Galgal becomes second recipient of leaders fellowship

As a boy in Papua New Guinea, Kasek Galgal (pictured) was motivated by time out – he found physics and maths easy, so aligned his study path at school for fast results and a quick exit to the playground.
As the second recipient of the Papua New Guinea Emerging Leaders Fellowship, a GE-sponsored initiative of the Lowy Institute’s Aus-PNG Network, Galgal is passionate about the transformative power of technology for developing nations in the Pacific region.
First on his list of priorities is helping to enable broad access to internet services, to afford all young Papua New Guineans the educational opportunities he has had.
“I’m privileged,” says the son of an agriculturalist and an accountant, who studied at a school in Lae, the country’s second largest city, for three years in Brisbane and later at a university in Port Moresby.
“And I see people all around me who haven’t had that opportunity. I think the world would really be a better place if everyone did.”
GE – with its growing involvement in Papua New Guinea, in resource extraction, power generation and healthcare – sees a natural fit in partnering with the Lowy Institute, “to build and support the next iteration of leadership for PNG and to foster a mutual understanding of the close ties and engagement between PNG and Australia”.
GE’s senior director of government affairs and policy in the region Sam Maresh said Galgal’s skills and aims in data science and diplomacy are a coincidental match with GE’s vision.
“GE is pivoting towards the industrial internet, and in the economy of the future people who have that skill set, and countries and industries that can communalise those skills, will make the leaps and bounds.”
Galgal’s personal curriculum includes many aspects of IT, such as researching cyber-security and PNG’s policies for protecting its citizens, businesses and institutions.
“When I applied for the Lowy programme, I hoped it would allow me the time to concentrate on an analysis of Papua New Guinea’s new cybercrime policy,” he says from the Lowy Institute’s offices overlooking Sydney’s Circular Quay.
The fellowship has supported Galgal to live and work in Australia for a month of immersion in the Lowy Institute environment.
“I really wanted to learn more about international policy and to apply it to something. To learn on the job is very valuable to me.”
His PNG cyber-policy analysis will be published on the Lowy Institute’s The Interpreter.
A lecturer in computational physics at the University of Papua New Guinea, Galgal is also studying for a Masters in Diplomacy focusing on internet governance, with the hope of influencing outcomes and decision-making on a national, regional and international scale.
He said the diplomatic landscape is rapidly changing.
“You have emerging economies such as China and India becoming key players,” Galgal said.
“The landscape will continue to change and we can learn from other developing economies to become equal partners in development and trade, rather than being seen as recipients of aid.”

 – www.gereports.com.au