Dili, Timor Leste, June 8, 2022. Eighteen Timorese nationals have successfully completed courses in Grant Writing, Report Writing, Project Management or Resilience Train the Trainers (TOT) through scholarships provided by the University of the South Pacific (USP) Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership Programme (PEUMP).
This upskilling intervention will further unlock opportunities for the eight men and ten women from the civil service, private sector and non-profit organisations with an improved understanding of the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP), and provides a comprehensive set of tools to assist stakeholders in obtaining grants not only by writing proposals, but also reporting on and managing projects.
Agustinha Duarte, a Research Analyst for the international nonprofit research institution, WorldFish, said the learnings from the courses not only has built her own internal knowledge hub but she will integrate the learnings in her work plans on how to build local leadership so communities she works in takes ownership of their own development.
“Working with communities and finding sustainable solutions to combat environmental issues for their sustainable livelihoods is at the core of my work and these courses are a step to transform the lives of our people to create that much needed social change,” she said.
Public official, Artur Maria Pereira, said his work with fishing communities will now allow him to build on existing traditional knowledge strategies used to apply for grants to integrate modern technology.
“Traditional fishing knowledge combined with modern techniques will allow fishing communities to have more income and build businesses which could better their livelihoods and preserve traditional practices as well,” he said.
Ambassador of the European Union to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Andrew Jacobs said “I am pleased that participants from Timor-Leste have been able to benefit from these training courses, which are as relevant here as they are in Pacific Island Countries. The EU is proud to fund, together with Sweden, the Pacific-EU Marine Partnership Programme (also known as PEUMP) and I look forward to more support from the programme for the sustainable management of ocean and coastal resources being made available in Timor-Leste.”
USP Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, in congratulating the first batch of recipients of the USP PEUMP scholarships from Timor-Leste said this “investment is advancing blended capacity building and knowledge to help Timor-Leste’s roadmap in achieving environment, sustainable development and ocean policy goals”.
“USP is humbled that our education and research outreach extends to the Pacific ACP region to promote social economic advancement to our neighbouring small island state,” he said.
These scholarships were part of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and USP to jointly launch a series of short courses to build the capacity of climate change and resilience practitioners in February. (ENDS)
For more information
Josephine Prasad, USP PEUMP Programme, Communications Specialist, +679 9922098, eupeupm@gmail.com
Stella D’Assis, Delegation of the European Union to Timor-Leste, Communication and Visibility Officer, +670 331 1580, stelladassis@outlook.com
