League legends back women and girls' access to sport in PNG

Australian High Commission

Rugby league stars from Australia and Papua New Guinea will today throw their support behind efforts to expand access to sport for PNG women and girls.

In Kokopo ahead of the Prime Ministers XIII match, players and coaches from both teams will highlight the power of sport to empower women and girls and the importance of men in supporting gender equality.

A coaching master class will be held for the PNG Raggianas women’s rugby league national team, while more than 150 children will participate in a clinic demonstrating the educational and health benefits of sport.

The events in Kokopo will coincide with the International Day of the Girl Child, which is observed globally on 11 October to recognise girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

In the coaching master class for the PNG Raggianas squad, Australian PM’s XIII coaches Tim Sheens and Laurie Daley will hand over ‘Women in League’ footballs donated by the National Rugby League (NRL) to the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL).

 The 500 footballs will be distributed to women’s leagues across the country in a joint initiative with the PNGRFL.

Director for the Women Rugby League Program of the PNGRFL, Wendy Kohun, said: “This assistance is very timely for our program as the PNGRFL is rolling out the women’s program across the region.

“We would like to reach our goal of involving as many women as possible in the sport as a way of remedying some social issues faced by our women in the country.”

The coaching master class at Kalabond Oval will cover topics including individual performance, working together as a group and improving the structures of women’s rugby league in PNG to support the sustainability of the game.

The PNG Raggianas will play in a curtain-raiser to the Prime Ministers XIII match on October 12.

Meanwhile, players from both Prime Minister’s XIII teams will participate in a League bilong Laif clinic for 150 children at Kokopo Primary School.

Supported by Australia and delivered by the NRL, the League bilong Laif program will provide 50,000 PNG boys and girls, including those with disability, with the opportunity to participate in rugby league

based activities at school to encourage healthy lifestyles and boost physical, social, literacy and maths skills.

League bilong Laif trains teachers to provide rugby league based activities at school.

More than 200 teachers have been trained and 5,000 boys and girls have completed the program since it began in 2013.

Around 75 per cent of the teachers trained have been women and 50 per cent of the children participants have been girls, expanding girls’ access to the sport.

The Australian High Commission’s Minister Counsellor, Development Cooperation, James Hall, said sport can make a significant contribution toward women and girls becoming equal members in society.

“Sports activities can provide girls and women with a chance to develop and increase their self-confidence and girls and women who excel at sport can act as role models for others.

Girls and boys playing sport together equally encourages respect, which is an important message of the Prime Ministers’ XIII event.”

PNG's expanding European economic engagement

Papua New Guinea’s relationship with the European Union is growing from being predominantly based on development support, to increased trade and investment engagement through business cooperation.

The evolution of this relationship was discussed during a courtesy call to the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill by the Head of the European Union Delegation in PNG, Ambassador Martin Dihm (pictured) , in Port Moresby this week.

“More products that are made in Papua New Guinea are being sold in European countries than ever before, and European technical expertise and equipment is being deployed throughout our resources sector,” O’Neill said.

“We expect to see this business interaction to continue to expand as our government-to-government engagement with European countries creates greater opportunities.

“Papua New Guinea and the European Union have a bilateral trade agreement that enables free access products to the European market.  

“This access to Europe is particularly beneficial for Papua New Guinea’s export of palm oil products as well as fisheries products.”

O’Neill further expressed his appreciation for ongoing development support that the European Union had given PNG over recent decades.

“The European Union is Papua New Guinea’s second largest development partner,” he said.

“Through this partnership Papua New Guinea has made a significant contribution to infrastructure expansion, skills and capacity development in rural areas, and the strengthening of the healthcare sector.

“Cooperation under the 10th European Union Development Fund has also facilitated rehabilitation of cocoa and coffee projects in Bougainville and East New Britain Province.”

 

Taiwan has new representative in PNG

 Taiwan Trade Mission to Papua New Guinea has a new representative.

He is Herman Chiu (pictured) , a veteran diplomat who has served in many countries, including neighbouring Solomon Islands.

Chiu takes over from former representative, Daniel Hu, who left PNG last month after being here for the last four years.

He had his first major engagement yesterday at a reception marking Taiwan's 103rd National Day which was attended by a large number of people at Dynasty Restaurant at Vision City.

"Taiwan and PNG are economically complementary to each other," Chiu said in an interview.

"Evidence of this is the 20-year LNG purchase contract.

"Taiwan is going through a broader phase of development, called the 'Taiwan Experience', which we would like to share.

"We believe there are a lot of common interests we can realise together."

