The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and The University of the South Pacific (USP) launched a series of short courses to build the capacity of climate change and resilience practitioners, including youth and the private sector, on 25 February.
The short virtual courses will provide more than 200 participants with an improved understanding of the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) and a comprehensive set of tools to assist stakeholders in obtaining grants by writing proposals and reporting on activity and managing the project.
PIFS Director for Programmes and Initiatives, Zarak Khan, in his opening remark, underlined that the need for capacity building should not be underestimated as a key enabler to improve our approaches and efforts continually. He further emphasised that in doing so, it should strengthen the integrity and quality of our actions and the impacts of our actions and encouraged all participants to utilise and share the acquired skills for practical and tangible actions within their agencies, communities and networks.
European Union’s Programme Manager – Climate Change and Human Mobility, Gabor Sasvari welcomed the diversity of participants benefitting from the short training.
“Looking at the list of the participants, I’m pleased to see how diverse it is, ranging from the Government to NGOs, private sectors and stakeholders. Noting the European Union’s support to the region through the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change and Resilience Building, Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership and the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus – Scaling up Pacific Adaptation projects captures the broad spectrum of resilience in the region, and this capacity building is one part of enabling increased engagement within these areas,” he said.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Pacific Climate Change Section Acting Director, Emi Tagi, expressed, “As a member of the Pacific Resilience Partnership, the Australian Government is proud to support the implementation of the FRDP. Australia is a long term, committed partner in building Pacific climate change and disaster resilience and is pleased to see such a large volume of diverse stakeholders engaging with the FRDP to build resilience in their respective fields”.
The Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) Programme (USP) Project Team Leader, Leigh-Anne Buliruarua, said, “It’s great to see USP expanding its regional reach through collaborations with CROP agencies and development partners, as well as contributing to Shaping Pacific Futures.”
One of the participants from Fiji, Lavenia Naivalu, said, “As a woman representative from a remote community in the maritime areas in Fiji, I couldn’t believe that I would be selected. I want to thank you for this great opportunity, and I’ve learnt a lot as a beginner in this programme”.
The Australian Government supports this initiative through the grant supporting the implementation of the Pacific Resilience Partnership (PRP), and the European Union through the Intra-ACP GCCA+ Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change and Resilience Building (PACRES) and Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) programme.
