Culture, Social

Dely wants to save the traditions of Vanuatu

Thirty-four-year-old Dely Roy Nalo is a Ni-Vanuatu visual artist and cultural field worker who is passionate about promoting and safeguarding the cultural heritage of Northern Vanuatu. Dely lives in Luganville on Espiritu Santo Island with her family and speaks fluent French, English and Bislama, in addition to her father’s vernacular language, Mwerlap. “My idea is that if each culture can understand or at the very least acknowledge each other, a platform can be set for mutual respect” she told … Continue reading Dely wants to save the traditions of Vanuatu

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Social, Sports

Meet the uncontested woman champion of Samoan longboat racing

Zita Martel is a Pacific renaissance woman whose colourful, bold and courageous life serves as an inspiration to women and men in her native Samoa and beyond. In 2001, she became the first and only woman skipper to take up longboat racing, a traditional Polynesian sport reserved for men and where she still wins many of the races to this day. Her mastery of this … Continue reading Meet the uncontested woman champion of Samoan longboat racing

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Politics, Social

How Mama Keneseli has changed Tuvalu

Sixty-three year old Mamao Keneseli has made significant contributions to community development on Nui atoll, one of nine districts in Tuvalu, for close to four decades. Her story is representative of a number of women community leaders in Tuvalu, now in their 60s, 70s and 80s, who have worked to improve the status of women and girls in Tuvalu despite facing numerous challenges. Ms Keneseli … Continue reading How Mama Keneseli has changed Tuvalu

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Politics

Ngedikes: portrait of a politician from Palau

Her Excellency Ngedikes Olai Uludong, 39, is Palau’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Palau’s Ambassador on Climate Change. She explains her philosophy to the SPC: “If my parents were strong and aggressive enough to fight for the rights of Palau, then I can carry this legacy on. Just because I am a woman doesn’t mean that I can’t participate in negotiations, seen as predominantly … Continue reading Ngedikes: portrait of a politician from Palau

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Environment

Fishing in the Pacific: “we have to give back as we take out”

At 35, Cook Islander Pamela Maru is part of a small but growing handful of Pacific women leading -and shaping- the future of fisheries in the world’s largest ocean. She is one of six Fisheries Management Advisers at the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency in the Solomon Islands, where she provides technical advice for Pacific tuna fisheries management policies in the world’s largest ocean. She … Continue reading Fishing in the Pacific: “we have to give back as we take out”

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Chailang Palacios Chamorro Heritage Custodian and Teacher
Environment

A 76 years-old fighter for a nuclear-free Pacific

Chamorro heritage custodian and teacher, Chailang Palacios, aged 76, has been an important pioneer of the international indigenous rights in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, as well as global peace movements, for many decades. In the 1980s she was active against nuclear waste dumping in the world’s deepest ocean – the Marianas Trench. In 1984, Chailang did a speaking tour of England, Scotland and … Continue reading A 76 years-old fighter for a nuclear-free Pacific

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Politics

How the first female taxi driver of the Marshall Islands became a Senator

Marshall Islands Senator Daisy Alik-Momotaro has spent a number of decades working in community development as well as advocating for the rights of women, youth and children. In 1984, she participated in the country’s first Women’s Leadership Workshop organised by the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), which led her and nine other women to travel to all of the country’s outer … Continue reading How the first female taxi driver of the Marshall Islands became a Senator

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Mireille Chinain (SPC)
Environment

Portrait of the Tahitian scientist who discovered what causes Ciguatera

French Polynesian scientist Mireille Chinain has been spearheading regional research efforts on Ciguatera poisoning, the foodborne disease related to the consumption of subtropical and tropical marine finfish which have accumulated naturally occurring toxins through their diet. Ciguatera poses not only a public health problem but has also a significant impact on the economies of affected countries, especially in Pacific Island Countries and Territories, where populations … Continue reading Portrait of the Tahitian scientist who discovered what causes Ciguatera

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Solomon Island's class of 1983
Social

Solomon Islands’ legendary class of 1983

In the early 80s, a group of eight Solomon Island women graduated with a Diploma of Secondary Education at the University of Papua New Guinea Goroka Teachers’ College. In the decades since, the women have worked at all levels and sectors of education including formal and information education, vocational training and distance education. They have contributed significantly to national curricula, educational policies, the establishment of … Continue reading Solomon Islands’ legendary class of 1983

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Environment

This geneticist collected 1,500 different taro crops from across the Pacific

Samoan Valerie Saena Tuia is a leading expert on plant genetic resources who has made significant contributions to advancing food security in the Pacific Islands region. She was the Curator and then Genetic Resources Coordinator of the Pacific Community’s Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) in Fiji for over 15 years until early 2017. Ms Tuia has carried out pioneering scientific research, established the … Continue reading This geneticist collected 1,500 different taro crops from across the Pacific

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