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CURRENT PRESS RELEASES
CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR IN ISLAND STUDIES RELEASES IMMIGRATION REPORT The Prince Edward Island Population Secretariat, along with Dr. Godfrey Baldacchino, Canada Research Chair in Island Studies at UPEI, released today a report on Recent Immigrants to Prince Edward Island (PEI). Dr. Baldacchino (himself an immigrant from Malta) compiled information from 320 individuals who settled on Prince Edward Island between 1998 to 2003 and who have, so far, stayed on the island.The survey was the first qualitative study of its kind on the island: it was conducted last fall in an attempt to collect voices and stories around why people come to and settle on PEI and decide to stay. All the information compiled from this report will be taken into consideration for the soon-to-be released Population Strategy document. All information will assist in the recruitment of settlers to Prince Edward Island as well as the retention of these settlers. “I encourage all Islanders to take an active approach in welcoming settlers to Prince Edward Island,” said Minister of Development and Technology Mike Currie. “I believe Islanders play a significant role in attracting families and newcomers to our communities across the Province. Immigration to PEI is an investment into our future economy in Prince Edward Island and as Islanders it is important for each one of us to embrace all the positives that can be experienced when new people move into our neighborhoods, work environments and communities.” Several participants in the report indicated that the quality of life in PEI, availability or prospects of employment and affordable housing as the advantages of moving to the province. Other feedback indicated that participants didn’t always feel a sense of belonging in Prince Edward Island if they didn’t have family or roots here. “Not all this information may be what we want to hear, but all the feedback that we have received is workable to improve on,” said Dr. Baldacchino. “We now have an excellent database to propel an informed understanding of why immigrants choose to come and stay to settle on PEI, and what their main challenges have been in so doing. If we are aware of the things we can work on, and work together, we can be better equipped to deal with these obstacles in the future.” The full survey report (85 pages) or its executive summary (4 pages) can be freely downloaded from: www.islandstudies.ca. For more information about the report, please contact Dr Baldacchino at (902) 566-0909. PANEL TO DISCUSS COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD In celebration of CUSO's International
AGM being held on the UPEI campus, CUSO is joining with UPEI's Institute of Island
Studies to host an international panel discussion of "Coastal Communities
in a Globalizing World" on June 16. The international panel's discussions
of identity, gender and generation, environment and resource management, and nation-building
in coastal communities will pay particular attention to Pacific Island issues,
augmented by PEI and - 30 - May 26, 2004 Pacific Voices: PEI's Institute of Island Studies Is Making a Difference in the Pacific Islands The words "Pacific Islands" conjure images of palm trees, glistening beaches, and exotic native islanders undisturbed by the force of history. But in Oceania, where small tropical islands are spread across a sea that occupies one third of the surface of the earth, life is no simple idyll. Look closer and you may see that the woman cooking the family meal over an open fire has a cell phone on her hip. Listen in at a village meeting and the issues under discussion will be familiar: concern over the movement of young people to the city, the unsettling influences of modern values on rural life, declining inshore fish stocks, a rising need for cash in the face of widespread unemployment…. The Institute of Island Studies at UPEI focuses on documenting, analysing, and promoting strategies through which island people can meet the many challenges of surviving and thriving on small islands where resources are, by definition, limited. Over the past two years, IIS Research Associate Dr. Irene Novaczek and UPEI anthropologist Dr. Jean Mitchell have collaborated with Dr. Joeli Veitayaki of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji on "Pacific Voices," a project that brings attention to the challenges facing fishing communities on Pacific Islands. This work was funded by the Canadian government through the Canada-South Pacific Ocean Development Program. "We set out to inject social dimensions into Pacific fisheries science," explains Dr. Mitchell, "and as soon as you start to explore the intersection of fisheries and society, you are immediately faced with the need to understand the various roles of men, women, and children. Fisheries activities of each gender and age group are shaped by complex influences such as colonialization, the introduction of Christianity and the cash economy, urbanization, and migration." Of particular interest were the activities and perceptions of fisherwomen, whose efforts and responsibilities are too often overlooked. The Pacific Voices project involves 20 indigenous researchers from eight different countries who were supported through the process of researching important issues in their own islands and developing formal case studies that will be published in the form of a book. "This is a ground-breaking project on several fronts," explains Dr. Veitayaki. "Much of what has been previously published about Pacific Island fisheries has not been written by indigenous people. The literature rarely deals with the small-scale fisheries that provide daily food to islanders, and even more rarely is the role of women documented." The case studies deal with a variety of topics, including the culturally significant ornamental shell fisheries of Tuvalu, conflict between subsistence and industrial sectors in Solomon Islands, changing technologies and gender roles in Vanuatu, the introduction of an exotic species in Tonga, the reinvention of village fisheries management in Samoa, and conditions for women engaged in the sales and processing of fish in Kiribati and Fiji. The stories reveal that the last century has been a time of profound change in fishing communities. As Kaltoa Monalapa, an elder on Lelepa Island in Vanuatu, explains, "When I was a boy people fished only for food… You could spend just a short time… on the beach and see plenty of fish, including big ones." Population growth has been rapid, the need for cash has increased dramatically, and the roles of men, women, and youth in society have changed in many ways that affect fisheries. In Pacific Island nations often 50% of the population is under age 20. Elder males still control most of what goes on in rural villages but as the population becomes more youthful, chiefs find their position challenged. As people have turned to the sea for income, adopting modern and more efficient but often destructive fishing methods, many fishing grounds close to human settlements have been damaged and depleted. As related by fisherwoman Jaklin Ropi of Lelepa, "We need fish for the future of our children…Their fathers took all the big ones as well as small ones. Then the chief… said Stop! One day the children will grow up and ask What is fish?… because their fathers will have killed every one. So the chief made a ban on the island." Communities struggling to
manage their fisheries and to reverse trends of decline need to learn from one
another. "Pacific Voices provides village leaders, government decision-makers,
and community facilitators with stories that illustrate patterns of change in
fisheries and the role of women in that history," notes Dr. Novaczek. "They
reveal lessons learned as Pacific people invent strategies and institutions for
resource management, especially the importance of having women and youth involved
in deciding the shape of rural development. These are lessons we could usefully
apply here in Atlantic Canada." Highlights of this research project will be featured during a panel discussion on "Coastal Communities in a Globalizing World," being hosted by the IIS and CUSO at 7:00 p.m., June16, 2004, in the Faculty Lounge, Main Building, UPEI. - 30 -
When CBC Radio's "Richardson's Round-Up"
put out a call for the "In his talk, Mr. Raina will outline a cooperative process
for urban "The question of how to revitalize University Avenue,
functionally Following Mr. Raina's
presentation, there will be a question and "Towards a Smart Street: An Urban Design Approach" will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 3, in the Pope Room, first floor of the Coles Building (next to Province House). For more information, visit www.upei.ca/islandstudies/. - 30 -
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