REPORT TO PACIFIC INTERNET PARTNERS TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS

ATTENDANCE AT PacINET MEETING IN HONIARA

14-21 AUGUST, 2007

This is the first time I have fully attended a PacInet conference. Following is a report of what I have learned from PacInet 2007:

• The importance of building from the ground up, “People are Key” and that the local telecentre operators are the strategic resource.
• The sharing of resources of islands especially with the political will involved
• It is vital that telecentre operators meet and share experiences from time to time, and talk to each other through emails.
• Ongoing local training and capacity building is a must
• Getting monthly reports from each centre should be encouraged.

I have shared the above with my manager and as a result we have planned to conduct our first workshop with all our telecentre operators on 25 th and 26 th October for Savaii, and 22 nd and 23 rd November for Upolu. During this workshop, we hope to share what I have learned from the PacInet 2007 and to share their experiences and issues they faced since the beginning of our project.

Next week we will be visiting all our telecentres during this month on 11-14 for the Island of Upolu, and 17-18 for the Island of Savaii. During that visit we will be traveling with a technician to do the following:

• follow up basic trainings on Word and Excel
• show them how to create email addresses on Yahoo
• show them how to fix basic technical problems, eg. paper jam, etc.
• inform them about the upcoming workshop
• Remind them about getting monthly reports in on time

I have also requested resources from Megan Hastie of Brisbane who is involved with School of Distance Education in Brisbane to help us.

Feedback on the Conference:

• Two weeks is too long and suggested one week is long enough
• That the arrangements and programs be more organized next time
• Long hours for meeting should be shortened to maybe 4.00pm or 4.30pm
• Speakers are too long, should be given timeframe and maybe gender balance
• Suggest that a Secretary be nominated to handle the workload or get an organization to coordinate annual meetings
• Wealth of information and not much learning process
• That changes in program should be clearly explained as some meetings meant for the afternoon were conducted in the morning!

Once again, I would like to express my great gratitude for your great support which made it possible for me to attend and learned a wealth of information which has now helped me share that knowledge with our women’s committee in the rural areas in Samoa.

I also want to thank you again for that beautiful lunch hosted by Don which got all of us to share, interact and meet each other under the same funding.

Jacinta Teofilo
Project Coordination
Rural Connectivity Program
ICT Secretariat, Samoa