Australia needs more knowledge of Pacific region [1]
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - 21:30. Updated on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - 22:19.
The University of Sydney will be hosting a five day Pacific Studies conference from 22-26 April, 2014 that will look at action and adaption to climate change, and Australia’s role in the Pacific, among other topics.
Oceanscape, brings together world leading researchers from across Oceania. The conference will focus on how knowledge and experience can benefit the peoples of the Pacific region, and aims to advance scholarship about the places between the better-known American and Asian rim countries.
Senior Curator of Sydney University’s Macleay Museum and Conference Co-Convenor Jude Philp said the conference is an important way to draw attention to the need in Australia for more knowledge about the Pacific region.
“The conference will highlight the necessarily cooperative partnerships required to allow for effective delivery of programs in health, education, trade and development while maintaining the integrity of the cultural diversity that is the hallmark of Pacific island nations and overseas territories,” she said.
Stewart Firth will speak on Australia’s Role in the Pacific in a keynote address: “Has Australia forgotten its place in the Pacific?”.
The conference will cover topics such as: cooperative conservation and adaption to issues of climate change, performance, migration, land use, Pacific archaeology and a panel dedicated to activism with the keynote by Emelda Davis of the Australian South Sea Islander group.
The concept of Oceanscapes is drawn from The Pacific Oceanscape Vision, introduced by President Anote Tong of Kiribati and endorsed by the Pacific Island Forum. It is a vision for cooperative conservation action and adaption to issues of climate change. With a population just over 10 million and an area that stretches from Australia to Asia, Canada and the Americas, the Pacific Ocean covers one-third of the earth’s surface.