2014 NEWS ARCHIVE

On Saturday morning 9th August, 30 excited international and Vanuatu students participated in the Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC) home cooking lessons run by Chef and APTC Trainer Aaron Dixon. This is part of the APTC Vanuatu campus orientation program which encourages students who are sharing accommodation with each other to explore the local markets and prepare healthy foods that they can share, at a fraction of the price of foods from the supermarket. The trip to the market cost the students less than 2000vuv, about $20 between them. Then it was back to the students’ accommodation facilities to start cooking.

The atmosphere last week was electric at the Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC) classroom for the start of the very first Solomon Islands based Certificate III training program. Sixteen students commenced their study in the AustralianCertificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care​training. The classes are being held at the training room at the YWCA in Honiara. All of the students are Kindergarten teachers approved by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development as well as their employers.

The small island state of Palau was abuzz last week as more than 300 delegates arrived to attend the 45th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). This year’s theme was The Ocean: Life and Future chosen by the host Government of Palau. The theme was appropriately chosen as Palau is the first country in the world to declare its waters a sanctuary for sharks. It was also significant, in light of the potential benefits that an effectively managed ocean would have on tourism not only for Palau but for many other Small Island States (SIS) and other developing countries across the Pacific.