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Tag Archives: East Timor
Jobs: new academic positions for SSGM
State, Society and Governance in Melanesia (SSGM) Program seeks to appoint up to eight early to mid-career scholars, with ongoing research interests in Melanesia or Timor-Leste. SSGM seeks scholars with backgrounds in political science, anthropology, human geography, law, gender studies and development studies, whose research interests complement the existing expertise within the Program, which is organised around four thematic clusters.
- Politics, Elections, Leadership & Governance;
- Conflict, Justice & Peace Building ;
- Livelihoods, Rural Development & Extractive Industries ;
- Gender and Social Development.
Up to two appointments are envisaged in each cluster. For further information please see: http://jobs.anu.edu.au/PositionDetail.aspx?p=3296 or contact Dr Nicole Haley, Convenor of The State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program at the ANU.
Posted in ANU PI only, Funds and Jobs
Tagged East Timor, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, West Papua
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Congratulations, Dr Pyone Myat Thu!
by Assoc. Prof. Andrew McWilliam, Anthropology, CHL.
Pyone Myat Thu (pictured here with her friend Atifa, while on fieldwork in Timor Leste) was awarded her Phd in March 2013 for her dissertation entitled ‘Negotiating Displacement: A Study of Land and Livelihoods in Rural East Timor’.
One of the enduring legacies of the 24 years of Indonesian occupation of East Timor has been the impact of widespread forced displacement and resettlement of rural populations. Independence brought with it the possibility of return to origin settlements but reduced circumstances and long term acculturation to new settlements complicates decision making. The thesis offers a fine grained comparative exploration of this under-researched topic. Pyone anchors her study in extended case studies of two displaced communities in the rural hinterland of East Timor, highlighting the diverse ways that Timorese have transformed their relations to place through the experience. Access to land in the new settlements is gained through customary land rights based on social, economic and ethno-historical ties with customary ‘hosts’. Negotiating an existence resulting from displacement requires thoughtful attention to the intricacies of local histories and cosmologies as the communities come to lead multi-local livelihoods, and at the same time, activate multiple ‘belongings’. Her study is an important ethnographic contribution to our understanding of post-conflict livelihood restoration and the significance of customary land attachment.
Since submitting her Phd, Pyone has taken up a 2 year appointment with the State Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM) contributing to a growing research focus on East Timor (Timor-Leste) within the College of Asia and the Pacific. We congratulate Pyone on her achievements and look forward to her further scholarly accomplishments in the future.
And the final word to Pyone:
“I wish to express sincere gratitude to Dr Andrew McWilliam. Andrew served as a crucial sounding board for many ideas and provided valuable feedback on my draft chapters. I am deeply grateful for his mentoring, patience and the wisdom he has imparted through the years. I also benefitted from the guidance of Dr Bryant Allen and Professor Katherine Gibson from the former Human Geography Department in RSPAS who encouraged and challenged my work in the early stages of my candidature. Finally, my thanks to interlocutors in East Timor; without their generous time and consent this work would not have been possible.”
The South Pacific: from ‘arc of instability’ to ‘arc of opportunity’ (summary and video presentations)
A major workshop was held in the ANU’s College of Asia & the Pacific on 8 February 2013 to challenge the highly influential (although controversial) characterisation of the region as an ‘arc of instability’.
There was broad agreement amoung presenters at the workshop that although challenges remain, it is time to focus on the region’s resilience and potential – to see it not as an ‘arc of instability’ but rather, as an ‘arc of opportunity’. You may download a copy of the conference program online. You may also also read full-text versions of those papers presented at the workshop that were published in a recent special issue of Security Challenges: Security in the Pacific Arc (Summer 2013). Dr Joanne Wallis, one of the conference convenors, has also written a summary of the workshop for The Strategist, the blog of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
Several videos related to this event are now available on ANU’s Youtube Channel.*
Conference Convenors Dr Joanne Wallis and Dr Sinclair Dinnen, together with Dr Gordon Peake, discuss the workshop in a video produced a few days after the event. The videos listed below feature presentations during workshop panels on 8 February 2013.
