Kokopo plays host to biannual Matane forum

EAST New Britain hosted the bi-annual Sir Paulias Matane public seminar facilitated by University of Papua New Guinea ENB Students Association (UPNG ENBSA).
The seminar was previously launched in 2007 in Port Moresby and was the initiative of the UPNG students.
Sir Paulias, during the launch and staging of the seminar on Wednesday, said the series of public talks was to give voice to and empower students for future leadership.
He said the seminars would also enable students to be active participants in development and good governance issues in various capacities in the province and the country.
The seminars, Sir Paulias added, would also bring about mutual interaction between the presenters and audience to address facets of topic discussions.
Sir Paulias said he was pleased that in the last two seminars, a number of students had been chosen by potential employers for the outstanding presentation of their academic papers.
The seminars, he added, would also provide the platform for sound academic discussions based on in depth research by the students, in collaboration with academics and researchers.
These avenues also support policy formulation.
Sir Paulias commended the UPNG ENBSA for taking the lead in networking about governance and socio-economic issues among the people in the communities.