Women Micro-entrepreneurs Graduate from First South Pacific Business Development’s (SPBD) Business Accelerator Program
The first and only Business Accelerator Program for micro-entrepreneurs in Fiji has successfully graduated nine businesswomen in a simple ceremony on 6th November 2020. This intensive six-month program, which combines
SPBD Fiji Bloom Accelerator Program
The goal of the Fiji Bloom Business Accelerator program is to develop a culturally tailored and gender-focused accelerator to provide ambitious entrepreneurs in Fiji’s rural villages with the support needed to take
Dr William May Highlights Importance of Bioethics
It is important to value the significance of bioethics and its application in the medical fields and life in general, says Fiji National University’s (FNU), Acting Vice-Chancellor Dr William May. Dr May highlighted
Chief Executive Awarded Commemorative Medal from His Excellency the President of the Fiji Islands
Recognition for his contribution in the continuous efforts in improving the lives of persons with disabilities in Fiji, the Pacific region and beyond, has seen the Chief Executive of the Pacific Disability Forum receive
Role of Customs Agencies During and Post COVID-19
The economic crisis caused by COVID-19 will continue longer than the health crisis. The continuation of trade is important for all economies- nations still need to have imports and exports moving across borders during
FNU’s Productivity Champions Receive Commemorative Independence Medals
Two prominent staff from Fiji National University’s National Training & Productivity Centre (NTPC) were bestowed with Fiji’s 50 Years Commemorative Independence Medals by the President, His Excellency
Marching into Fiji’s ‘Frank’ new political order
In 1965, buoyed by the outcomes of the constitutional conference in London, the Leader of Government Business in Fiji’s colonial government, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara sent a cable home: ‘Ni yalovinaka ni kakua ni
Fiji @ 50: Sugar’s bittersweet future
Growers like Gyan Deo may be the reason why Fiji’s sugar industry will still have a future in the next half a century. Like the bulk of the country’s 12,000 sugarcane growers, Deo works his 12-acre farm in rural
Fiji making amends in Pacific regionalism
From the zenith of Pacific regionalism (the Forum) from the early 1970s, Fiji’s standing in the group and amongst its regional neighbours stooped to unprecedented ignominy in 2009. Fiji was the first member country
Fiji @ 50: ATH flexes its regional muscle
Fiji’s Amalgamated Telecom Holdings’ (ATH) recent US$25 million investment from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to finance a greenfield 4G mobile network in Papua New Guinea, is a vote of confidence in the regional
Fiji @ 50: A view from the future
In my family, October 10 marks the day that my grandparents started their life together. Some 61 years ago, on a little island seemingly in the middle of nowhere, a young man and woman made promises to love and support
Fiji @ 50: Death of a regional giant
Slowly but surely the once mighty Fiji Television Limited has started to crumble, taken apart from within by a combination of government pressure, acquiescent board members and questionable divestments. Last month the
Fiji @ 50: Losing the arts is to lose our soul
The arts have clearly shaped Fiji’s trajectory these last 50 years but have the arts and our creative industries been afforded agency to flourish and continue their critical role in nation-building and nurturing? Have
One year to go: A game of hope for people in the Blue Pacific
Four years ago, the tiny Pacific island country of Fiji won its very first Olympic medal, a gold, when it stormed its way through rugby’s debut year at the XXVI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was a win for
Food Revolutionaries
The founder of the Pacific Island Food Revolution says the campaign’s work on changing food choices in the Pacific region is “super relevant” in the current global coronavirus pandemic. “Our project is about
Poetry anthology gives voice to human rights
“My voice does matter, someone will listen, we can make a change whether to write poems or not. What you do matters.” That was the message of Tongan student, Anna Jane Vea, at the launch of a book of
Fashion incubation centre encourages entrepreneurship
“It is people, their skills and abilities who will rebuild our economy post COVID-19,” Fiji’s Minster for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa told attendees at the launch of a Fashion
Westpac won’t speculate on Pacific sale
Westpac says it will not respond to speculation in Australian media this week that it is on the verge of selling its Pacific businesses. A Westpac Fiji spokesperson says the Bank “is currently undertaking strategic
Fiji welcomes World Bank business ranking review
The Fiji government has welcomed the World Bank’s decision to pause publication of its 2021 Doing Business Report. In a statement released last week, The World Bank said a number of irregularities had been reported
“You sir are muddying the process once again,” Nauru President tells USP’s Thompson
Nauru’s President says moves by University of the South Pacific’s Pro-Chancellor to schedule an Executive Council meeting today “seems very much like an attempt at undermining [the USP] Council or usurping the
Jobless numbers soar in Fiji
Unscripted and unplanned, Fijians have returned quietly to the land and the sea over the past months as the impacts of job losses brought about by the COVID19 pandemic began to bite. In the tourism belts of Nadi and
Fiji tourism prepares for a COVID-safe future
As Fiji’s largest foreign exchange earner pre-COVID-19, the tourism and hospitality sectors went into free fall when international borders closed due to the spread of the pandemic, and the nation entered into lock
A rebel and a traditionalist: Apisai Vuniyayawa Tora 1934-2020
Apisai Tora, a scion of the old guard of Fiji’s politicians, who dominated Fiji’s political stage for almost five decades, passed away on August 6. Variously described as a political maverick, a chameleon and a