In the first panel, a range of experts outline and examine various Australian perspectives on the South Pacific. Dr Stewart Firth (ANU) looks at some of the questionable assumptions tempering Australian perspectives on the Pacific. Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb re-examines his famous ‘arc of instability’ concept, as well as the importance of an inner arc to Australian defence policy. Mr Graeme Dobell (ASPI and Radio Australia) then looks at how Australia can move from viewing the Pacific as an arc of instability to an arc of responsibility, while Dr Quentin Hanich (Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security) outlines maritime issues facing the region.
In the second panel, a range of experts give an update on the South Pacific region and outline the challenges and opportunities for future Australian policy and engagement.
Starting proceedings, Dr Ron May (ANU) discusses Papua New Guinea’ internal and external security issues. Dr Sinclair Dinnen (ANU) looks at the Solomon Islands with a focus on RAMIS, transition in the country and the nation’s future. Dr Gordon Peake (ANU) turns his gaze to Timor-Leste, which he claims is increasingly in the Australian spotlight, while PhD candidate Siobhan McDonnell (ANU) rounds out the panel by examining land development politics in Vanuatu. Professor Brij Lal (ANU) closes the session with an examination post-coup Fiji.
In the third panel, a range of experts bring their regional perspective to bare on the topic of young people in the Pacific. Dr Jack Maebuta (University of the South Pacific) discusses peace education and peace building in the Solomon Islands, while Serena Sasingian (Executive Director of The Voice Inc.) looks at how Papua New Guinea is developing opportunities for young people. PhD candidate Sarah Logan (ANU) outlines the relationship between information technology communications and political stability in the Pacific, while Dr Patrick Vakaoti (University of Otago) turns his attention to youth participation in the Pacific and opportunities for Australian engagement.
* The descriptions of these videos are based on text from ANU’s Youtube channel.
Posted in ANU PI only, Events, Reports
Tagged East Timor, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu
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Is the resources boom good for Melanesia? (report)
A report and commentary by Dr Tess Newton Cain* on a panel discussion convened on 4 February 2013 by the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program. [See an account of the presentation by panelist Dr Matthew Allen on the CAP website.]
The members of the panel** represented a number of disciplinary approaches including economics, anthropology and law. With the focus on mining much attention was paid to PNG and, more particularly, Bougainville although other countries (Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Caledonia) were also discussed. (more…)
Posted in ANU PI only, Events, Reports
Tagged Bougainville, East Timor, New Caledonia, Nouvelle Calédonie, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Timor-Leste
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Plugging the gap
“The looming date of 23 February marks an important point in time for the future of Timor-Leste and Australia, with each country’s potential petroleum revenues from the Greater Sunrise oil and gas field in the Timor Sea under the pump.” Read more in this post by PhD Candidate Evan Hynd.
Book Launch: Ten Canberrans and the Sleeping Crocodile: A travel diary of Timor-Leste
3.30pm Saturday, 16 February 2013, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Civic [flyer].
Launch by His Excellency Abel Guterres, Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Australia.
Food security in East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Pacific island countries and territories
Research funded by ACIAR is largely directed towards attaining food security. This report documents the food security issues in three of ACIAR’s focus areas: East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific islands. The studies help identify which problems are amenable to solutions, through research, development and extension. Download TR080: Food security in East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Pacific island countries and territories now
[File size: 3.34 MB].
Posted in ACIAR, Publications
Tagged East Timor, Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Timor-Leste
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Workshop: “The South Pacific: From ‘arc of instability’ to ‘arc of opportunity’?”
The South Pacific: From ‘arc of instability’ to ‘arc of opportunity’? Is it time for Australia to shift its priorities from security to development in the South Pacific?
08:45am – 05:45pm, 08 February 2013
The Common Room, University House, Liversidge Street, ANU
Registration is required (please contact Dr Joanne Wallis).
By April 2013 the Australian stabilisation mission in Timor-Leste will withdraw, and in 2013 the small military component of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands will return home, while its other components scale-back (although an Australian policing and governance presence will remain in the medium-term). In 2012 Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste held relatively peaceful elections, and both appear to have formed fairly stable governments. The performance of the Solomon Islands government has improved, and the Vanuatu government functions quite well. In 2012 the military regime that has been in place in Fiji since their 2006 coup confirmed that elections will be held in 2014, and created a Constitutional Commission to make a new constitution. Therefore, it is timely to reflect on progress and prospects in the South Pacific.
