Ham and eggs: who’s really committed in the Indo-Pacific?

When you cook bacon and eggs, you know the chicken is interested but the pig is committed. The same could be said about the Pacific region. Some nations are committed. Others have an interest, but only in those areas that deliver outcomes to their specific national objectives.

Innovations for Pacific cities of the future

The inaugural Smart City Challenge held in Fiji’s capital city, Suva, on July 28 brought together 60 university students from the Fiji National University and the University of the South Pacific. The winners of the ‘hackathon’ won access to funding and training to develop their solution through the Fiji Government’s Young Entrepreneur Scheme.

Australia in the South Pacific: Growing the yabby’s second claw

Australian engagement with our South Pacific partners is getting a lot of attention, as is Chinese engagement in the region. But there’s a missing link in our attempts to build better relations – the Australian corporate sector’s buy-in to South Pacific economies.

International community assist with educational regionalisation

Pacific education is undergoing transformative change. Mohammed Aruf Yasin, a WHO representative at the Inaugural Pacific Connect Academic Network Dialogue in Suva, calls for regional action to develop common standards for higher education curricula.

A start-up ecosystem for the Pacific: Learnings from the APEC entrepreneurial bootcamp

Emmanuel Narokobi, a member of the Pacific Connect Business Network Dialogue in Papua New Guinea, shares his thoughts on encouraging start-ups in PNG after attending the RMT Activator bootcamp in Melbourne.

A visit to Namotomoto shows the power of small data

UNSW’s Simone Zarpelon Leao made a valuable discovery while in Fiji for a symposium with Pacific Island communities on sustainable infrastructure and housing maintenance.

A year in the life of a small not-for-profit

The International Centre for Democratic Partnerships is celebrating its first birthday. Created by Global Access Partners, this independent, non-political organisation encourages dialogue, discussions and better relationships between current and emerging leaders in Australia and the Pacific.

Advancing entrepreneurship in Papua New Guinea

One of the members of Pacific Connect Business Network Dialogue, Winifred Kula Amini, talks about the recent launch of the PNG Digital ICT Cluster and an SME Accelerator Program in Port Moresby.

Strengthening Pacific partnerships

The Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop delivered a comprehensive summary of Australia’s step up in engagement in the Pacific to a large audience in Brisbane on 9 July.

We should speak for ourselves in the Asia-Pacific

The Australian government’s rethink on Asia–Pacific journalism must be matched by a revived and renewed ABC focus on international broadcasting in its widest sense.

China looks under the sea to exploit the Pacific

China has scoured the world for land-based mineral deposits to fuel its economic development since the 1990s and Beijing is now devoting growing attention to seabed mining in the Pacific.

Pacific Connect-USP Academic Dialogue discusses digital innovation

23 representatives from Australian and Pacific universities and international organisations discussed innovative digital solutions for tertiary education at a network dialogue organised by the International Centre for Democratic Partnerships in Suva in Fiji on the 19th of June.