In November 2013 I joined UNESCO Apia, as the new Director. I wish therefore to take the opportunity of

this newsletter to introduce myself and share with you some news which I consider important for the next

two years in the Pacific.

Coming from Bangkok, where I was Deputy Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education from

2009 to 2013, following a number of assignments since 1984 in various UNESCO Offices and at Head-

quarters, my first four months in Samoa have first allowed me to familiarize with the Pacific. I also got to

know our Apia Office staff, a solid team of dedicated and highly competent colleagues who briefed me in

details on the vast programme developed by our Office in collaboration with National Commissions and

other Pacific partners.

2014 is not a year like the others in the Pacific. It was chosen by the UN to be the International Year of

Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This year is thus the opportunity to celebrate SIDS’ diversity of

cultures and heritage, as well to address economic, social and environmental challenges faced by small

islands all over the world, and ultimately to contribute to a brighter future for generations to come.

During 2014, the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States will be held, precisely

in Apia, Samoa, from 1 to 4 September. Its thematic being The sustainable development of small island

developing States through genuine and durable partnerships", it will be an opportunity to monitor the

progresses made since previous such SIDS Conferences and to renew political commitments. The SIDS

Conference is expected to focus the world's attention on a group of countries which have unique charac-

teristics, strengths and vulnerabilities. It will set the agenda for the years to come, in the context of the

“post 2015” development agenda. By showcasing SIDS’s main priorities such as climate change, the

Conference will also be the occasion to fuel a new dynamic in the Pacific region. Thanks to various part-

nerships, including NGOs, civil society and Youth, the SIDS Conference will be an inclusive event and an

occasion for the UN as a whole to proclaim the preservation of SIDS’ unique cultural heritage and to

support its creative forces and initiatives. UNESCO Apia is collaborating closely with the Government of

Samoa for its organization and towards its success.

As to our Newsletter, it will become quarterly and, for the sake of clarity, will remain concise. Its objective

is to share with you achievements and future programmes in Education, Culture, the Sciences, Commu-

nication and Information in our Pacific region. From this year, an emphasis will be put on our collabora-

tion with a growing number of UNESCO partners in our Pacific region.

Finally, I am pleased to inform you that several new colleagues have joined the office recently. You will

find the whole list on the last page.

I am looking forward to your feedback and to our continuous collaboration all over 2014 and beyond.

Etienne Clement Director

Editorial Inside this issue:

Education:

Regular Programme

International Mother Lan-

guage Day

World Teachers Day

Monitoring & Evaluation

National Education for All

CapEFA

JFIT

Teacher Education Module

HIV & AIDS

2

Inter-Sectoral Program:

ESD

3

UNESCO Institute for Statis-

tics:

UIIS in Apia

Workshop on Statistics for

Pacific Islands

3

Sciences:

Climate Change

Disaster Risk Management

Man and Biosphere

Website

Youth

Social Inclusive

Regional Meeting

UNESCO IOC

4 - 5

& 7

Culture:

Intangible Cultural Heritage

World Heritage

Brochure & Publication

6

Communication &

Information:

Memory of the World

7

Jan - Mar 2014; Issue 4

Apia Office Office for the Pacific States Quarterly

NEWSLETTER

Pacific Member States: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau (Associate), Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

UNESCO has had several consultation meetings with the Ministry

of Education in Kiribati and the Australian Department of Foreign

Affairs and Trade to agree on a workplan for the education sector

in Kiribati for 2014.

International Mother Language Day was celebrated in Nauru on

21 February 2014 and was supported by UNESCO. The theme

for the day was 'Local languages for global citizenship: spot light

on science'. The activity report and financial report are due to be

submitted shortly to Apia.

UNESCO support was given to Tokelau to celebrate World

Teacher's Day in 2013. The final report has yet to be received.

Discussions are underway with the Department of Education in

Papua New Guinea for a workshop on the development of a

monitoring and evaluation framework. The workshop was tenta-

tively scheduled for April 2014 if the terms of reference and pro-

gramme can be finalised in time.

All UNESCO Member States in the Pacific have been asked to

prepare a national report on EFA 2015 Review and submit the

draft by 15 March 2014 and submit a final report by June 2014.

An international consultant, Dr Ibtisam Abu-Duhou has been

contracted to provide technical support for Nauru, Tuvalu and

Vanuatu. She has visited both Nauru and Vanuatu in March

2014 and will travel to Tuvalu in early April to provide support.