A group of Australian and Pacific experts have contributed short articles to a special volume of Security Challenges on the ‘Security in the Pacific arc’, due for publication in December 2012 (available from: http://www.securitychallenges.org.au/). These contributions provide updates on progress being made in relation to the security challenges facing key states in the region, and consider the prospects for the region’s future security and stability.
This workshop will discuss the contributions to the special volume of Security Challenges. It will also gather and compare perspectives from Australian and Pacific scholars concerning the changing nature of the challenges and opportunities facing the region in order to answer the question: Is it time for Australia to shift its priorities from security to development in the South Pacific? The workshop will conclude with a reception in the Common Room at University House from 5.45 – 7.00pm.
Participants include:
- Mr Jone Baledrokadroka, former colonel with 26 years of service in the Fiji military who recently completed PhD studies at SSGM, ANU.
- Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb, former head of SDSC at the ANU, former Deputy Secretary in the Australian Department of Defence and former Director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation.
- Dr Sinclair Dinnen, Senior Fellow, SSGM, ANU.
- Mr Graeme Dobell, Journalist Fellow with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and Radio Australia’s Associate Editor for the Asia Pacific.
- Mr Tony Hiriasia, Masters student at the University of the South Pacific.
- Professor Brij Lal, Acting Director, CHL, ANU.
- Ms Sarah Logan, a PhD student in International Relations (IPS) at the ANU.
- Dr Jack Maebuta, Lecturer in Education at the University of the South Pacific, Solomon Islands Campus and Honorary Associate, School of Humanities, UNE.
- Dr Ron May, Emeritus Fellow of the ANU and Senior Associate, SSGM, ANU.
- Ms Siobhan McDonnell, a PhD student in CHL, ANU.
- Mr Vergil Narokobi, Legal Counsel at Ombudsman Commission and a PhD student at Victoria University of Wellington.
- Mr Greg Nimbtik, a Masters student at Massey University.
- Dr Gordon Peake, Visiting Fellow, SSGM, ANU.
- Ms Carol Pitisopa, from the World Bank in Solomon Islands.
- Ms Serena Sasingian, Executive Director, The Voice Inc. (PNG).
- Dr Patrick Vakaoti, Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Gender and Social Work at the University of Otago.
- Dr Joanne Wallis, Lecturer, SDSC at the ANU, where she also convenes the Asia-Pacific Security program.
This workshop is presented by the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) and the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM) at the ANU with support from the Research School of Asia and the Pacific (RSAP) and the Kokoda Foundation.
Posted in ANU PI only, Events
Tagged East Timor, Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu
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Gender Responsive Budgeting: Timor-Leste, Philippines and Indonesia (video)
This new video from UN Women “video focuses on the use of Gender Responsive Budgeting in Timor-Leste, the Philippines and Indonesia as a tool to promote development and women’s rights. Testimonies from government officials and other advocates underline the role they can play promoting development…” [view the video]. See also the abstract for a related paper on Timor-Leste by Monica Costa presented to IPSA-AISP Conference earlier this year.
Keating’s Timor and Carr’s Papua
In this new post to Eureka Street, Fr Frank Brennan SJ cautions that “A bilateral relationship [between Australia and Indonesia] posited on a self-imposed ban on human rights discussion would be a very perverted relationship for a robust democracy like Australia boasting adherence to the rule of law and best international practice in human rights protection” [read more].
Sounds of the soul: the traditional music of East Timor (3 December 2012)
Book launch and talk by the author, Dr Ros Dunlop
12.30 pm Monday, 3 December 2012,
Conference Room, 4th floor, National Library of Australia (gold coin donation).
Call for proposals: ‘Supporting culture as a vector of democracy and economic growth’
EuropeAid has issued a call for proposals for ‘Supporting culture as a vector of democracy and economic growth’ under the EU thematic programme Investing in People. Deadline for submission of concept notes is 18 December 2012. The call includes two lots with the following specific objectives:
- Lot 1: Encourage cultural expressions which promote diversity, intercultural dialogue and human and cultural rights, in the context of reconciliation, conflict resolution and democratisation
- Lot 2: Strengthen capacities of cultural actors for the development of a dynamic cultural sector contributing to economic growth and sustainable development
Full documentation is available on the EuropeAid website call ref. 133529. Most individuals and non-government organisations in Pacific islands nations and territories are eligible to apply (consult the list of beneficiary countries or territories).
