A major project to structure the region’s cultural sector got underway recently at a workshop attended by regional culture representatives. The workshop, held in March at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia, was the first step in a substantial regional culture project that aims to enhance human development efforts in the Pacific by structuring and strengthening the culture sector. 

The 713,474 EUR project is funded by the European Union (EU) and will be implemented by SPC, with partner organisations and member countries over the next two and a half years. The workshop provided guidelines for the process of cultural mapping, planning and policy (CMPP) development.

Culture representatives from around the Pacific have gathered this week to discuss ways to enhance the profile of culture in the region.

The 23rd meeting of the Council of Pacific Arts (CPA) begins today at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia.

Over the next two and a half days, delegates from 20 Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) as well as Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, will discuss a number of issues related to the strengthening of the cultural sector, including developing a regional cultural strategy; incorporating culture into the education sector; building partnerships nationally, regionally and internationally; and accessing funds for culture.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day (8 March), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is encouraging governments and development agencies to incorporate the need for household and family level equality between women and men into policies and programmes in the Pacific region.

A new advocacy brief entitled Transforming Power Relations: Equal Status of Women and Men at the Family Level in the Pacific is designed to raise awareness of an often under-addressed sphere of power dynamics between women and men. It ties into the broader theme of this year’s International Women’s Day celebration: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all.

The brief is based on a range of existing research and illustrates the extent of household and family level inequality between men and women and the adverse impact such inequality has on all other spheres of women’s lives. It also looks at the links between violence against women in the home and women’s ability to make important decisions including about their own health care, household finances and social life. It provides policy recommendations for lawmakers, the health sector, educators, land authorities, customary bodies, religious institutions and the media. These are based on international commitments to gender equality such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action.

As delegates from around the world meet at United Nations headquarters in New York for a major gathering on the status of women, the Pacific is gearing up for its own conference on the advancement of women later this year.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) will host the 11th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women at its headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia, from 16 to 20 August.

The Triennial provides the opportunity to gauge progress in gender equality in the region, and serves to identify gaps in progress and measures necessary to address them.

The theme for the 11th Triennial, Progress and prospects: National level implementation of the Pacific and Beijing Platforms for Action, ties in with the main theme of the 54th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 54) in New York.

Support from the family and wider community is critical in encouraging young people to develop as agricultural entrepreneurs.

This is a key message from a survey of young people in Fiji, Tonga and Kiribati. Spiritual guidance is also important in youth development, with the church playing a leading role in influencing young people’s behaviour and activities, especially in engaging them in agricultural activities.

The survey was conducted in November 2009 as part of the activities of the Pacific Agriculture and Forestry Policy Network (PAFPNet). It was aimed at discovering what features of their environment encourage young people to participate in agricultural activities.

The European Union (EU) has signed an agreement granting FJD $ 2 Million to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) for a project to strengthen the cultural sector in six Pacific Island countries.

This SPC project is called "Structuring the Cultural Sector in the Pacific for Improved Human Development" and resulted from a call for proposals for projects under the theme "Investing in People" Thematic Programme.

Countries to benefit from the project include the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The project, spanning 30 months from when the agreement is signed, is divided into four components which include:

1) The development of cultural policy in six countries;

2) The promotion of cultural industries to the European Union and intra-ACP through the development of a marketing strategy bringing public, private sector and civil society organisations together;

3) The mapping of threatened cultural heritage sites and

4) Exchanges between Pacific and Caribbean museums.