Niue has requested financial support from UNESCO to help pre-

pare the review. UNESCO Apia and UNICEF Pacific are provid-

ing technical and financial support to the Solomon Islands and

the Ministry of Education will hire a national consultant to write

the review.

Kiribati has requested technical support to write their review and

are yet to decide whether to hire a national or international con-

sultant to do this work. Papua New Guinea may also require

technical and financial support from UNESCO Apia to complete

the EFA review.

Cook Islands, Fiji, the Republic of Marshall Islands and Samoa

have submitted their first drafts of the EFA 2015 review and these

will be reviewed by a team of UNESCO, UNICEF and EFA part-

ners and can then be finalised by the countries.

Final reports have now been received for the Solomon Islands

and Vanuatu and these programmes will close shortly. Some

documentation is yet to come from the Solomon Islands.

The four countries involved (Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and

Vanuatu) have begun their planning. Fiji and Samoa are well

underway in beginning the organisation of teacher in-service

workshops and consulting on professional standards for the

teaching profession. In Vanuatu planning has begun for trialing

the professional standards for school principals developed under

the CapEFA work and then for further capacity development for

school principals and education officials. In the Solomon Islands

planning for further teacher in-service can begin as the CapEFA

work is nearly complete.

Reviewing and rewriting UNESCO teacher education modules

work is well underway on this review by the consultants and

should be completed by the end of April.

The attitudinal survey reports on attitudes of principals, teachers,

parents and students on whether HIV and sexual reproductive

health should be taught in primary and secondary schools are

now in the final stages before publication with inputs received

from all four countries (Nauru, Niue, Palau and Samoa). There

will be a publication for each of the four countries and one further

publication providing the summary of the findings.

The Joint Programme document to strengthen Comprehensive

Sexuality Education (CSE) via a collaborative effort between

UNESCO, UNFPA and UNICEF is also being finalised and was

presented to the Ministers of Health meeting in the Cook Islands

in April. This partnership should considerably strengthen CSE

UN support to countries looking to improve this area.

PNG HIV & AIDS Training

Education

Page 2 Apia Office Quarterly

NEWSLETTER ED

UC

AT

ION

Monitoring and Evaluation

International Mother Language Day

National Education for All (EFA) 2015 Review

Regular Programme

World Teachers Day

HIV & AIDS

Capacity for Building Education for All (CapEFA)

Japanese Funds in Trust (JFIT)

Teacher Education Modules

Page 3 Apia Office Quarterly

NEWSLETTER IN

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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

In Fiji a writing workshop to develop year 7 and 8 resources on

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction has been com-

pleted and the final reports have been received. In Kiribati the

three day workshop on Climate Change and Disaster Education

has been completed with support from the consultant, Ms Bridget

Glasgow, and the final report has been submitted. Waikato Uni-

versity has also mapped and developed the arts curriculum

framework for year 3-6, 7-10 and 11-13.

ESD Fiji Project

Michelle Osborne, Associate Expert, UIS, has recently arrived in

Apia office after relocating from the UNESCO office in Bangkok.

Michelle will be working to support the collection and use of data

on education, culture and communication, literacy and science

and technology in the Pacific.

A regional workshop was held on education statistics in the Pa-

cific at the office of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community

(SPC) in Noumea, New Caledonia from 24—28 February. The

workshop was a jointly funded initiative of UIS and SPC and rep-

resentatives from Cook Islands, Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Marshall Is-

lands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Toke-

lau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu were able to attend.

The objectives of the workshop were to:

1. Review the status of education data produced for the region at

the national and international levels.

2. Review the statistics recently provided to UIS by countries.

3. Present and discuss the 2011 revision of the ISCED.

4. Finalise ISCED 2011 mappings by country to ensure readi-

ness for future data collections.

The final deliverables for the Vagahau Niue curriculum project

have also been completed and this project is due to close at the

end of March. The situation analysis for Palau is almost com-

pleted. The Palau National Commission is working of the final

report for the integration of Intangible Cultural Heritage and ESD

into the grade 6 curriculum which should be completed in March.

Two participants from Palau will also attend the ICH ESD regional

partners' meeting in Bangkok to examine follow up activities and

the progress to date.

In Papua New Guinea the HIV/AIDS training project has been

successfully completed. Unfortunately the National Youth Policy

implementation project was not started and the funds need to be

returned to UNESCO.

