By Duran Angiki, Brisbane (General Secretary)
The Pacific Islands’ communities in regional and urban Queensland have established an umbrella body to represent and advocate on their behalf at different levels of government in the State.
The Federation of Pacific Islands’ Communities of Queensland (FPICQ) was initially suggested and endorsed by the inaugural Talanoa Pasifika Conference in 2012 and re-endorsed by the follow-up conference in November 2013.
The Talanoa Pasifika Conference is an annual event where academics and professional practitioners of the Pacific Islands region, who are based in Queensland, are gathered to discuss, debate and share ideas about issues that are important to the migrant population in Queensland.
Following last year’s conference, where a Steering Committee of seven members, was appointed, an Executive report was presented and adopted by the Talanoa Pasifika Conference in July 17-18 2014 at Cairns Institutes, James Cook University’s Cairns Campus.
Committee Chairman Ofa Fukofuka said the Federation is an overarching body that will act as a united voice for the Queensland-based communities of the Pacific Islands in the State.
He said over the past decades, the communities of the Pacific Islands in Queensland have been unable to proactively advocating on socioeconomic, political, cultural and educational issues that are heavily impacting them.
Following the incorporation of this body, the Executive will be eager to work closely with various groups, representing the communities of the Pacific Islands in Queensland, to ensure that their voice is heard at State, Councils and Governmental departments.
The establishment of the Federation has been on the making over the past years. There are existing groups representing the various communities of the Pacific Islands in Queensland, but they are only catered for specific localities and Island groups.
With the Federation now up and running, Fukofuka said the Federation is not going to intrude into the existing activities and operations of current Pacific Islands’ groups, but will focus on assisting community groups in areas and matters that they need support.
The Federation and Talanoa Pasifika Conference are crucial to the long term aspirations of the Pacific Islands communities in Queensland as they elevate the profile of issues that are mattered most to the people of the Pacific Islands communities at academic level.
This year’s theme of the Talanoa Pasifika conference, held at Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, was “Choices, Chances and Opportunities. Education is the Future”.
The next Talanoa Pasifika Conference will be held at Gold Coast TAFE in 2015.
The Pacific Islands’ communities in regional and urban Queensland have established an umbrella body to represent and advocate on their behalf at different levels of government in the State.
The Federation of Pacific Islands’ Communities of Queensland (FPICQ) was initially suggested and endorsed by the inaugural Talanoa Pasifika Conference in 2012 and re-endorsed by the follow-up conference in November 2013.
The Talanoa Pasifika Conference is an annual event where academics and professional practitioners of the Pacific Islands region, who are based in Queensland, are gathered to discuss, debate and share ideas about issues that are important to the migrant population in Queensland.
Following last year’s conference, where a Steering Committee of seven members, was appointed, an Executive report was presented and adopted by the Talanoa Pasifika Conference in July 17-18 2014 at Cairns Institutes, James Cook University’s Cairns Campus.
Committee Chairman Ofa Fukofuka said the Federation is an overarching body that will act as a united voice for the Queensland-based communities of the Pacific Islands in the State.
He said over the past decades, the communities of the Pacific Islands in Queensland have been unable to proactively advocating on socioeconomic, political, cultural and educational issues that are heavily impacting them.
Following the incorporation of this body, the Executive will be eager to work closely with various groups, representing the communities of the Pacific Islands in Queensland, to ensure that their voice is heard at State, Councils and Governmental departments.
The establishment of the Federation has been on the making over the past years. There are existing groups representing the various communities of the Pacific Islands in Queensland, but they are only catered for specific localities and Island groups.
With the Federation now up and running, Fukofuka said the Federation is not going to intrude into the existing activities and operations of current Pacific Islands’ groups, but will focus on assisting community groups in areas and matters that they need support.
The Federation and Talanoa Pasifika Conference are crucial to the long term aspirations of the Pacific Islands communities in Queensland as they elevate the profile of issues that are mattered most to the people of the Pacific Islands communities at academic level.
This year’s theme of the Talanoa Pasifika conference, held at Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, was “Choices, Chances and Opportunities. Education is the Future”.
The next Talanoa Pasifika Conference will be held at Gold Coast TAFE in 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment