I've had six months away from writing this blog and I have to say I've missed it. I've still been learning about PNG (I hope never to stop!) but things had slowed down somewhat.
However, not deterred, here are three of my favourite sports-related PNG things that have caught my attention whilst I've been away.
Monday, 22 August 2016
Friday, 15 January 2016
Hello 2016!
Happy New Year friends, readers and wantoks!
I have a few resolutions for this blog for 2016:
I have a few resolutions for this blog for 2016:
- Write up some more Time Beyond Tumbuna stories
- Cook a PNG themed meal
- Take my PNG flag back to the Tour de Yorkshire (and hold it the right way up this time!)
- Find out more about my family links to PNG
- Support PNG in the Rio Olympics
I'd also like to know what you think about the blog - Write a comment below, or, even better, contact me on Twitter @PNGEmmy
Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Happy 40th Anniversary PNG!
In celebration of Papua New Guinea's 40th Anniversary of Independence, here's a few of my favourite tweets.
The High Commission
The 40th anniversary of Papua New Guinea.Celebrations are being held throughout the country. pic.twitter.com/YTggYOxFHR
— PAPUA NEW GUINEA (@PNG_HC) September 16, 2015
The Office Workers
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE! From @TheVoiceIncPNG and those of us still left in the office! God bless #PNG! pic.twitter.com/dO6rYlshMR
— The Voice Inc PNG (@TheVoiceIncPNG) September 15, 2015
The Family
WE ARE INDEPENDENT, WE ARE FREE...40TH INDEPENDENCE IN #ANGORAM EAST SEPIK PROVINCE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. pic.twitter.com/jfsy28jCIk
— AvemarnND (@AvemarnND) September 14, 2015
The Expatriate
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY PAPUA NEW GUINEA! I may live abroad but I'm still proud of my homeland. #OneLove #PNGPride
— Enos Gagau (Nos) (@EnosGagau) September 16, 2015
Modern & Traditional
— Aaron Bird (@aaron_bird) September 15, 2015
The West Papuan Voice
-Benny Wenda's PNG Independence Day message 2015
Dear brothers and sisters,
On behalf of the people of West... http://t.co/xA35CA6u2g
— Benny Wenda (@BennyWenda) September 16, 2015
The Celebration Float (a good cause!)
Our amazing float as part of the PNG Independence celebrations in POM yesterday. Did you see us marching? #pngemmiyah pic.twitter.com/K35pEOaaZU
— Clean Gen Campaign (@CleanGenPNG) September 17, 2014
And Finally... Wise Words
Happy 40th Independence #PNG. May you remember where you came from, find out why you are here and choose wisely the path before you.
— Nick Piakal (@niicaux) September 16, 2015
Monday, 27 July 2015
40th Anniversary of Papua New Guinean Independence
This September Wantoks and friends around the world will be celebrating 40 years of Papua New Guinean independence. It's obviously a significant time for all those who have links to PNG but my British family are also linked to this in a surprising way.
Forty years ago my Dad (and for a time, my Uncle) were taking part in a caving expedition to West Sepik (or Sandaun) Province. I will write more about this at another time as it was a record-breaking trip at the extreme limits of world caving. Despite the significance of the trip, all the expedition team returned to the town of Telefomin to watch the tribes from around the area gather to celebrate independence. They had a cameraman called Sid Perou who was documenting the trip and he captured these scenes from the day. (Warning: Contains scenes of animal slaughter)
As a Papua-phile (or should that be New Guinea-phile?) I follow various Wantok and PNG groups in the UK and recently I decided to look into whether there were any celebrations planned in Britain. I expected to find some London-based events and was fully prepared to consider a trip to the capital if my budget allowed.
You might imagine my surprise when I found that the main celebration event in the UK this year is happening at Headingley stadium, which is practically on my doorstep in Leeds. This sort of coincidence shouldn't really be ignored, so I bought tickets for me and my parents too. We may not be Papua New Guinean, but we're still really looking forward to this party!
If you're interested in attending the event on 19th September 2015, please visit www.png40.info for more information.
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
University life
This time of year is a hectic one for me as I work at a university and our annual cycle of work is often dictated by the arrival of students in September.
Although I've been pretty busy, out of curiosity I asked one of my colleagues if they knew how many Papua New Guinean students there are studying here. We certainly see a lot of international students but I had no idea how many (if any) were from PNG.
I was disappointed to learn that over the last few years there have been no more than 6 people from PNG registering and only some of those actually arriving to start their studies here. It is certainly a long way to travel, and to be so far from family and friends would definitely put me off.
There are several universities in Papua New Guinea and lots of career specific colleges to study at too, as you can see from this list of approved Institutes of Higher Education from the Office of Higher Education. Even if you were looking for a world class institution then there are 9 of the top 50 by reputation that are much closer than coming to the United Kingdom.