Tonga has completed the ESD work while in Vanuatu the Chief

Roi Mata project with the Curriculum Unit in the Ministry of Educa-

tion has unfortunately not commenced so the funds may need to

be returned to UNESCO. A

final print draft of a teacher

guide for Tuvalu on Climate

Change Education is being

prepared but the actual

implementation will be

confirmed by UNESCO

Bangkok.

ESD Tonga Project

5. Review current and future UIS questionnaires in detail and

discuss issues related to their completion.

6. Provide an opportunity for countries to exchange views on

data quality, collection, analysis and national and international

use of education statistics.

7. Discuss a collaborative roadmap for education data and indi-

cators in the Pacific Region.

There were four main activities undertaken during the week: (1)

ICSED 1997 and 2011 mappings, (2) excel training, (3) creating

data templates and calculating key EFA indicators, and (4) bilat-

eral meetings between country representatives and staff from UIS

and SPC. In addition, Andrew Hancock from Statistics New Zea-

land, who is the chair of the UN Expert Group on International

Statistical Classifications, provided further insights about the

usefulness of classification systems in general and of ISCED

2011 in particular. Naomitsu Nakagawa from the Japan Interna-

tional Cooperation Agency in Papua New Guinea (PNG) also

attended and shared some of his experience using education

statistics for program planning and evaluation in PNG.

Inter-Sectoral Programme

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)

UIS in Apia

Workshop on Education Statistics for Pacific Islands

Climate Change and Legal/Law workshops in the Pacific

DLA Piper (Global Law Firm), UNESCO and UNICEF are plan-

ning a second specialized training workshop in Vanuatu. The

proposed title of the workshop: Climate change, law and human

rights. In 2013, the UNESCO Office for the Pacific States and

DLA Piper organized, for the first time in the Pacific, free, special-

ized and interactive "Changing Winds: Climate Change and the

Law" workshops. The target audiences were lawyers, legal re-

searchers, government officers involved in planning, development

(e.g. urban), the environment or infrastructure. The workshops

were held in Fiji and Samoa in the first week of August 2013.

They were intended to give lawyers and

other interested groups assistance in under-

standing climate change law, particularly the

law relating to climate change adaptation.

This should allow them to act as leaders in

developing effective legal solutions in the

Pacific. A report has been published entitled

“Climate Change Adaptation Guided by the

Law”.

Workshop in Samoa

SPARCK Project

UNESCO Apia is hoping to officially publish SPARCK project

report. It is expected that the published report will be circulated at

the 3rd SIDS International conference in Samoa. UNESCO initi-

ated the Sharing Perceptions of Adaption, Resilience and Climate

Knowledge (SPARCK) project to investigate how three different

groups in the Pacific – communities living near to a conservation

area, high school teachers and media officers – perceive climate

change, as well as their decision-making processes and adaptive

capacities.

The SPARCK project was implemented through a partnership

between UNESCO, Apidae Development Innovations and the

University of Melbourne in three countries: Samoa, Fiji and Vanu-

atu over two phases. Phase I (January - July 2013) was data

collection through focus group discussions and an innovative

mobile survey, the first of its kind in the Pacific. Phase II

(September 2013) was capacity build-

ing based on information gathered and

lessons learned to enhance resilience

to climate change though improved

knowledge and education.

Malaysia Fund In Trust (M-FIT)

The M-FIT steering committee has endorsed in principle Apia’s

proposal entitled “Towards Economic Resilience in the Pacific:

Reducing Risk of Loss & Damage in the Tourism and Agriculture

Sectors from Extreme and Slow-Onset Events through Improved

Assessments and Education”. Apia office has submitted full pro-

ject proposal as per request from M-FIT steering committee.

UNESCO Publication on Global Building Codes

UNESCO Unit for DRR is planning to have a publication on build-

ing codes to be presented at the 3rd World Conference on Disas-

ter Reduction (WCDR) on March 2015 in Sendai Japan. The

WCDR is the biggest event on DRR organized by UN Interna-

tional Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). It is held once in

10 years for discussing Disaster Reduction strategy globally.

Appropriate building code and its implementation is crucial to

secure safer building/housing and reduce human/property losses.

UNESCO is planning to make recommendations/input for the

HFA2 on building code and its implementation. UNESCO Apia

Office is presently conducting a survey on building codes in Sa-

moa.

