Author: Aseneth WAIDE

Caritas PNG marked World Youth Skills Day on Monday 15th of July 2024 at Don Bosco Technical School in Port Moresby with panel discussions highlighting the importance of upskilling youths, which will in turn benefit a country’s economy. Present at the event was Caritas PNG, along with students and staff from various technical and vocational schools in NCD. Project Manager for Caritas PNG, Charlotte Vada recounted the horrific events which took place on January 10th, suggesting a possible link between the riots and the skill-state of the youths in NCD. “The riots which occurred earlier this year, were largely led…

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Title: Ples Man Director: Rama Nathan Rating: PGR Duration: 102 minutes Ples Man is a PNG film which recounts the journey of a Morobean youth’s rise to success in the agricultural and tourism sector after encountering the harsh realities of unemployment during post-graduation. At its core, the movie explores several familiar themes of youth unemployment, rural- urban drift, community development including law & order. It challenges the unhealthy overdependence that most Papua New Guineans have on our government, suggesting that the country’s future lies not in the government providing more jobs but in Papua New Guineans themselves – Papua New…

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In a historic collaboration, the ‘East Gate Karate Academy SKB’ and the ‘PNG Kendo Federation’ are introducing kendo, an esteemed Japanese martial art to Papua New Guinea marking the first time that kendo will be practiced in the country. Kendo, which translates to “the way of the sword”, has deep roots in Japanese history and its origins are intertwined with the evolution of the iconic Japanese sword. During the mid-Heian period (794 – 1185), the distinctive curved blade with a raised edge, known as the ‘shinogi’, emerged as a uniquely Japanese creation. Over time swordsmanship techniques exploiting the sword’s curvature…

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Papua New Guinea (PNG) has made significant strides in education since gaining independence in 1975, with improvements in services, infrastructure, and educational outcomes; however, significant challenges remain. According to the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Research Institute (NRI) Spotlight Vol. 17, Issue 11, titled “Assessing quality of Education in Enga Province, PNG: Factors impacting students’ learning experience”, the Tuition Fee-Free (TFF) Policy was one of the challenges, because it contributed to overcrowded classrooms, resource constraints, and increased teacher workloads despite its intended purpose of increasing student enrolment rates and eased financial burdens on families. The Spotlight Issue, written by PNG…

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The Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) recently hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for the Soroken Health Center to improve the health services provided to the people. A sizable catchment population currently served by run-down health sub- centers will receive comprehensive primary health care services, surgical and medical treatments, health promotion, and other public health interventions from the Soroken Health Center, a significant infrastructure investment. Papua New Guinea Health Minister Dr. Lino Tom MP, who attended the ceremony, said delivering safe and efficient health services requires a health infrastructure that is appropriately equipped, well-structured, and suitable for its intended use. Minister Tom…

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The Open Heart International Team from Australia is on their final day of performing life-saving operations on Papua New Guineans requiring heart surgery. The team consisting of 8 specialist individuals, which are one Surgeon, Dr Jayme Bennet, one Anaesthetist, Dr Stewart Anderson, one Intensivist, Dr Lewis McLean, one Perfusionist, Dr Ragu Nathan, three Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses, Samantha Willis, Megan Ruttley and Kassandra Long, and one Theatre nurse, Joanne Ferrier touched down on Port Moresby’s Jackson’s International Airport on Thursday, June 20th. The team began performing surgeries at the Port Moresby General Hospital on Friday, June 21st alongside PMGH…

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An amateur boxing competition in Arawa was recently concluded by South Pacific Brewery and the Central Bougainville Amateur Boxing Association (BABA) – the first competition by BABA. The Autonomous Region of Bougainville Day celebration and the tournament took place on Friday, June 14. By encouraging competitors to put their differences aside in the ring, the tournament aimed to promote peace and unity among the young people of Central Bougainville. When he presented the sponsorship to the Central Bougainville Amateur Boxing Association, John Nilkare, Corporate Affairs Manager at SP Brewery, said that it demonstrated the company’s dedication to encouraging youth involvement…

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PNG Bible Translation Association (PNGBTA) will be hosting a corporate fundraising dinner at Dynasty Restaurant in August under the theme, ‘Preserving Language through Bible Translation’. Executive Director for PNGBTA, Mr. Nelson Tapineng explained that the purpose of the fundraising is to garner support for the work of PNG Bible Translation. “The association needs just over K5 million to run the organization, but we barely make that kind of money and that is why we are hosting this fundraising.” “This can help to cover a portion of the costs incurred while doing translation work.” Tapineng also expressed the urgent need to…

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Performances by Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) arts and cultural delegation at the recent 13th Festival of the Pacific Arts & Culture in Hawaii, USA drew crowds and captured the attention of many. This is according to Head of Delegation, Mr. Steven Kilanda who is also the Executive Director of the National Cultural Commission. He said PNG was powerfully promoted since the start of the festival of June 6th. “You can see from the body language from other countries; our culture is unique, colourful, authentic and diverse.” “After our performances in the last four days, people have been following us around…

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Connecting the dots across the vast Pacific Ocean to promote his debut film, Black Python, at the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture in Hawaii, USA, is a young Papua New Guinean medical doctor turned filmmaker. At the enormous Hawaii Convention Centre in the center of Honolulu City, where more than two thousand indigenous Pacific Islanders are celebrating their ethnic arts and cultural heritage, Spencer Peter Wangare told his story on the big screen yesterday. A 100-minute gritty urban drama directed and produced by Spencer tells the story of a streetwise drug dealer named Badu who takes a big…

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