Author Collaboration

Short bio: Theses articles are the fruit of collaborations between our editorial team and various official entities, such as the South Pacific Community for the "70 Inspiring Women" series.

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    Politics, Social

    The midwife who became the fist woman in government in Wallis and Futuna

    Esitele Fuluhea Lakalaka knows firsthand the struggles of women in her native Wallis and Futuna. She began her career at a young age in the late 60s in the French territory’s health sector, firstly as a secretary and interpreter, then as a midwife delivering births at Sia Hospital, then finally as an management executive at the hospital. Ms Lakalaka then became interested in public affairs … Continue reading The midwife who became the fist woman in government in Wallis and Futuna

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    Social

    Patricia Imrana Jalal, lawyer and gender advocate

    Patricia Imrana Jalal is a Fijian lawyer and gender advocate, who served as a Human Rights Commissioner on the Fiji Human Rights Commission, as a Fiji Law Reform Commissioner,  and as Human Rights Advisor to the Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) and the United Nations Development Program. She is a Commissioner on the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists, to which she was elected in … Continue reading Patricia Imrana Jalal, lawyer and gender advocate

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    Culture

    Paralyzed from birth, she wrote an award-winning book using a computer head pointer

    Nathalie Heirani Salmon-Hudry is a writer whose inspiring work is bringing about positive change for people with disabilities in her native French Polynesia. She is the author of the moving autobiographical tale “Je suis née MORTE” (meaning “I was born DEAD” or “I was stillborn”) that she wrote using a computer head pointer. The book deals with “how you develop, how you grow up, how you … Continue reading Paralyzed from birth, she wrote an award-winning book using a computer head pointer

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    Culture

    A poet and a teacher from Tonga

    One of the longest serving staff of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, Konai Helu Thaman is currently Professor of Pacific Education and Culture and was the UNESCO Chair in Teacher Education and Culture from 1998-2016. Ms Thaman was born and raised in Tonga where she received her primary and secondary education. She studied at the University of Auckland (BA in Geography), Auckland … Continue reading A poet and a teacher from Tonga

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    Social

    Mrs Afamasaga, influential teacher from Samoa

    Seventy-year-old Gatoloai Tili Afamasaga has played an instrumental role in the education sector in her native Samoa for over 40 years. Ms Afamasaga started her career as a teacher, then went on to become a teacher trainer. In 1984, she was appointed Principal of Western Samoa Teachers College, a position she held for thirteen years. When the college merged with the National University of Samoa … Continue reading Mrs Afamasaga, influential teacher from Samoa

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    Social

    The first Kanak woman to take up law in New Caledonia

    Nadine Pidjot made history this May when she became the first Kanak woman to take up law in New Caledonia. Following a successful career as a public servant for the Government of New Caledonia, the French High Commission in New Caledonia, and the French Embassy in Australia, she successfully created her own consulting company and is highly regarded among both Kanak and non-Kanak communities. During … Continue reading The first Kanak woman to take up law in New Caledonia

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    Social

    “It is time for the church to speak out against the injustices in society”

    Reverend Sereima Lomaloma is an advocate for gender equality and the elimination of violence against women and children in Fiji and the Pacific, advocating through the Anglican church, House of Sarah and and other faith-based organisations since the early 2000s. For this portrait, she told the SPC that “It’s time for the church to also speak out against the injustices in society, violence in all … Continue reading “It is time for the church to speak out against the injustices in society”

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    Social

    She created a line of women products for rural communities in Vanuatu

    Mary is the coordinator and a founding member of Mamma’s Laef, a social enterprise run by six ni-Vanuatu women in Port Vila. Mamma’s Laef sew washable sanitary pads that they distribute to communities across Vanuatu, where women often do not have access to menstrual hygiene management products, instead using old cloth or other unreliable and unhygienic substitutes and missing days of work and school as … Continue reading She created a line of women products for rural communities in Vanuatu

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    Culture, Social

    This journalist created a trans-Pacific women-media organisation

    Sharon Bhagwan Rolls is a second-generation Fijian women’s rights advocate working at the intersection of gender and media. Following a successful high-profile career as a radio and television producer and presenter in Fiji, she helped establish femLINKpacific in 2000 as a regional women-led media organisation that advocates for Pacific women as decision makers in the long-term transformation of their respective island countries. In 2004, femLINK … Continue reading This journalist created a trans-Pacific women-media organisation

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    Politics

    Portrait of Dame Meg Taylor, a leading Pacific diplomat and politician

    When Dame Meg Taylor was appointed Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum in August 2014, she became the first woman to hold this post. A national of Papua New Guinea, she began her professional life as Private Secretary to Chief Minister Michael Somare during self-government of Papua New Guinea, and then during his tenure as Prime Minister of an independent Papua New Guinea. She … Continue reading Portrait of Dame Meg Taylor, a leading Pacific diplomat and politician

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