Networks are key features of the Man and the Biosphere pro-

gramme (MAB hereinafter), enabling exchange, cooperation and

interdisciplinary researches among its members. To date and

despite these aims, the Pacific Biosphere Reserve Network, the

official network for the Pacific region, has not been used to its full

potential. Established in 2006, it was expected that PacMAB

would expand rapidly, as additional biosphere reserves were

established in the Pacific island countries. Looking back over the

past years, and despite a promising start, progress has been

hampered due to various factors.

In this respect, UNESCO Apia Office is well ahead in its prepara-

tion to organize the 4th PacMAB meeting, in Nadi, Fiji from 23-25th

April. The 4th PacMAB meeting is of vital importance to revitalize

the network in the Pacific. The theme of the meeting is “The role

of the biosphere in sustainable development in the Pacific”.

As of September 2013, the web presence of the Natural Sciences

sector was minimal and consisted of an overview page and a

news article on a tsunami training workshop held in February

2012. Over the last four to six months, the Sciences website has

over hauled completely. The new website pages (accessible

through http://www.unesco.org/new/en/apia/natural-sciences/ now

offer a comprehensive and visually appealing account of past and

present projects and activities of the sector. The new web pages

have already proven useful in communicating the priorities, activi-

ties and projects of the natural science sector with partners within

and outside of UNESCO.

Natural Sciences

Page 4 Apia Office Quarterly

NEWSLETTER SC

IEN

CES

Climate Change

Man and Biosphere (MAB)

1

Sharing Perceptions of Adaptation, Resilience and Climate Knowledge

Is a UNESCO multi-country climate change research and capacity building initiative.

Disaster Risk Reduction

Website

Page 5 Apia Office Quarterly

NEWSLETTER

Youth

On Monday 24 February, Samoan Youth launched the Local

Chapter of the Global Network for the Future of Small Islands at

Robert Louis Stevenson Secondary School in Apia. During the

event young farmers from across the country, students, teachers

and representatives of UN agencies and the Ministry of Women,

Community and Social Development (MWCSD) came together to

highlight the important role of young people in the future of Sa-

moa and its sustainable development.

UNESCO has been actively engaged in developing the SIDS

Youth Network, as well as in preparing the Samoan Local chapter

and providing inputs for the side-event on youth at the First Pre-

paratory Committee for SIDS in New York. The launch of the

Samoan chapter was part of a global launch of the network in

New York supported by a series of local, national, and regional

launches of the SIDS Youth Network organized around the world.

In New York, three youth represented Caribbean, Pacific and

AIMS Small Island Developing States. The event took place dur-

ing the first meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the 2014

SIDS Conference. The Network is intended to serve as a platform

for young people to be agents of sustainable development in their

countries and in SIDS across the world.

UNESCO Apia in collaboration with the Office of the UN Resident

Coordinator has established a new Samoan based UN Working

Group on Youth. This group will coordinate UN activities related

to Youth for the SIDS Conference coming-up in September.

Furthermore, UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Lizbeth Cullity, and

UNESCO Apia Director, Mr. Etienne Clement, met the Ministry of

Finance and Chair of the SIDS Partnership Sub-committee, Ms.

Noumea Simi, to strengthen the partnership on Youth between

the UN and the Government of Samoa.

Social and Human Science

Social Inclusion

Deportees have been identified as one of the most vulnerable

groups in the Pacific, in terms of human rights and social inclu-

sion. There are limited or no social and economic services avail-

able for this sub-population, including lack of disability services,

as well as active discrimination and targeting by some groups.

Following with a previous study on Deportation in Samoa and

Tonga carried out in 2009, in the coming months UNESCO will

extend the research to the Republic of Marshall Islands, to better

understand the needs of this particularly vulnerable group in the

Pacific countries.

A regional meeting was held in Bangkok (12-14 March) to de-

velop a collaborative approach to Social and Human Sciences

work during the current biennium in the Asia-Pacific Region. The

major areas covered during the retreat were bioethics, youth,

social inclusion, global environment change, sports, anti-doping

and Education for Sustainable Development. Many areas of po-

tential collaboration were identified, and a commitment was es-

tablished to write a collective UNESCO report on SHS activities in

Asia-Pacific region, by the end of the current biennium.

