Category Archives: Australia

APJC 2015

Exciting Experience in Australia

Have you ever been to Melbourne or Brisbane? Well if you have been to this two cities of Australia, you would have tasted and experieced the lifestyle and feel the cool and warm climate of this cities.

It was my best ever experience for a month tour in this two cities, attending the Mining, Media and Development Regional Knowledge Sharing Training, organized by the Asia Pacific Journalism Centre (APJC).

The training started on the 24th of August and run for a month – ending on the 28th of September 2013.

The beautiful scenery of the Brighton beach – east brighton melbourne, the ghost haunting tour, the melbourne writers festival and taking walk around the yarra river and melbourne city as well as visiting the Bengalla mine site in Muswellbrook in Scone and touring the Port Waratah are the excitment and experience I will never forget in my lifetime.

At least having a different feeling of the environment away from a day to day style of newsroom routine in my NBC Newsroom in Port Moresby was something I thought of and have convinced my bosses to send me to attend the APJC training. And with no doubt, the Melbourne and Brisbane cities provided me much to relax and refresh.

Not limited to this, but the APJC Training on Mining, Media and Development Regional Knowledge Sharing Training had been the best ever training in my life, apart from other trainings I attended since my five year carrier as news reporter with the PNG’s Public Boadcaster (NBC).

The training broadend my knowledge on business reporting, online media, getting to know better of myself and my carrier and having to know APJC Staff and prominent persons like Professors from the Monash University Prof Erik Eklund, associate Prof Philip Chubb, Suzy Woodhouse – Professional Development Instructor, Deborah Steele – Editor ABC Asia Pacific News Center, Nigel McCarthy- Business Journalism Instructor, Serena Lillywhite – Oxfam Australia Mining Advocacy Coordinator, and Renee Barnes – Lecturer in new media journalism, University of the Sunshine Coast.

I recommend for more of such trainings in future for upcoming pacific island countries journalists to broaden their knowledge in business reporting, especially in the mining and resources sector because of lack of public knowledge on the impacts and benefits of mining in the region.

What kind of Iraq are we leaving behind?

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By Daniel Santopietro

A key issue that really got my attention at the eTour was the way in which Iraq was developing as a nation ten years after the invasion. I found it fascinating to hear from everyone who spoke about the war, the turbulent times Iraq was going through, and fascinating to hear from people who fled Iraq. This was something that got me interested in reporting on the development challenges that Iraq still faces today. In doing further research for my piece I stumbled upon a speech given by United States President Barack Obama back in late 2011. This was a period of final withdrawal of troops in the country, and while he acknowledged that Iraq was not the perfect place, he went on to say “we’re leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq.” From the topics that were being discussed on Saturday at the eTour, I knew like many others that this was simply not the case.

The message that I kept hearing throughout the day from the speakers was a country that was going through a really difficult period, and was struggling. While Iraq is mentioned on some news outlets, here and there, the international media disappeared after the final withdraw. I had read the likes of Janine Di Giovanni on the experiences she has had reporting on conflicts especially in Iraq, but as an independent journalist, Donna Mulhearn really opened my eyes up to the situation in Iraq. As a journalist myself, I find it courageous what Donna has done and achieved while in Iraq, in the face of violence she goes out there and reports on the challenges that are facing the country.

I now know more than what I had before about Iraq. I knew however deep down, that the country was still unsafe, but at the same time I had been hoping that the lack of media attention on the country had meant that the country had been steadily progressing politically, economically and socially. This is an area that through my radio report, I wanted people to hear and understand. The eTour has been, by no doubt a very good insight into the country, and as a journalist, I found it incredible that Iraq is not to be forgotten. All the speakers were excellent, and in my opinion they all see hope for the country, if not in the short term than in the long term. It is a very fascinating topic to discuss. Attending the eTour has made me realise that there is more for Iraq, there is more to discuss and report about, and I am to return to the topic of Iraq and report on its progress as a nation.