Posted in Funds and Jobs
Tagged Cook Islands, East Timor, EU, European Union, Fiji, French Polynesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna
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Drawing the wrong lessons from Timor
Prof. Hugh White and Dr Peter Dean, of the ANU’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC), continue the debate on the ADF intervention in Timor on Lowy’s Interpreter.
Diminishing conflicts in Asia and the Pacific: why some subside and others don’t
Diminishing conflicts in Asia and the Pacific: why some subside and others don’t (2012) Edited by Edward Aspinall, Robin Jeffrey & Anthony Regan.*
Since the publication of the 2005 Human Security Report, scholars and policy-makers have debated the causes, interpretation and implications of what the report described as a global decline in armed conflict since the end of the Cold War. Focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, this book analyses the causes and patterns of this decline.
In few regions has the apparent decline in conflict been as dramatic as in the Asia-Pacific, with annual recorded battle deaths falling in the range of 50 to 75 percent between 1994 and 2004. Drawing on a wide range of case studies, this book looks at internal conflicts based on the mobilization of ethnic and nationalist grievances, which have been the most costly in human lives over the last decade.
The book identifies structures, norms, practices and techniques that have either fuelled or moderated conflicts. As such, it is an essential read for students and scholars of international relations, peace and conflict studies and Asian studies.
[* This book is the result of a 2008 ANU winter lecture series on Diminishing Conflicts initiated by Prof. Robin Jeffrey.]
(more…)
Posted in ANU PI only, Publications
Tagged Bougainville, East Timor, Fiji, Maluku, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste
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Conference: The Challenges for Participatory Development in Contemporary Development Practice
28-29 November 2012, Manning Clark Lecture Theatre, ANU
(REGISTRATIONS CLOSED)
This is the third conference as part of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Universities Linkages, which brings scholars and aid practitioners together to discuss important development issues. The programme has a stunning list of keynote and other speakers and will run with 6 parallel sessions over two days (the keynote speakers are Robert Chambers, Gita Sen, Emele Duituturaga and Alan Fowler). Full details of the conference, including a complete list of speakers and abstracts is available on the conference website.
Unfortunately, this conference is already fully subscribed, with more than 450 registered participants, so we’ve listed papers relevant to the Pacific in the hope that you might contact the speakers directly to learn more about their work:
- Nicholas Bates (Albion Street Centre) – Monitoring and evaluation of HIV capacity building: communities taking the lead [PNG, Fiji]
- Paul Bedggood (Otago) – New Zealand ODA and building peace
- Jo Brislane (IWDA) – Experiences of the participation of women, and youth and other cross-cutting issues [Solomon Islands]
- Michelle Carnegie, Katherine Gibson, Katherine McKinnon (UMacq); Claire Rowland (Consultant); Joanne Crawford (IWSA and ANU) – Measuring change in economy and gender relations in semi-subsistent communities in Melanesia: Concepts, indicators, and tools
- Sid Chakrabarti (AusAID) – Experiences of accountability and partnership [Solomon Islands]
- Matthew Clarke (Deakin) – Sacred places and development spaces: a case study of churches and community development in Vanuatu
- Cath Conn, Kristel Modderman, Shoba Nayar (AUT) – At the limits of participatory development: meaningful participation by young sex workers in HIV policy and programmes
- Lauren Leigh Hinthorne (UQ) – Achieving participatory development communication through 3d model building: an example from East Timor
- Kathryn James (Nossal Institute) – Participatory research processes: partnering with people with disabilities and their organisations [PNG]
- Max Kelly (Deakin) – What role for local NGOs in rural livelihoods in Timor Leste?