SCIE

NC

ES

Regional Meeting

Culture

Page 6 Apia Office Quarterly

NEWSLETTER C

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Intangible Cultural Heritage

Press Conference (Apia, 10 February 2014) for the Celebra-

tion of Samoa’s Acceptance of the ICH Convention

A Press Conference was hosted in Apia by the Ministry of Educa-

tion, Sport and Culture (MESC) on 10 February 2014 to celebrate

the acceptance by Samoa of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

(ICH) Convention. Samoa’s Instrument of Acceptance of the ICH

Convention was presented to UNESCO Paris in November 2013.

On this festive occasion, Hon. Magele Mauiliu Magele, Minister of

MESC, shared this wonderful news with some 30 participants,

comprising of parliamentarians, senior officials in charge of cul-

tural heritage, traditional leaders, the diplomatic corps, and repre-

sentative of United Nations Country Team (UNCT), who gathered

in the MESC conference room in Apia. Hon. Magele commended

the Culture Division of MESC for its longstanding efforts in the

ICH safeguarding as demonstrated by the publication of seven

volumes of “Samoa Ne’I Galo” (Samoa, Lest we forget), a compi-

lation of oral traditions and legends of Samoa.

Mr Etienne Clement, Director of the UNESCO Office for the Pa-

cific States, joined this celebration by sharing his views and

thoughts based on his firm belief in the intimate link between

culture and development. He also encouraged the country to

consider joining the other UNESCO Conventions in culture in the

near future.

The Press Conference provided participants with the opportunity to exchange their questions and views at the session conducted under the Chair of Mr Matafeo Aiafi, CEO of MESC. Mr Aiafi concluded the Press Conference by highlighting the importance of the implementation of the ICH Convention in Samoa and called for collaboration of stakeholders across the board.

Hon. Magele Mauiliu, Minister of Education, Sports & Culture and Mr Etienne Clement, Director of UNESCO Apia at the Press Conference on 10 Feb 2014

Brochure on Traditional Knowledge for Adapt-

ing to Climate Change - Safeguarding Intangi-

ble Cultural Heritage in the Pacific.

Jointly produced by UNESCO Apia and ICH-

CAP, Category II Centre in Rep. of Korea, this

brochure highlights examples of how ICH

contributes to climate change adaptation

efforts in the Pacific.

Regional Training Course for Management for World Heritage

Sites (Suva, Fiji, 17 – 21 February 2014)

The First Regional Training Course on Heritage Management was

held in Suva from 17 to 21 February 2014 in cooperation with the

Fiji Department of National Heritage, Arts and Culture and the

Pacific Heritage Hub (PHH) at the University of the South Pacific

(USP) with financial assistance under the UNESCO/Australian

Funds-in-Trust. Some 40 participants, comprising of senior offi-

cials responsible for heritage management, regional agencies,

including the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), South

Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO), NGOs and private enter-

prises took part in the Course. The Course facilitated by Dr Anita

Smith provided participants with the opportunity to present the

situations in the heritage management in their respective coun-

tries; listen to presentations by a range of experts; discuss issues

specific to the Pacific island states; and identify an action plan as

a way forward.

Mr Peni Cavuilagi, Director of the Department of National Heri-

tage, Arts and Culture of Fiji, shared Fiji’s experience in inscribing

“Levuka Historical Port Town” on the World Heritage List among

the participants. The presentations on innovative measures were

made, which included the trusteeship agreement on “Sovi Basin

Protected Area” that has recently been concluded between the

landowners and the Fiji National Trust in partnership with Conser-

vation International and Fiji Water and “Green Fee” for conserva-

tion projects of the protected sites in Palau.

Workshop Participants

Pasivika: Islands Connected through Heritage – Final Report of

the UNESCO Pacific World Heri-

tage Workshop (Suva, Fiji, 27 – 30

November 2013)

This publication is a final report of

the 5th Pacific World Heritage

Workshop held in Suva in Novem-

ber 2013. It includes the outcome

of the Workshop, the Workshop

documents as well as presenta-

tions by the Workshop participants.

World Heritage

Publication

Brochure

Consultation on the Development of the Samoa Culture Cen-

tre (Apia, Samoa, 5 – 6 February 2014)

The Consultation on the Development of [the] Samoa Culture

Centre was held on 5-6 February and discussed the long standing

proposal to establish a national centre to showcase Samoan

culture and house heritage institutions such as the National Mu-

seum and Archives.

Some 50 participants, comprising of senior officials responsible

for cultural heritage, international experts, and representatives

from regional stakeholder organizations took part in the process.

Dr Tomo Ishimura, expert in the field of Oceania archaeology and

culture at the Nara National Research Institute for the Preserva-

tion of Cultural Property also took part in this consultation as a

resource person sponsored by the Government of Japan.

