After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Pacific Islands Leadership Program welcomed its eighth cohort of 19 Fellows from French Polynesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sāmoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The Fellows begin their journey at the East-West Center campus for four weeks before continuing to Taiwan for five weeks and ending their final week with a leadership retreat. PILP is generously funded by the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The PILP curriculum is centered around the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and thematically organized in the following areas of critical importance to humanity identified in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership.

2023 PILP G8 cohort:

Hiriata Brotherson, Deputy Head of Service – Administrative and Financial Officer of the Traditional Crafts Service, French Polynesia

Litea Gavidi, Senior Policy Officer, Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Fiji

Sheldon Chanel, Communications Lead, UN Capital Development Fund in the Pacific, Fiji

Kawaii Deiye, Project Assistant, Department of Climate Change and National Resilience, Nauru

Grant Drecala, Office of the Attorney General, Tuvalu

Amelia Faotusia, current PhD candidate with the Australian National University’s Department of Pacific Affairs, Tonga

Teuila-Jane Fruean, Technical and Finance Officer, Climate and Oceans Support Program for the Pacific (COSPPac), Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Sāmoa

Dora Heine-Jekkar, Manager for Gender in Development Division, Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs, Republic of the Marshall Islands

Jaala Jeremiah, Director for Water Resource Management, Department of Climate Change and National Resilience, Nauru

Tareere Kaitara, Head of School, School of Business, Kiribati Institute of Technology, Kiribati

Jessie Kampai, Senior Officer, Live and Learn Environmental Education, Vanuatu

Clare Kliawi, Acting Director, PNG/Australia Border Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs, Papua New Guinea

Rex Leafasia, Branch Coordinator, Solomon Islands Red Cross Malaita branch office, Solomon Islands

Jerry Napuat, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Vanuatu Project Management Unit, Prime Minister’s Office, Vanuatu

Brandon Patris, previously worked in the Office of the President, Palau

Elton Powe, Geographical Information System Specialist, PNG national Statistics Office, Papua New Guinea

Sweta Rao, Senior Programme Assistant, Education Quality Assessment Programme (EQAP), the Pacific Community (SPC), Fiji

Benward Rowa, formerly a Policy Assistant Officer, Policy and Planning section, Department of Community Government in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

Beverly Saefo’oa, Senior Legal Officer, Public Solicitors Office, Solomon Islands

After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Pacific Islands Leadership Program welcomed its eighth cohort of 19 Fellows from French Polynesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sāmoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The Fellows begin their journey at the East-West Center campus for four weeks before continuing to Taiwan for five weeks and ending their final week with a leadership retreat. PILP is generously funded by the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The PILP curriculum is centered around the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and thematically organized in the following areas of critical importance to humanity identified in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership.

2023 PILP G8 cohort:

Hiriata Brotherson, Deputy Head of Service – Administrative and Financial Officer of the Traditional Crafts Service, French Polynesia

Litea Gavidi, Senior Policy Officer, Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Fiji

Sheldon Chanel, Communications Lead, UN Capital Development Fund in the Pacific, Fiji

Kawaii Deiye, Project Assistant, Department of Climate Change and National Resilience, Nauru

Grant Drecala, Office of the Attorney General, Tuvalu

Amelia Faotusia, current PhD candidate with the Australian National University’s Department of Pacific Affairs, Tonga

Teuila-Jane Fruean, Technical and Finance Officer, Climate and Oceans Support Program for the Pacific (COSPPac), Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Sāmoa

Dora Heine-Jekkar, Manager for Gender in Development Division, Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs, Republic of the Marshall Islands

Jaala Jeremiah, Director for Water Resource Management, Department of Climate Change and National Resilience, Nauru

Tareere Kaitara, Head of School, School of Business, Kiribati Institute of Technology, Kiribati

Jessie Kampai, Senior Officer, Live and Learn Environmental Education, Vanuatu

Clare Kliawi, Acting Director, PNG/Australia Border Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs, Papua New Guinea

Rex Leafasia, Branch Coordinator, Solomon Islands Red Cross Malaita branch office, Solomon Islands

Jerry Napuat, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Vanuatu Project Management Unit, Prime Minister’s Office, Vanuatu

Brandon Patris, previously worked in the Office of the President, Palau

Elton Powe, Geographical Information System Specialist, PNG national Statistics Office, Papua New Guinea

Sweta Rao, Senior Programme Assistant, Education Quality Assessment Programme (EQAP), the Pacific Community (SPC), Fiji

Benward Rowa, formerly a Policy Assistant Officer, Policy and Planning section, Department of Community Government in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

Beverly Saefo’oa, Senior Legal Officer, Public Solicitors Office, Solomon Islands