PRESS RELEASE SPC 40th CRGA endorses energy and ICT frameworks
PRESS RELEASE
SPC 40th CRGA endorses energy and ICT frameworks
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), 27 October 2010 – The 40th meeting of the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA), the governing body of SPC, endorsed the energy and information and communication technology (ICT) frameworks yesterday, reaffirming SPC's and its members' firm commitment to progress the development of ICT and energy sectors in the region.
The two frameworks, Towards an Energy Secure Pacific: Framework for Action on Energy Security in the Pacific and Framework for Action on ICT for Development in the Pacific were formulated in response to the call by Pacific Leaders at the 40th Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns (August 2009) for greater energy security and the review and update of the Pacific Plan Digital Strategy (PPDS).
'The frameworks reflect the Secretariat's leadership role in both sectors and they have been formulated and will be implemented under the premise of 'Many Partners, One Team, One Plan' approach,' explained Dr Jimmie Rodgers, Director General of SPC.
The ICT framework has also been endorsed by the Pacific ICT ministers at the Pacific Regional Information & Communication Technology Ministers' Meeting in Nuku'alofa, Tonga on 18 June 2010. SPC is to coordinate the implementation of the framework in collaboration with the University of the South Pacific, and other regional agencies and development partners.
The energy framework is currently in final draft form, awaiting full endorsement of energy ministers from all Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs). This will eventuate at the next Pacific energy ministers meeting planned for 2011.
The corresponding regional implementation plans for both frameworks are currently being developed. The plans, which will focus on regional interventions that provide practical support for the implementation of national policies and plans, will be tabled for endorsement at the Pacific Joint Ministerial on energy, ICT and transport in April 2011.
The two frameworks will play a critical role in guiding future actions, informing policy direction, enhancing funding decisions and supporting the implementation of national policies and plans.
'These two frameworks play an important part in shaping and setting the work programmes for the Economic Development Division (EDD) and also show how an integrated approach for both ICT and energy can benefit the work of SPC and ultimately the Pacific people,' added Captain John Hogan, Director of EDD.
For more information, please contact:
Solomone Fifita, Deputy Director (Energy), EDD, SPC, Suva, Fiji (email: SolomoneF@spc.int); or Siaosi Sovaleni, ICT Outreach Coordinator, EDD, SPC, Suva, Fiji (email: SiaosiS@spc.int)
PRESS RELEASE SPC launches 'e-Pacific IslandCountries' - an online portal for Pacific ICT information
PRESS RELEASE
SPC launches 'e-Pacific Island Countries' - an online portal for Pacific ICT information
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), 27 October 2010 – Inaccessibility to readily available online information and communication technology (ICT) resources is not an issue for the Pacific Islands region anymore. The launch of 'e-Pacific Island Countries' (e-PIC) yesterday by SPC takes Pacific communities one step closer to ICT development with the availability of useful ICT information on this online portal.
The launch took place at the SPC-organised 40th meeting of the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA), which is being held in Noumea, New Caledonia from 25 – 29 October 2010.
'This is a timely initiative as it contributes to addressing the ICT data gaps that were identified by the review of the Pacific Plan Digital Strategy and further highlighted by the newly endorsed Framework for Action on ICT for Development in the Pacific. The portal also provides a platform for engaging the various ICT stakeholders to ensure ICT initiatives are relevant, sustainable and have a positive impact on the lives of Pacific people,' Dr Jimmie Rodgers, Director General of SPC, said.
Mr. Siaosi Sovaleni, ICT Outreach Coordinator at SPC's Economic Development Division who led the development of this important portal, gave a demonstration of its usefulness to the delegates at the CRGA meeting.
'Resources uploaded to the portal will be categorised based on the seven themes of the endorsed ICT framework ensuring its relevance to endorsed priorities in the framework. In addition, all the resources will be tagged, which will make it easier to find appropriate information and resources,' explained Mr Sovaleni.
The development of e-PIC has been possible with funding assistance from the European Union (EU) through the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group) under the ICT Access for the Poor project.
The portal is expected to generate a significant increase in the dissemination and exchange of relevant information and knowledge amongst regional and international ICT agencies and the Pacific Island governments and communities. The portal will have country profiles, downloadable documents, forum, register of ICT professionals and policy makers, photo and video gallery, and ICT vacancies. The documents on the portal will include policies, legal and regulatory documents, publications, news items, as well as educational and research materials.