- Di Kilsby (Consultant) & Joanne Crawford (IWDA and ANU) – Navigating ‘gender’ and ‘culture’: amplifying space for gender equality work by listening to local gender advocates [PNG, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste]
- Georgia Noy & Fatima Soares, Save the Children in Timor Leste – Barriers to children’s participation
- Barbara Pamphilon (UC); Barbara Chambers, Katja Mikhailovich, Lalen Simeon (PAU) – Enabling the co-construction of meaning: lessons from a PNG/ Australian research and development project
- Doris Puiahi (Live and Learn Solomon Islands), Patrick Mesia (ADRA, Solomon Islands), Jo Brislane (IWDA), Sid Chakrabarti (AusAID) – Experiences, opportunities and challenges of implementing a Strengths-Based Approach to development in the Solomon Islands
- Michele Rumsey (UTS) – Participatory models for building capacity for nurses and midwives [Pacific]
- Jane Shamrock (Masters student, USC) – The power of pictures: using Photovoice to investigate “lived experience of people with disabilities in East Timor”
- Beth Sprunt (Nossal Institute) – Inclusive education in the Pacific – sharing lessons as the momentum builds [Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, PNG, Solomon Islands]
- Pamela Thomas (ANU); Anna Naupa, David Momcilovic and Obed Timakata (AusAID Vanuatu) – Perspectives on participation and partnerships: Approaches to development planning and practice in Vanuatu
- Cathy Vaughan (UMelb) – Supporting dialogue in marginalised settings: Young Papua New Guineans and participatory research
- Joyce Wu (ANU) – Creating MAD (Men and Development) Men? A feminist reflection of anti-violence against women projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan & Timor Leste
Posted in ANU PI only, Events
Tagged Australia, East Timor, Fiji, Kiribati, New Zealand, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu
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Gone fishing? We have for 42,000 years
“An archaeologist from The Australian National University has uncovered the world’s oldest evidence of deep sea fishing for big fish, showing that 42,000 years ago our regional ancestors had mastered one of our nation’s favourite pastimes….” [read more].
Launch of the ANU Southeast Asia Institute (23 October 2012)
The ANU’s Southeast Asia Institute was launched last Tuesday: “The primary scope of the Institute covers Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam, as well as ASEAN as the major regional organization, with ANU researchers also engaged with Southeast Asia’s connections with its neighbours by land and by sea and with the wider world…” [read more].
Posted in ANU PI only, Events
Tagged Australia, East Timor, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, West Papua
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Attitudes to National Identity Among Tertiary Students in Melanesia and Timor Leste: A Comparative Analysis
SSGM Discussion Paper 2012/8 by Michael Leach, James Scambary, Matthew Clarke, Simon Feeny & Heather Wallace.
This paper present the findings of an 18-month research project on the attitudes of tertiary students across four sites (Dili, Port Vila, Honiara and Port Moresby) to national identity and key issues of nation-building. Many of the students interviewed for this study likely to become future leaders and decision makers… [read more].
Posted in ANU PI only, Publications
Tagged East Timor, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu
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Inaugural Harold Mitchell development policy lecture: Timor-Leste and the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States (22 November 2012)
Public lecture by Emilia Pires
Minister of Finance, Timor-Leste.
12.30pm Thursday 22 November 2012
(light lunch from 12pm)
Molonglo Theatre, Level 1, JG Crawford Building 132, Lennox Crossing, ANU.
Register promptly if you would like to attend, as the lecture will reach capacity fast. Download a flyer for this event or read more at the Crawford School events page.
[view Taxing times in Timor, a recent Four Corners episode which featured Emilia Pires.]
Peace builder wins Future Justice Prize
Distinguished Professor John Braithwaite has won the 2012 Future Justice Prize for his extraordinary efforts and internationally-renowned work in the fields of justice and peacebuilding [read more].
Of particular interest to Pacific scholars will be John Braithwaite’s ambitious Peacebuilding Compared project, which has resulted in four important publications on conflict and peacebuilding in the region: West Papua (Anomie and violence: Non-truth and reconciliation in Indonesian peacebuilding), Papua New Guinea (Reconciliation and architectures of commitment: Sequencing peace in Bougainville), Solomon Islands (Pillars and Shadows: Statebuilding as peacebuilding in Solomon Islands) and East Timor (Networked governance of freedom and tyranny: Peace in Timor-Leste). All of these publications are available free online from ANU E Press.
Posted in ANU PI only, News
Tagged Bougainville, East Timor, PNG, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, West Papua
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ANU students ‘Trek for Timor’
Madonna on Tatamailau (also known as Mount Ramelau), Timor Leste’s highest peak (2,963m), two hours walk from Hatobuilico.
