Results for Pacific Islands

Tonga for the first time, attended the 2022 Korea International Cooperation Conference on Oceans and Fisheries (KICCOF), at the Grand Pacific Hotel, Suva, Fiji, from 23-24 November.  

Kilisitina Moala from Tonga made an impression at the meeting of Commonwealth Youth Parliamentarians held in the Trinidad and Tobago parliament on 23 November, when she delivered “a weeping lament that her homeland was sinking”.

The Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) highlighted efforts to support the Pacific to access climate innovative solutions. The exhibition saw 400 registrants and 640 virtual exhibition booth visits at the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion, in Egypt, held as a side event at the COP27 meetings of the parties on climate change.

Pacific delegates, including Tongans, attended the Pacific Telecommunications Security Expert Forum in Brisbane, Australia from 10-11 November. “We need more awareness of this enormous threat that comes with technology, and Tonga is in a very vulnerable position with our limited capacity, understanding and preparedness,” said Curtis Tu’ihalangingie, a delgate from Tonga's High Commission in Canberra,

Innovative use of the internet to stay connected and access climate information, and for education to build resilience, was highlighted at the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion, during the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Egypt this week. A side event that focused on “Resilience Building in the Virtual Space” was hosted at the Pavilion and highlighted SPREP's e-Learning platform development.

Tonga Men’s basketball team has qualified for the Pacific Games 2023, after five days of basketball matches at the FIBA Polynesian cup 2022, in Kaitaia, New Zealand from 1-5 November.

Grants of $16.5 million for the Blue Pacific Finance Hub, which aims to build ocean and coastal resilience in countries threatened by the impacts of climate change was announced by the Asian Development Bank with the Global Environment Facility and the Nordic Development Fund at COP27, in Egypt.

Eighteen senior students at Beulah Adventist College were excited to receive laptop computers on 4 November, under a national programme to encourage further online learning, funded by government.

Tongan students have made their mark in the international sport of Robotics. Five students from the University of the South Pacific Tonga campus returned home, after winning the silver medal at the 2022 FIRST® Global Challenge in Geneva, Switzerland held on 13-16 October.