'e-PIC' has extended its scope to include resources for other projects such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Project on Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) for Inclusive Growth and Poverty Reduction.
The idea is to adopt an online 'one-stop-shop' resource centre for PICs to minimise duplications and maximise utilisation of resources.
The portal will be managed by SPC's Pacific ICT Outreach (PICTO) Programme from its Suva regional office.
To access the portal, click on: http://www.e-pic.info/
For more information, please contact:
Siaosi Sovaleni, ICT Outreach Coordinator, EDD, SPC, Suva, Fiji (email: SiaosiS@spc.int); or Avnita Goundar, Information Officer, EDD, SPC, Suva, Fiji (email: AvnitaG@spc.int)
[Press-releases] SPC signs host country agreement on 12th October 2010 to establish a country-office of SPC in Port Vila, Vanuatu
PRESS STATEMENT
Hon Joe Natuman, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade of the
Government of the Republic of Vanuatu and Dr Jimmie Rodgers, Director
General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community signs host country
agreement on 12th October 2010 to establish a country-office of SPC in
Port Vila, Vanuatu
The Secretariat of the Pacific (SPC) with the support of the
government of the Republic of Vanuatu will establish a small country
office in Vanuatu. This is the second country office to be established
following the establishment of the country office in Solomon Islands
in early 2009.
The hosting by Vanuatu of a country office of SPC is a fulfilment of
the instructions by SPC's governing body, the SPC Conference at its
2005 meeting in Palau where it directed SPC to decentralise the
location of some of its services beyond its headquarter in Noumea and
regional office in Suva in-order to move services closer to the
people.
A major criterion for the establishment of a 'country office' is the
size and complexity of the programme of assistance SPC provides to the
country. In addition the member must indicate its wishes to have a
country office established and that it is willing to meet the costs
for the office space in the country.
The country office provides an in-country focal point the official SPC
focal point in the Vanuatu government.
The presence in-country will enhance more regular consultations
between the Vanuatu government and SPC on programme planning and
implementation.
The office will coordinate the monitoring and reporting of all
services provided by the various SPC programmes in Vanuatu.
The Vanuatu – SPC joint country strategy will provide the basis for
this monitoring framework the result of which will also feed into
Vanuatu government's own planning processes. The coordinator for the
country office is the Director General's representative in the country
and reports to the Director General.
SPC currently has a substantial programme of assistance to Vanuatu
covering a wide range of sectors including in Agriculture, Education
(TVET and skills development), Fisheries, Forestry, Health, Human
Rights, Maritime and Transport and Statistics / demography to name a
few.
SPC puts into Vanuatu approximately two million USD each year in
technical, scientific, social and economic development programmes. Of
this at least one million USD each year is for health alone.
In addition to the specific country focus the Vanuatu country office
will also hosts part of SPC's Regional Rights Resources Team (RRRT)
which undertake capacity building in human rights in the region.
Already RRRT currently has two staff members located in Vanuatu. The
programme management of RRRT is located in SPC's Suva office as well
as additional technical capacity to assist members.
SPC is in consultation with the government of Fiji on the two country
hosting arrangement for RRRT that enables SPC to retain the programme
management and part of its technical capacity operating from Fiji and
part to operate in Vanuatu with the added advantage of being in close
proximity to the USP Law School. This arrangement will also provide
an important link between two hosting countries.
The presence of part of RRRT in the Vanuatu country office will add a
regional aspect to its role.
Dr. Jimmie Rodgers
Director General
Microsoft Proposes Government Licensing Internet Access
http://www.infowars.com/microsoft-proposes-government-licensing-internet-access/
Microsoft Proposes Government Licensing Internet Access
State should have power to block individual computers from connecting
to world wide web, claims Charney
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Thursday, October 7, 2010
A new proposal by a top Microsoft executive would open the door for
government licensing to access the Internet, with authorities being
empowered to block individual computers from connecting to the world
wide web under the pretext of preventing malware attacks.
Speaking to the ISSE 2010 computer security conference in Berlin
yesterday, Scott Charney, Microsoft vice president of Trustworthy
Computing, said that cybersecurity should mirror public health safety
laws, with infected PC's being "quarantined" by government decree and
prevented from accessing the Internet.
"If a device is known to be a danger to the internet, the user should
be notified and the device should be cleaned before it is allowed
unfettered access to the internet, minimizing the risk of the infected
device contaminating other devices," Charney said.