On 15th September, 30 ANU students trekked 13, 25 or 45kms in the Blue Mountains to raise money for community projects in Hatobuilico, Timor Leste. The walk was part of Blue Mountains Friends of Hatobuilico’s ‘Trek for Timor’ fundraising event. Timor Leste celebrated its 10th year of independence this year, yet ranks third in the world for child malnutrition. It is essential that low health and education levels are addressed to ensure future prosperity and peace.
One of our trekkers was lucky enough to visit Timor Leste during recent elections, and spent time visiting the community of Hatobuilico and spent time talking to people who have worked with Blue Mountains Friends of Hatobuilico. We’re fundraising because we are convinced that the money raised will be wisely invested in promoting the long term development and independence of the community, largely through education initiatives.
To donate [it's not too late!] or find out more, please visit www.trekfortimorbm.org.au. You can make a general donation, or donate to any team beginning with ‘Bruce’ for ANU teams. You can also contact organiser Jessica Avalon at asiapacific.lc@anu.edu.au. The event is being run by the Asia-Pacific Learning Community and Bruce Hall Social Justice Committee.
Will Timor’s development challenges push a close political marriage down the path of executive cohabitation?
"On 8 August 2012 the Fifth Constitutional Government of Timor-Leste, formed following Parliamentary elections on 7 July and led by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, was sworn in by President Taur Matan Ruak (better known as TMR).
The speeches given on the occasion of the swearing-in by the Prime Minister and the President were rather different in theme and tone...." [read more]
The Dynamics of Transitional Justice: International Models and Local Realities in East Timor
by Dr Lia Kent – Postdoctoral Fellow, State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM), School of International, Political and Strategic Studies, ANU.
The Dynamics of Transitional Justice draws on the case of East Timor in order to reassess how transitional justice mechanisms actually play out at the local level. Transitional justice mechanisms – including trials and truth commissions – have become firmly entrenched as part of the United Nations ‘tool-kit’ for successful post-conflict recovery. It is now commonly assumed that by establishing individual accountability for human rights violations, and initiating truth-seeking and reconciliation programs, individuals and societies will be assisted to ‘come to terms’ with the violent past and states will make the ‘transition’ to peaceful, stable liberal democracies. Set against the backdrop of East Timor’s referendum and the widespread violence of 1999, this book interrogates the gap between the official claims made for transitional justice and local expectations. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including extensive in-depth interviews with victims/survivors, community leaders and other actors, it produces a nuanced and critical account of the complex interplay between internationally-sponsored trials and truth commissions, national justice agendas and local priorities. The Dynamics of Transitional Justice fills a significant gap in the existing social science literature on transitional justice, and offers new insights for researchers and practitioners alike.
Breaking the News (Canberra Premiere)
Friday 24 August 2012 at 6.30pm, Copland Theatre, ANU.
“Breaking the News gets behind the upheaval of the last six years in East Timor to reveal the high cost for truth-seeking journalists at the centre of their country’s turmoil.”
The Canberra premiere of Breaking the News coincides (more…)
2012 ARC Laureates, Future Fellows… and Pacific research
The Pacific Institute at the ANU would like to recognise the significant effort of all academic and support staff who participated in ARC rounds in 2012 and congratulate all recipients of these awards. This post lists 2012 ARC Laureates and Future Fellows with research of relevance to Pacific Island nations [text adapted from the ARC website. Information on ANU's 2012 ARC Laureates and ANU's 2012 ARC Future Fellows is available elsewhere.]:
ARC Laureates (17 awards from 108 applications – 6 relevant to the Pacific)
Prof. Sue O’Connor (ANU): Sue is the 2012 Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellow. This Fellowship will help her focus on the earliest colonisation of Island Southeast Asia and investigate modern human dispersal, adaptations and behaviour along the maritime route to Australia… [It] recognises her role in humanities, arts and social sciences and provides her with additional funding to help her mentor women in science.
Prof Eelco Rohling (ANU): The Fellowship will help Eelco improve the understanding of climate and sea-level change on timescales relevant to longer-term planning, by characterising the relationship between past sea-level and ice-volume change and other key climate factors such as temperature and greenhouse gases, and by quantifying how rapidly sea level may adjust to climate change.
