PNG team in Cairns

THE Cairns Institute at the James Cook University in Australia will assist PNG in 18 projects mainly in the area of research work and co-learning.
A PNG government delegation arrived in Cairns yesterday to sign the first two of 18 pro­jects to be driven by the institute.
The two projects are the “Nature and Extent of Disability in PNG” and “Community Learning Development Centres Information Research”, which are part of community learning, the first of five priority areas the Cairns Institute will conduct research in.
The institute’s strong links with PNG are further highlighted by its director, Prof Hurriyet Babacan, being invited to PNG next week to speak at two high profile events organised by the Australian High Commission and the Australia-PNG Business Council as part of Australia Week.
Babacan said the university had significant engagement in PNG, with 77 projects at last count and many of them were with the institute.
“JCU is the most integrated Australian university with PNG because of the significant amount of work we do there,” she said.
“We hold a lot of expertise, with some of our professors carrying out 22 years of research, we share linkages with government and non-governmental agen­-
cies, cultural and historical ties, we have teaching commitments there, a large PNG diaspora community lives in Cairns and it is the closest Australian city to PNG,” she said.
Babacan said the projects with PNG’s Department of Community Development were particularly significant as they would emphasise co-learning as a new opportunity, involving some 47 JCU researchers.