Group photo of the Consultation©MESC

The consultation provided participants with the opportunity to

listen to presentations by a range of experts; consider and debate

various points of view and visit existing cultural facilities such as

Orchestra House, the National Museum of Samoa, and the Na-

tional Archives.

The consultation also served as an opportunity for Samoa’s heri-

tage professionals to communicate recent developments in the

sector. Ms Amela Silipa, Principal Archives Officer at MESC

reported on the passing off the Public Records Act, the establish-

ment of the National Archives and Records Authority and ongoing

efforts to digitize Samoa’s documentary heritage including the

‘Archives of the German-Samoa Colonial Administration 1900-

1914,’ a recent nomination for inscription on UNESCO’s Memory

of the World Asia Pacific (MOWCAP) Register.

The consultation concluded favorably and marks another mile-

stone in the process toward realizing the dream of a national

culture centre for Samoa.

Project Samoa Culture Centre©MESC

Page 7 Apia Office Quarterly

NEWSLETTER C

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Memory of the World

Communication and Information

Natural Science (con’t)

New Apia Office Director visits SOPAC Division of SPC

The new Director for UNESCO Apia Cluster Office visited the

SOPAC Division of SPC on 6 Feb. It was largely a courtesy call

but also gave the two Directors opportunity to discuss future col-

laboration and a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to be

signed between UNESCO and SPC relating to hosting of the

Suva-based IOC NPO. Both parties agreed to cooperate and

collaborate in areas of common interest as well as to the arrange-

ments proposed in the draft MOA. With the Disaster Reduction

Programme (DRP) of SOPAC anticipated to undergo changes, it

was considered appropriate that the MOA be signed by the Direc-

tor-General of SPC.

JICA Support for UNESCO-IOC training on Pacific Tsunami

Warning Centre New Products

A meeting was held on 12 Feb to seek JICA support for the up-

coming training scheduled for May 2014 in Port Vila. It was a very

successful meeting with JICA agreeing to support participation of

representatives from selected PICs to the training as it had done

for two UNESCO-IOC workshops held in August 2013.

UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC)

Our Team

Contact Information:

Mailing Address:

PO Box 615

Matautu-uta, Apia, Samoa

Office Email Address:

apia@unesco.org

Phone Number:

+685 24 276

Fax Number:

+685 26 593

Director’s Office: Mr Etienne Clement Director Ms Nifo Onesemo-Simaika Secretary to the Director Ms Isabel Inguanzo Ortiz Basque Volunteer Mr Aurelien Bacot Intern Education: Mr Toshiyuki Matsumoto Programme Specialist (Education) Ms Brenda Sherley CapEFA Programme Assistant Mr Andrew Peteru HIV/AIDS Education National Programme Officer Mr Yusuke Nii UN Volunteer (ESD) Ms Ruta Tupua Secretary Sciences: Mr Denis Chang Seng Programme Specialist (Natural Sci-ences) Mr Rajendra Prasad UNESCO/IOC Programme Officer (based in Suva, Fiji) Ms Isabel Inguanzo Ortiz Basque Volunteer/Social and Human Sciences Mr Leo Berthe Intern Ms Perelini Hamuferi Secretary

Culture: Ms Akatsuki Takahashi Programme Specialist (Culture) Ms Perelini Hamuferi Secretary Communication & Information: Ms Akatsuki Takahashi Interim CI Adviser for the Pacific Ms Ruta Tupua Secretary UNESCO Institute for Statistics Ms Michelle Osborne Associate Expert Administration & Finance: Mr Yogendra Chhetri Finance & Administration Officer Ms Vaotupu Sufie Administrative Assistant Ms Kattrina Esera Finance Assistant Mr Moeva Lofiaivai Kuresa IT Assistant Ms Telesia Faalogo Receptionist Mr Pouleta Asalemo Driver Mr Bryan Soonalole Cleaner

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the UN and works to create the condi-tions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. UNESCO in the Pacific will con-tribute to the construction of peace, human de-velopment and intercultural dialogue for sustain-able Pacific through Education, the Sciences, Culture, Communication and Information. For more information about the work of UNESCO in Apia, please visit www.unesco.org/apia

Editor-in-Chief: Etienne Clement

Drafter of this newsletter: Nifo Onesemo-Simaika

based on inputs from all UNESCO Apia team