Louise Peltzer ... big plans for regional educational coorperation. Photo: PMW

Pacific.Scoop
By Oceania Flash in Pape’ete

University of French Polynesia’s re-elected president Louise Peltzer, a former minister of culture, believes future Pacific regional cooperation could include
journalism, language and communication technologies.

She has been re-elected at Tahiti’s higher education institution for a  second four-year term.

The election took place as part of the Université de Polynésie Française (UPF) board meeting in French Polynesia’s capital Pape’ete.

Peltzer’s only opponent was a UPF professor, Bruno Saura, who received six votes in support. Peltzer won with 12 votes.

At the helm of UPF over the past few years, she has been a strong advocate of the notion of  “regional integration” of the higher  educational institution within its Pacific region.

This has materialised through agreements and increasing contacts with the Fiji-based University of the South Pacific.

During her last visit to Fiji, when she met USP vice-chancellor Rajesh Chandra, Peltzer said some areas of future cooperation – including with the University of New Caledonia and French research Institute IRD – could include the fields of archaeology, biodiversity, culture,  journalism and language studies.

Typically, this could eventuate through exchange and residence of  students from the regional institutions.

Regional partnerships
While USP this year celebrates its 40th anniversary, UFP two years ago  marked its 20th birthday, with a major focus on the initiation of new partnerships with regional higher educational institutions.

Taking part in the celebrations were high officials from such regional institutions as the Canberra-based Australian National University and the University of Antofagasta, Chile.

With both institutions, a series of three-year agreements was then signed with the aim of setting up bilateral ties, especially on the side of students and tutors.

Links with the Berkeley University (California) were also strengthened in a formal way, with a specific focus on scientific research.

The American university is already involved in scientific marine research, from a small base located on the island of Moorea, close to the main island of Tahiti Nui.

With the Pacific island states, another agreement was renewed with the National University of Samoa.

Another agreement was signed with USP to set up a so-called “Pacific area” for higher education and research, marine studies, environment, tourism and culture.

The USP-UFP agreement also contains provisions aiming at bridging the language divide between the French-speaking Pacific countries and territories and the rest of the Pacific, which is mostly using English as its working language.

And on the European side, a special agreement was also signed early 2007 with the Spanish University of La Mancha, which enables students from all over Europe to also follow parts of their studies in French Polynesia’s UFP, under the European Union’s Erasmus Mundi student exchange scheme.

Institution split
Originally, at its inception in 1987, the UPF was supposed to group higher education facilities for both French Polynesia and New Caledonia.

It later split into two entities that becoming the University of French Polynesia, based in Tahiti, and the University of New Caledonia (UNC), based in Nouméa.

As Culture Minister of Tahiti, Peltzer had on many occasions stressed her views about the need for more Pacific Islanders teaching at the local university.

She launched a series of initiatives, including a new system to train teachers in both French and Reo Maohi and a day to celebrate the indigenous language.

The cultural celebration developed into a three-day event each year, which features dance, song, O’Reo (story-telling) performances, open-air shows and the famous traditional “tamure” dance groups.

Peltzer also said that culture promoters and defenders should not be afraid to use modern-day technologies such as video, CD-ROM and the internet.

“We believe new information and communication technologies in this globalised world can play a significant role in the promotion of our language,” she said.

Source: 6507 Pacific Media Watch
Original url at Oceania Flash