Photo: SPC/WTYSL
Over its 75 year history the Pacific Community has always put capacity building at the heart of its strategy. The technical, scientific and social programmes undertaken have helped build up the region’s knowledge base, strengthened coordination efforts, and created long-lasting positive impacts on the lives of Pacific people. These efforts have resulted in an ever-growing human resource of expertise and experience within the region.
We often highlight how SPC is Pacific owned and Pacific led. What this means in practical terms is that the projects and activities we undertake are being driven by Pacific scientists, policymakers, educational experts and social development specialists, supported by experts from all over the world, in a true Pacific spirit of collaboration and dialogue.
In this edition of our newsletter you can see how capacity building is a common thread running through our work as a common thread to support international accreditation for educational institutions, long term support with Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network, our work on the Pacific Data Hub, our emphasis on Tuna science and much much more.
The investment our members and donors make in the Pacific Community is an investment in our projects, but just as importantly, it is an investment in the Pacific people. The future of this region will depend on current and future Pacific leaders, across all fields of expertise, being empowered to provide regional and global leadership, based on their own experiences and expertise.
The success of the sustainable development goals will depend heavily on what happens across our region of ‘large oceans states’, but I am confident that the growing technical expertise we have, combined with our traditional knowledge practices and community spirit, will see the Pacific successfully navigate towards a brighter future.
