News and Public Notices

The latest from across Bougainville

QUT welcomes leaders from Bougainville, Bhutan and Indonesia

QUT is hosting senior leaders from Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Bhutan and Indonesia to build and strengthen international educational links.

QUT helped develop and design “capacity-building” programs specific to each region which were funded under the auspices of the Australian Government’s aid program.

The Bougainville Senior Leaders Training course is the first of its kind and is being driven by the identified needs of the senior leadership, bringing together senior level public officials including the President, Vice-President and Ministers and Secretaries.

The program is an initiative of the Australian Government in collaboration with the Government of Papua New Guinea, and the Autonomous Bougainville Government and forms part of the PNG Governance Facility (PGF), as part of the Pacific Leadership and Governance Precinct.

The goal of the Precinct is to strengthen leadership, ethical behaviours, governance and the core capabilities of the public service in Papua New Guinea at national, provincial and district levels.

The 18-month course for Bougainville leaders was developed and delivered in partnership with the Papua New Guinea Institute of Public Administration (PNGIPA) and is supported by the Papua New Guinea Department of Personnel Management.

 

Working with academics from QUT’s Business School and the Faculty of Law, Bougainville leaders concluded training activities in an academic context, with a focus on budget development and management processes which impact the delivery of government services.

A high degree of autonomy was a key provision of the Bougainville Peace Agreement signed in 2001 to bring to an end a decade-long civil conflict.

President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville John Momis told a gathering at QUT the vision of the Bougainville people was to empower themselves to become agents of change and development.

“Thanks to the help we are getting from the Australian government, and in this respect QUT and PNGIPA, I think we, the leaders of Bougainville, are empowered to maintain our vision,” President Momis said.

“The good thing about the Bougainville Peace Agreement is the need to work together to provide services and to provide assistance for reconstruction and come up with a new system of government.”

Brenda Tohiana, Secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance, Autonomous Bougainville Government said: “The real value of this program is the fact that we are able to share this learning experience, and discuss the challenges we are facing with our counterparts and our colleagues”.

QUT is also playing an integral role by working in partnership with Bhutan’s Royal Education Council to strengthen vocational education programs in secondary schools to help meet growing demand for technical skills. 

Up to 28 delegates from Indonesia are participating in a two-week short course on better governance in relation to risk management and internal audit practices in the public sector.

[ Back to News ]