week’s talanoa focuses on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex (LGBTQI) rights, advocacy and acceptance in Pacific communities.

LGBTQI is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and Intersex. This is a non-exhaustive list of terms, as different cultures, both historically as well as today, have used diverse language to express the wide range of sexual orientations and gender expressions. LGBTQI people are entitled to the enjoyment of all the rights outlined in international, regional and domestic human rights law, however LGBTQI persons continue to face obstacles relating to their rights, including their right to social protection.

In this episode I speak to two incredible guests from Fiji and Vanuatu who have made it their life’s work to advocate for LGBTQI rights. We hear from Sulique Waqa, Founder of the Haus of Khameleon, Creative Director and Lifetime Board Member, and Gigi Baxter, Founder of VPride Organisation.

As always, I hope you enjoy the episode.

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this episode. You can find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for tuning in, we look forward to sharing more episodes with you soon.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vosapodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vosapodcast

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vosapodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Episode 9 of Vosa. This week we bring you a special episode on the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the Pacific region, brought to you by two podcasts - Vosa, supported by the World Bank in the Pacific and Papua New Guinea, and Contain This from the Australian Government's Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security. This episode will be published across these two great programs. 

In this episode, we'll speak with Will Genia, Australian Rugby Union Player and UNICEF Ambassador, Dr Edith Kariko, World Bank Senior Health Specialist in PNG, and Francyne Jacklick-Wase, Deputy Secretary, Office of Health Planning, Policy Preparedness and Epidemiology in the Ministry of Health and Human Services. Together, we'll look at what the vaccine means for the Pacific region, and what it means for each of our guests personally. 

As always, I hope you enjoy the episode, and be sure to check out Contain This. Find the link below. 

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this episode. You can find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vosapodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vosapodcast

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/vosapodcast

Links:

Contain This: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/contain-this-the-latest-in-global-health-security/id1490380806

WHO PNG: https://www.who.int/papuanewguinea

PNG Government's Niupela Pasin guidelines: https://covid19.info.gov.pg/files/July%202020/07072020/Niupela%20Pasin%20%20Transition%20to%20Normal%20handbook.pdf

 

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Welcome to Episode 8 of Vosa. This week's talanoa focuses on Sports and the role it plays in creating healthier and happier Pacific communities.

In this episode I speak to three amazing guests from around the Pacific who have extensive experience in the world of combining sports and positive societal change. We hear from Kevin Naiqama, Fijian Rugby League player and Captain of the Fijian Bati, Jacqui Joseph, co-founder and CEO of Papua New Guinea's Equal Playing Field, and Pesi Palu, the Communications and Health Lead for physical activity campaign Kau Mai Tonga. 

As always, I hope you enjoy the episode.

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this episode. You can find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for tuning in, we look forward to sharing more episodes with you soon.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vosapodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vosapodcast 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vosapodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to our second episode, celebrating International Women’s Day! In our last episode, we were joined by women leaders from across the Pacific, and today, we are fortunate to have two amazing pioneers from Papua New Guinea.

Today on Vosa, I’m honoured to share a talanoa with Dr Pamela Toliman and Emma Watkpi.

Dr Pamela Toliman was recently awarded a PhD from her research undertaken through the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales. Her thesis looked at innovative approaches for cervical cancer screening in Papua New Guinea, where cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. 

Emma Watkpi is a leading social entrepreneur and a community development specialist in Papua New Guinea. Emma’s background is in Health, and more recently, she has been working on Jiwaka Coffee, a social enterprise in Kukpa Village in Jiwaka province, a region the represents 85% of PNG’s coffee producers. The goal of the enterprise is to positively impact 7,000 households in the next 7 years through ethical coffee.