Charney said the system would be a "global collective defense" run by
corporations and government and would "track and control" people's
computers similar to how government health bodies track diseases.
Invoking the threat of malware attacks as a means of dissuading or
blocking people from using the Internet is becoming a common theme –
but it's one tainted with political overtones.
At the launch of the Obama administration's cybersecurity agenda
earlier this year, Democrats attempted to claim that the independent
news website The Drudge Report was serving malware, an incident
Senator Jim Inhofe described as a deliberate ploy "to discourage
people from using Drudge".
Under the new proposals, not only would the government cite the threat
of malware to prevent people from visiting Drudge, they would be
blocked from the entire world wide web, creating a dangerous precedent
by giving government the power to dictate whether people can use the
Internet and effectively opening the door for a licensing system to be
introduced.
Similar to how vehicle inspections are mandatory for cars in some
states before they can be driven, are we entering a phase where you
will have to obtain a PC health check before a government IP czar will
issue you with a license, or an Internet ID card, allowing you to
access the web?
Of course, the only way companies or the government could know when
your system becomes infected with malware is to have some kind of
mandatory software or firewall installed on every PC which sends data
to a centralized hub, greasing the skids for warrantless surveillance
and other invasions of privacy.
Microsoft has been at the forefront of a bid to introduce Internet
licensing as a means of controlling how people access and use the
world wide web, an effort that has intensified over the course of the
past year.
During this year's Economic Summit in Davos, Craig Mundie, chief
research and strategy officer for Microsoft, said that the Internet
needed to be policed by means of introducing licenses similar to
drivers licenses – in other words government permission to use the
web.
"We need a kind of World Health Organization for the Internet," he
said, mirroring Charney's rhetoric about controlling cyberspace in a
public health context.
"If you want to drive a car you have to have a license to say that you
are capable of driving a car, the car has to pass a test to say it is
fit to drive and you have to have insurance."
"Don't be surprised if it becomes reality in the near future," wrote
ZD Net's Doug Hanchard on the introduction of Internet licensing .
"Every device connected to the Internet will have a permanent license
plate and without it, the network won't allow you to log in."
Just days after Mundie's call for Internet licensing, Time Magazine
jumped on the bandwagon, publishing an article by Barbara Kiviat, one
of Mundie's fellow attendees at the elitist confab, in which she wrote
that the Internet was too lawless and needed "the people in charge" to
start policing it with licensing measures.
Shortly after Time Magazine started peddling the proposal, the New
York Times soon followed suit with a blog entitled Driver's Licenses
for the Internet?, which merely parroted Kiviat's talking points.
Of course there's a very good reason for Time Magazine and the New
York Times to be pushing for measures that would undoubtedly lead to a
chilling effect on free speech which would in turn eviscerate the
blogosphere.
Like the rest of the mainstream print dinosaurs, physical sales of
Time Magazine have been plummeting, partly as a result of more people
getting their news for free on the web from independent sources. Ad
sales for the New York Times sunk by no less than 28 per cent last
year with subscriptions and street sales also falling.
As we have documented, the entire cybersecurity agenda is couched in
fearsome rhetoric about virus attacks, but its ultimate goal is to
hand the Obama administration similar powers over the Internet to
those enjoyed by Communist China, which are routinely exercised not
for genuine security concerns, but to oppress political adversaries,
locate dissidents, and crush free speech.
Indeed, Internet licensing was considered by the Chinese last year and
rejected for being too authoritarian, concerns apparently not shared
by Microsoft.
Any proposal which allows the government to get a foot in the door on
dictating who can and can't use the Internet should be vigorously
opposed because such a system would be wide open for abuse and pave
the way for full licensing and top down control of the world wide web.
*********************
TVL ChatZone Promo launched TODAY
Telecom Vanuatu Ltd (TVL) launched a ChatZone promotion today 4th October 2010.
more Info below
---------------------------------------
more Info below
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TVL is launching is ChatZone service.
For only 4vt/SMS you can chat, meet people or play games any time.
Just text START to 1122 and start enjoying TVL new exciting service.
Find the easy to use ChatZone guide in the attachment! (not included)
Any Smile user can use it: Smile prepaid and Smile on plan!
Special this week for the launching ONLY 2vt/SMS.