Prof. Alexandra Aikhenvald (JCU): Alexandra’s Australian Laureate Fellowship will help her further and expand her work in the area of correlations between languages and cultures, and analysing endangered languages in tropical areas (especially Papua New Guinea). It will also be instrumental in strengthening real linguistics within JCU, Australia and worldwide, and creating a multidisciplinary team of researchers working on gender, with a focus on previously undescribed languages.
Prof. Terence Hughes (JCU): Terry’s project aims to undertake a novel, multi-disciplinary program of research on coral reefs to better understand and avoid dangerous ecological tipping points. This research will cement Australia’s leading contribution to reef science, and will guide the management and sustainable use of ecosystems around the world [including the Coral Triangle].
Prof. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (UQ): Ove’s Australian Laureate Fellowship will allow him to focus on a series of key questions that lie at the heart of understanding how tropical marine ecosystems are likely to change with climate change and ocean acidification.
Prof. Malcolm McCulloch (UWA): Malcolm’s Australian Laureate Fellowship will help him investigate the future of coral reefs and marine calcifiers in response to rising carbon dioxide and ocean acidification. This will enable best-practice adaptive management at local and regional-scales for marine-dependent industries, and provide new hope for some of our greatest natural assets—coral reefs.
ARC Future Fellowships (209 awards from 603 applications – 3 relevant to the Pacific)
Dr Stuart Bedford (ANU): The archaeology of ritual architecture on the islands of Malakula, Vanuatu. This project will define the historical trajectory, function and role of ritual architecture across Malakula, Vanuatu, furnishing crucial comparative data and contributing to debates on the dynamics and manifestations of long-term social change across the Pacific. Contemporary issues such as population growth, land and food security will be addressed.
Prof Jonathon R Barnett (UMelb): The influence of conflict and migration on adaptation. This project will develop and test theories about the ways in which violent conflict and migration influence the capacity to adapt to climate change using case studies from Fiji, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu.
Assoc. Prof. Michelle T. Ford (USyd): Trade unionism and trade union aid in Indonesia, Malaysia and Timor-Leste. This project will trace flows of trade union aid to Indonesia, Malaysia and Timor Leste and analyses its impact on local labour movements. It will provide valuable information about the trade unions and industrial relations systems of each country, and new insights into the international politics and practice of the international labour movement.
Posted in ANU PI only, Funds and Jobs, News
Tagged East Timor, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pacific Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
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Dili Bulletin (ADB)
The latest edition of the Dili Bulletin profiles ADB-supported events and the Bank's Infrastructure Agenda in Timor-Leste.
Request for informants: Bougainvilleans, Timorese or Solomon Islanders experiences with peacekeepers
Request for informants by Kimberley Doyle, PhD Candidate, History, CASS, ANU.
As part of a history PhD research project on peacekeeping in Bougainville, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste , I am seeking the assistance of Bougainvilleans, Timorese or Solomon Islanders who experienced life with peacekeeping forces in any of these three places. The project is an exploration of the perceptions, interactions and behaviours between Australian peacekeepers and local people. Participation would involve talking about your experiences and thoughts about peacekeeping in your country as part of a larger oral history project.
For more information please contact Kimberley Doyle at the School of History in the College of Arts and Social Sciences (kimberley.doyle@anu.edu.au or +61 2 6125 2357).
Posted in ANU PI only, News
Tagged Bougainville, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste
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UN Youth Australia: Pacific Project 2013
Applications are now open for the UNYA’s Pacific Project 2013, an initiative that “offers high school students an exciting opportunity to travel around East Timor for 2 weeks during the June-July school holidays. Delegates will work on development projects, meet with diplomats, experience the culture, travel the country and make lifelong new friends…” For more information, visit the UN Youth Australia Pacific Project 2013 webpage.
Falling Short (in Timor-Leste)
A Gusmão-led CNRT coalition government is looking most likely for Timor-Leste, write Sue Ingram and Armindo Maia in a new post to the ANU’s CAP website [read more].
Fault Lines (in Timor-Leste)
In the wake of parliamentary elections, Dr Joanne Wallis asks whether Timor-Leste has to choose between democracy and unity [read more].