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this episode. You can find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for tuning in, we look forward to sharing more episodes with you soon.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vosapodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vosapodcast 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vosapodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the lead up to International Women’s Day this year, we at Vosa are calling out and celebrating some of our amazing women leaders in the Pacific. The theme for International Women’s Day set by the United Nations this year is women in leadership, achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world. While we deeply appreciate the contributions and achievements of women, each and every day, this annual commemoration gives us an opportunity to celebrate women and raise awareness about the issues that affect us.

Today on Vosa, we are honoured to share a talanoa with three incredible women leaders from across the Pacific. Kitlang Kabua, a Marshallese politician joins us today. She was only 28 at the time of her election, making her the youngest person ever elected in the Marshall Islands. She is also the second woman to be elevated along with former President Hilda Heine. Kitlang is currently the Minister of Education, Sports and Training. We are also joined by Shalom Akao Waita, a former Solomon Islands Basketball and Netball International, and is now the first female chief executive of the Pacific Games Organising Committee. They are now overseeing preparations for the 2023 games. We are also joined by Captain Selai Saumi, the first-ever female Fijian captain of an airline when she assumed command of Fiji Airways jet fleet in 2015.

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this episode. You can find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for tuning in, we look forward to sharing more episodes with you soon.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vosapodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vosapodcast 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vosapodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Episode 5 of Vosa. 

How often do you walk away from watching a performance that has really made you think - hmmm, maybe I should or could do something differently?

In the Pacific, artists have spent generations making us think and reflect on our own behaviour and cultural norms, and more recently, development organisations have partnered with them to enable people to act on these shifts in their thinking and behaviours, to create long term, and sustainable change.

Today, we discuss all of this!

Joining us today is Jo Dorras, writer and co-founder/director of Wan Smol Bag, and actress Helen Kailo from Wan Smol Bag’s TV series, Love Patrol. Wan Smol Bag started as a community theatre group in 1989, and has since been funded by government agencies and development organisations, and has produced countless shows and films.

Also joining us is Sachiko Soro, director, composer and choreographer of Vou, a Fiji based, independent performance dance company, that has performed hundreds of shows in the Pacific and abroad. Vou blends traditional and modern Fijian dance, with young artists at the helm of producing the messages of challenge and change through these creative mediums.

Last but not the least, we are joined by Vika Raica Waradi, a Communications Consultant at The World Bank. Vika has fourteen years of experience in communications for development in the Pacific, particularly when it comes to partnering with Pacific artists to support positive and sustainable change in our communities.   

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this episode. You can find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for tuning in, we look forward to sharing more episodes with you soon.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vosapodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vosapodcast 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vosapodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Episode 4 of Vosa. Today’s talanoa will focus on connectivity and the improvements that greater internet access over the years has allowed for people in the Pacific and PNG.

I speak to Shivnesh Prasad, Digital Development Specialist at the World Bank, who sets the scene on the evolution of connectivity in our region. Also joining us today is Crystal Kewe,  a self-taught software engineer and co-founder of Crysan Technology, on how improved connectivity has created unique opportunities in her life. Lastly, we are joined by Kalolaine Uechtritz Fainu, the founder of the Pasifika Film Festival, to discuss how connectivity has allowed films and digital content to be shared throughout regional and remote areas of the Pacific and PNG.

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this episode. You can find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for tuning in, we look forward to sharing more episodes with you soon.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vosapodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vosapodcast 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vosapodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Episode 3 of Vosa. While today’s talanoa is titled, ‘Livelihoods’, we focus on the resilience and ingenuity of Pacific and PNG people in the face of economic struggle, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t shy away from the challenges that are being faced, and at the same time, we celebrate the strengths that are unique to our people, and that have sustained us through these difficult times.       

Today we're joined by Marlene Dutta co-founder of the Better for Barter Fiji Facebook page, Lydia Dimokari, Senior Project Coordinator at the Kokoda Track Foundation, and Liz Pechan, founder and co-owner of the multi-award-winning resort The Havannah Vanuatu.

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this episode. You can find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for tuning in, we look forward to sharing more episodes with you soon.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vosapodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vosapodcast 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vosapodcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.