Come and join TVL team for demonstration on Wednesday 6th from 11:30am to 2pm at Sea Front: String band, drinks, games, prizes to win… Come and chat nomo!!!!!
To register send ME your nickname & gender to 1122
Eg: ME RASTABOY M or ME RASTAGIRL F
To chat with somebody (1-to-1) send TO
his/her nickname & your message to 1122
Eg: TO RASTABOY How are you?
To get a list of some active chatters send
FRIEND to 1122
To get a list of the public chatrooms
available, send CHATROOM to 1122
To get a list of active chatters in the
chatroom, send ONLINE to 1122
To send a message to people in a chatroom
(1-to-many) send POST & your message to 1122
Eg: POST Hi there!
To get a list of the main command send
HELP+ to 1122
On a comparison deal, Digicel users can install Nimbuzz, and with GPRS connection, it creates an interesting chat environment where you get access to multi-chat accounts like Google, Skype, Facebook, Yahoo, MSN and more, etc... all in one application.
Our independent cost testing with Digicel shows 200vt could get you chatting all hours/days and nights with very low consuming rates compare to using SMS with both Digicel and TVL network. Prepaid plan not tested.
But the deal varies or gets better with the type of phone too, for e.g. keys and GUI accessibility, and having a WI-FI function to switch connection saves your vt if you are using Digicel GPRS.
ANNOUNCEMENT: APRICOT 2011 FELLOWSHIPS NOW OPEN
30 September 2010
ANNOUNCEMENT: APRICOT 2011 FELLOWSHIPS NOW OPEN
The annual APRICOT conference is a unique and successful educational
forum for Internet builders in the Asia-Pacific region, to learn
from their peers and from leaders in the Internet community.
Senior practitioners from the Asia Pacific and around the world
contribute their time to APRICOT as presenters, teachers and
trainers, to produce a non-commercial conference of consistently
high quality.
Since 2000, APRICOT has incorporated a Fellowship Program to provide
opportunities to developing country personnel to participate in
APRICOT. The Program provides financial assistance to selected
applicants to cover some of the expenses associated with attending
the conference.
The APRICOT Fellowship Committee now cordially invites applications
for fellowship funding to participate in APRICOT 2011 in Hong Kong,
from 15 to 25 February 2011. For this year, the Fellowship Award
Package will include registration for all workshop and conference
sessions, a subsidy for travel and accommodation expenses, and a
daily expense allowance.
For application details and more information, please see:
http://www.apricot2011.net/fellowship
PLEASE NOTE: the deadline for applications is 20 October 2010.
With best regards,
Paul Wilson
Director General, APNIC
on behalf of the APRICOT Fellowship Committee
ANNOUNCEMENT: APRICOT 2011 FELLOWSHIPS NOW OPEN
The annual APRICOT conference is a unique and successful educational
forum for Internet builders in the Asia-Pacific region, to learn
from their peers and from leaders in the Internet community.
Senior practitioners from the Asia Pacific and around the world
contribute their time to APRICOT as presenters, teachers and
trainers, to produce a non-commercial conference of consistently
high quality.
Since 2000, APRICOT has incorporated a Fellowship Program to provide
opportunities to developing country personnel to participate in
APRICOT. The Program provides financial assistance to selected
applicants to cover some of the expenses associated with attending
the conference.
The APRICOT Fellowship Committee now cordially invites applications
for fellowship funding to participate in APRICOT 2011 in Hong Kong,
from 15 to 25 February 2011. For this year, the Fellowship Award
Package will include registration for all workshop and conference
sessions, a subsidy for travel and accommodation expenses, and a
daily expense allowance.
For application details and more information, please see:
http://www.apricot2011.net/fellowship
PLEASE NOTE: the deadline for applications is 20 October 2010.
With best regards,
Paul Wilson
Director General, APNIC
on behalf of the APRICOT Fellowship Committee
ABM Vacancy - Computer Assistant
Today's DP Issue No. 3054
Requirements:
The Human Resource
Au Bon Marche
P.O. Box 64
Port Vila.
(No dateline stated)
Requirements:
- 5 years working experience (minimum 1 year)
- Computer Skills in Microsoft packages
- Work according to schedule
- Able to work in a team
- Able to work odd hours
- Computer maintenance
- Maintain Network and Email
The Human Resource
Au Bon Marche
P.O. Box 64
Port Vila.
(No dateline stated)
