Speech for PNG Nite

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28/9/2018

Good night to the audience, participating students, staff and the organizing committee.

I want to thank the organizing committee for giving me this opportunity to say a few words about the international relations strand and the theme for this event – PNG Nau. This event is a biannual event on our Department calendar. We look forward every second year to see how students will lead, plan and manage the event. This is the fourth PNG nite since its inception in 2012.

The Bachelor of PNG Studies and International Relations is an area studies degree program. It includes 4 major academic strands; culture studies, community development, politics and international relations. The objective is to develop citizens who possess a strong knowledge about PNG and its place in the global community.

The international relations strand consist of 7 academic units. We have the traditional theory unit supported by units on the role of international organizations, international law, foreign policy, security studies and geopolitics.   

The strand complements the other strands and addresses the second part of the objective by helping one to understand PNG’s place in the global community. In particular, one has to understand our own culture, history, community and political system before understanding how we interact with other countries and international organizations.

One common misperception is that many potential and current students including parents or sponsors think the program is a stand-alone international relations program. Many students who apply think that once they graduate they will become diplomats. Such a mindset is detrimental to learning; students tend to focus on doing well in international relations units and under perform in units from other strands because they think it is not relevant to their ambitions.

On the other hand, some students claim that they applied to study community development. As such, they see the other strands like culture studies or international relations as not important. They focus most of their time on doing well in community development units compared to the other units from the other strands.   

Former students working in the Foreign Service have expressed the benefits of the complementing strands. Their knowledge of culture, history and our community including our political system has helped them to communicate with substance in the company of representatives from other countries.

The advent of globalization means that what happens in your community is influenced by factors at the international level. Understanding international relations helps one to form a better development pathway for his or her urban or rural community. In addition, it helps one to identify important international organizations who work with local communities.  

As mentioned by the organizing committee in their invitation letter to speak tonight, the theme ‘PNG nau’ entails PNG’s transition as a culture-obsessed nation to embracing global opportunities in the digital era.

I would say PNG is not a culture-obsessed nation but a nation that embraces different cultures. We embrace by practicing our own respective cultures, and tolerate those that are different to ours.   

If you look at the theme more closely, you find elements of what I have mentioned earlier. Culture studies as a strand is in the phrase ‘culture-obsessed nation’. To determine the type of ‘global opportunities’ one has to understand the global political and economic environment. That is in essence the objective of the PNG studies and international relations program.

Here at Divine Word University, our activities either academic or non-academic to a certain degree reflect our transition to the digital era. The theme for this event is derived from the 2018 University theme: “Transformative learning with core values for the digital age”. Academically, we are using Moodle as a learning management platform. For non-academic functions like viewing of records and transcripts, we are now in the initial stages of using the University 10 software.

Apart from the two officially sanctioned digital platforms, we are also using social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to engage in interactive discussions. The social media sites also act as a window to view global opportunities in commerce, employment and education.

Natasha Tamanabae a fashion designer and a graduate of this program, is an individual who epitomizes the theme. Her label Baiwa promotes the distinct and unique designs of our cultural art and design, infused with modern fashion. She is using the Facebook page Elite Fashion Club PNG as a platform to promote her label or sell her clothing items.

In 2012, my first year of teaching, Ms. Tamanabae who was in her final year sang a song with her former boyfriend in this auditorium as an item in our inaugural PNG Nite.  6 years and 2 PNG Nites later, she is promoting PNG cultural art and design in the international fashion arena.  

What we do as a department, as an institution, and as individuals can be grouped collectively to depict the transformation that is occurring in our society today. As a department, we are now trying to understand the nature of our program and our role in nation building. As an institution, we are moving in line with international trends in higher education. As individuals, we have used our knowledge and experience to create opportunities that will benefit the future generation.

To me, this biannual event is an opportunity for students from the Department to display their knowledge about PNG through various creative processes. Knowledge about our culture, community, society, politics and foreign relations.

Apart from the one night of activities, I challenge the next class who will be leading the event to consider using digital platforms like social media sites to broadcast knowledge about this event. For example, an ongoing blog project or a Facebook page about the PNG nite event will go a long way in sharing positive information about our Department, the University and the country to the international community.  

However, any event is not an event unless it has an audience. It is also an opportunity for the audience to learn something about our country. Especially, the younger members of the audience who are the next generation of leaders.

Finally, please enjoy the night and continue to learn more about our country.

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