Chiu has served is a diplomat in the Kingdom of Swaziland, Republic of Malawi, Solomon Islands, Thailand, South Africa, and Gambia in West Africa.

PNG urged to take advantage of Taiwan SME experience

Papua New Guinea has been urged to take advantage of Taiwan’s experience in small and medium enterprises (SME) to foster economic development.

Taiwan Trade Mission representative, Herman Chiu, said this yesterday after a reception marking Taiwan’s 103rd National Day which was attended by a large number of people at Dynasty Restaurant at Vision City.

He said because of LNG exports from PNG to Taiwan, an increasing number of Taiwanese businesses now had their sights set on PNG, which augured well for bilateral relations.

“More and more potential investors from Taiwan are visiting PNG,” Chiu said.

“They are coming in clusters.

“Taiwan is famous for SMEs.”

 

Book publisher concerned about falling literacy levels

 Papua New Guinea’s most-prominent book publisher, Robert Brown, has expressed concern about falling literacy levels in the country. 

Prominent PNG book publisher Robert Brown.

He said the reading culture prevalent among young people in the 1970s was no longer there, hence, the very low literacy levels even among university students.

He attributed this to the lack of good quality publications relevant to PNG.

“Totally inadequate,” Brown said.

“We need to do more in bringing books to the children in the schools and also to the general public.

“There’s more to be got out of books than in front of computers, television, and so on.

“The lack of bookshops in Papua New Guinea is very sad.

“You name me on bookshop in Papua New Guinea now.”

Brown also said the children of the 1970s were much more literate than the children of today.

“Absolutely,” he said.

“The power of the book, in lots of ways, has been underestimated.

“It’s quite strange that in America, most people who are educators use comics as a medium to educate to read.

“We used to sell lots of comics up here, you don’t see this anymore.

“It at least got the kids reading.

“Reading’s the word.

“As you say, a kid in university can’t write his own name, and that’s sad. “

Brown, however, added that times were changing and more people would be taking to books.

“Things are starting to move again,” he said.

“It’s a bit sad that it’s taken so long.

“Things are taking a turn for the better, but we still need people to invest in bookshops…I think it’s time someone bites the bullet and opens up a decent bookshop in Port Moresby, Lae, Madang, and Rabaul.”

Pre-launch of new PNG book

A new publication ‘Papua New Guinea’s Pictorial History’ will be launched in early 2015.

The book, in two volumes, ‘Pre 1975’ and ‘Post 1975’, had a sneak preview in Port Moresby on Tuesday, September 23,  night with a pre-launch of this exciting new publication on PNG.

Publisher Robert Brown and author Dianne McInnes at the book’s pre-launch.

Guests had the chance to meet the author Dianne McInnes and publisher Robert Brown, from Pictorial Press in Queensland – publishers of over 160 titles on PNG since the 1960s.

“This publication is to mark the 90^th anniversary of the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce, PNG’s 40^th year of Independence, and the 15^th Pacific Games to be held in the nation’s capital in 2015,” said chamber chief executive Dave Conn.

“It will be a collector’s item for anyone who has a love and association with Papua New Guinea.”

Kandrian-Gloucester no mean feat

Kandrian-Gloucester MP Joseph Lelang says bringing services into his remote and isolated district is one of the most-unenviable tasks he has to do.

“Kandrian-Gloucester district is very isolated and is remote,” he said recently after signing a communication towers agreement with National Broadcasting Commission managing director Memafu Kapera.

Kandrian-Gloucester MP Joseph Lelang speaking to reporters

“There is no road from Kandrian to Kimbe, the provincial capital of West New Britain.

“Kandrian faces Oro and Milne Bay provinces, so if I want to go to Kimbe, I have to take an eight-hour boat ride to the border with East New Britain at Pomio, and take a vehicle from there across five or six rivers, drive for six to eight hours to Talasea, and go from there to Kimbe.

“If I want to travel the other way, to Gloucester, I have to travel past the Siassi islands in Morobe, overnight at a place called Garu, and then travel through the oil palm blocks at Mosa into Kimbe.

“It’s very, very long, it’s very, very tough.

“A lot of public servants can’t go into the district because there’s no light, there’s no shopping light, there’s no wholesale, there’s no service station, there’s no fuel depot, everybody doesn’t want to have anything to do with that particular electorate.

“And yet, it’s one of the most-beautiful districts in this entire country.

“The people there still have the old ways with them.

“They don’t have the rottenness and decay of urban life.”

Lelang said the popular phrase “Pasin West” referred to the traditional hospitality of the Kandrian-Gloucester people.

“They face a lot of problems, particularly associated with heavy rain,” he said.