So really I should not have been so surprised!
Although I've been pretty busy, out of curiosity I asked one of my colleagues if they knew how many Papua New Guinean students there are studying here. We certainly see a lot of international students but I had no idea how many (if any) were from PNG.
I was disappointed to learn that over the last few years there have been no more than 6 people from PNG registering and only some of those actually arriving to start their studies here. It is certainly a long way to travel, and to be so far from family and friends would definitely put me off.
There are several universities in Papua New Guinea and lots of career specific colleges to study at too, as you can see from this list of approved Institutes of Higher Education from the Office of Higher Education. Even if you were looking for a world class institution then there are 9 of the top 50 by reputation that are much closer than coming to the United Kingdom.
So really I should not have been so surprised!
Monday, 8 September 2014
Amazing Earth: Mount Tavurvur
Apparently Papua New Guinea is experiencing a lot of seismic activity at the moment. I'm not sure whether this is standard for the area, but as an island situated on the meeting point of two major tectonic plates, the Pacific and the Australian, then it's perhaps not a surprise!
Here is a fantastic video of the eruption of Mount Tavurvur volcano on August 29th, 2014, captured by Phil McNamara. The camera was about 4.5km (2.5miles) away from the explosion and the shockwave can clearly be seen, even blowing away the clouds!
As far as I can tell everyone living locally received plenty of warning and there were no casualties, which is excellent news but it is still a scary thing to happen on your doorstep.
Here are a few more amazing pictures of Mount Tavurvur taken a few years ago by Flickr user Taro Taylor.
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Supporting the little team with the big heart
The new football (soccer) season has just started here in England and with it comes the excited chatter of fans from around the country. My favourite type of supporter (and perhaps it's no surprise my husband is one of these) is the often resigned fan of a team that doesn't always do well, but always tries to be the best it can be. I feel as though national sport in Papua New Guinea is a bit like this team.
The more I read about the country as a whole, the more I hear of the corruption of big business, institutions and politics. I've also become aware of inherent inequalities such as access to healthcare in remote areas and the status of gay relationships. There is no doubt an external bias that skews my viewpoint here, but despite these issues, I still feel like championing PNG, especially in sport. My travels over the internet exploring Papua New Guinea haven't all been doom and gloom. I've also found out about the many organisations that are doing great things in communities across PNG, especially those related to sport.
Cricket PNG not only has a grand program of school cricket that has been touring schools since 2010, but also a range of initiatives called Kriket Blo Olgeta which includes disability cricket, women's teams, international matches and village and traditional games. Cricket PNG promotes all these through it's Facebook page right alongside the first team events, which shows how important the grass-roots game is to the national organisation.
Other sports are also involved in encouraging participation across the country. Rugby PNG run schools and community work in tandem with international organisations. Athletics PNG, who have been going for over 50 years, run athletics events in more than half of the 15 provinces, and aim to expand that even further so that all up-and-coming sports stars have the opportunity to get involved.
Wherever you are, when a sports team profile is raised it often means that there will be more funding for the projects that help get ordinary people engaged. I can see that sports organisations in PNG find it important to bring their games to everyone and that is something I can firmly cheer on.
If international sport is like the Premiership then to me PNG is the little team that may not win the cup, but that I'm proud to support because it's heart is firmly in the right place.
The more I read about the country as a whole, the more I hear of the corruption of big business, institutions and politics. I've also become aware of inherent inequalities such as access to healthcare in remote areas and the status of gay relationships. There is no doubt an external bias that skews my viewpoint here, but despite these issues, I still feel like championing PNG, especially in sport. My travels over the internet exploring Papua New Guinea haven't all been doom and gloom. I've also found out about the many organisations that are doing great things in communities across PNG, especially those related to sport.
PNG Women's Cricket team winning their latest trophy. Photo: Skerah
Cricket PNG not only has a grand program of school cricket that has been touring schools since 2010, but also a range of initiatives called Kriket Blo Olgeta which includes disability cricket, women's teams, international matches and village and traditional games. Cricket PNG promotes all these through it's Facebook page right alongside the first team events, which shows how important the grass-roots game is to the national organisation.
Photo from the Cricket PNG Facebook page
Other sports are also involved in encouraging participation across the country. Rugby PNG run schools and community work in tandem with international organisations. Athletics PNG, who have been going for over 50 years, run athletics events in more than half of the 15 provinces, and aim to expand that even further so that all up-and-coming sports stars have the opportunity to get involved.
Wherever you are, when a sports team profile is raised it often means that there will be more funding for the projects that help get ordinary people engaged. I can see that sports organisations in PNG find it important to bring their games to everyone and that is something I can firmly cheer on.
If international sport is like the Premiership then to me PNG is the little team that may not win the cup, but that I'm proud to support because it's heart is firmly in the right place.
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