Author Jack

Short bio: My name is Jacques Franc de Ferrière. I was born in Papeete, Windward Islands, in 1985. I have been a web journalist for the last 10 years, after trying and hating jobs in finance and advertisement. I have worked in newsrooms in Paris, Canada and Tahiti and have now more than a thousand articles published online, mostly in French. I love biking, reading, slack lines and slacking off.

Website: http://articlesjeff.blogspot.com/

    Culture

    A new Tahitian, English and French dictionary

    The government of French Polynesia published the first trilingual dictionary of the local Tahitian language. 17 000 Polynesian words, both old and new, are translated into English and French as a bid to open the French territory to its English-speaking neighbors. Yan Peirsegaele, head of the Interpreting Department of French Polynesia, explains why this work was important after a first French/Tahitian dictionary published in 2015: … Continue reading A new Tahitian, English and French dictionary

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    Environment, Lifestyle

    Drink in edible coffee cups with Air New Zealand

    How about eating your coffee cup after you finished your beverage, instead of throwing one more garbage away… You don’t like the idea? But what if… your cup was a vanilla-flavored biscuit! This is exactly the idea being tested right now by Air New Zealand, in an effort to reduce it’s waste. Customers in flight and on the ground are being served their hot beverage and … Continue reading Drink in edible coffee cups with Air New Zealand

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    Protests in West Papua this Wednesday (photo by @SocialPowerOne1 shared on Twitter)
    Politics, Social

    Protests for human rights crushed in blood in West Papua

    In the fight to finally end the subjugation of Pacific people by colonizing powers, West Papua is the last active front. And the fight for freedom by the native Papuan people kicked into higher gears this last two weeks, as massive protests for human rights and self-determination ignited across the cities of the province. According to the Time Magasine, the most recent unrest appears to … Continue reading Protests for human rights crushed in blood in West Papua

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    Culture, Politics

    Is it time for the Cook Islands to change its name?

    What is in a name… Take the case of the Cook Islands. This Polynesian nation is an archipelago of 15 islands stuck between French Polynesia, Niue and American Samoa. It is inhabited by only 12 000 people. Its name comes from the British explorer James Cook. The official Cook Islands website says it was Russian sailors who popularized the usage of the Cook Islands name in … Continue reading Is it time for the Cook Islands to change its name?

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    Environment

    Plasticity Fiji: Entrepreneurs looking for solutions to the plastic crisis

    Plastic pollution is a bane to the Pacific nations. Some businesswomen and businessmen are mobilizing to try and end it through a conference named Pacific Plasticity. The plastic products we consume in our islands are hardly recycled and end up abandoned on our beaches or buried in our valleys. And our islands are some of the most impacted by the massive global plastic pollution dropped … Continue reading Plasticity Fiji: Entrepreneurs looking for solutions to the plastic crisis

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    Environment

    New Zealand: Vote for your bird of the year!

    It is time for Bird of the Year 2018! Voting opens at 9 am on Monday 1 October and closes at 5 pm on Sunday 14 October. New Zealand’s unique native birds are in crisis. A third are at risk of becoming extinct if nothing is done to protect them. Their habitats have been destroyed and introduced mammalian predators kill their eggs, young birds, and even adults. … Continue reading New Zealand: Vote for your bird of the year!

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    Environment, Politics

    How do we fight epidemics across the Pacific Ocean?

    Pacific islands are suffering from regular epidemics of Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya. In a decade-long dance around our Ocean, these viruses continually migrate to countries where the population has lost its immunity… But it doesn’t mean there is nothing to be done. Since the arrival of the Zika Virus, probably imported from African soccer players during the Beach Soccer World Cup of 2013 in Tahiti, … Continue reading How do we fight epidemics across the Pacific Ocean?

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    Culture, Sports

    Say welcome to Heke, our new mascot!

    This shy octopus is Heke, our new mascot. Everybody say hi! His name comes from the Rapa Nui word for “octopus”, similar to fe’e, feke or ‘eke in other Polynesian langage. And Heke sounded pretty good, so we kept it! Heke is pretty cute, but also very sporty and quite the model. Below you can see him on an outrigger, as an All Black rugby player, … Continue reading Say welcome to Heke, our new mascot!

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