Newsletter: PNG Update | Aisyiyah | AAC taking shape | Diasporas & development

A.A Milne

Now we are six

Devpolicy turns six this week, and we would like to thank you for your continued support. One milestone we have reached is the publication of more than 1,500 blogs since 2010. A quick reminder to our newer readers that we are always happy to receive submissions to the Devpolicy Blog. Guidelines here.

New dates for the 2016 PNG update

The 2016 PNG Update will be held at the Waigani campus of The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) on 3-4 November 2016. The annual PNG Update is the premier forum for the discussion of research and analysis relating to contemporary economic and public policy issues in PNG. Organised by UPNG’s School of Business and Public Policy and Devpolicy, the 2016 PNG Update will feature keynote and plenary sessions on the post-boom PNG economy, gender issues, urban and infrastructure development, the private sector, health, education and development strategies, public-private partnerships, the impact of the drought, and more. Participation is free and open to the public. Details and a draft program are available here.

Aisyiyah: Australian aid and Indonesia’s largest women’s organisation

The second in our series of Aid Profiles is now online: two articles on Indonesia’s longest-serving women’s organisation, Aisyiyah. Part 1 profiles the organisation and its engagement with the Australian aid program. Part 2 looks at the special support that Aisyiyah provided to the survivors of the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

The Aid Profiles series shares stories that deserve to be better known and showcases international development contributions with an Australian flavour. It also forms a shortlist of nominees for the 2017 Mitchell Humanitarian Award – we’ll be publishing several more profiles in the coming months.

AAC taking shape

The Australasian Aid Conference (AAC), to be held 15-16 February 2017, is taking shape with plenary sessions on re-thinking governance, re-shaping humanitarian aid, Asian approaches to the private sector and development, and ideas for Australian aid. Parallel sessions will cover politics and development, poverty measurement, market development, labour mobility, and more. The deadline for proposals (for both papers and panels) has been extended by two weeks to October 16. Review the call for papers here.

Engaging diasporas in development

In a public forum co-hosted with Diaspora Action Australia and the Research for Development Impact Network on 29 September at 1pm, leaders in the field from the United Kingdom and Fiji will discuss how to engage diaspora communities in order to strengthen Australia’s development and humanitarian response efforts. More details and registration here.

Greg Taylor scholarship for Pacific and PNG scholars

We are currently requesting expressions of interest from Pacific and PNG scholars interested in undertaking research at Devpolicy in 2016-17 for a period of up to 3 months. Applications are accepted from students already studying at the ANU or elsewhere in Australia, and from new and emerging scholars in the area of economics in the Pacific and PNG. The scholarships are made possible by a generous donation from an anonymous donor, and are named in honour of Greg Taylor AO. For details please visit our website. Applications close October 17.

Upcoming events

Engaging diasporas in humanitarian response and economic development

1–2pm, Thursday 29 September 2016, Brindabella Theatre, Crawford School, ANU. Register here.

Strengthening public financial management reform in Pacific Island countries

1–2.30pm, Monday 31 October 2016, Brindabella Theatre, Crawford School, ANU. Register here

PNG Update 2016

3–4 November, Waigani Campus, UPNG, Port Moresby. Details here.

Australasian Aid Conference 2017

15–16 February, Crawford School, ANU. Event details here.

Blog highlights

PNG’s spending squeeze

Combining kids with a career in development

Taxing backpackers fairly

On the blog

Aid and Afghanistan’s future by Nematullah Bizhan and Ameen Habibi

Global Fund round five: Australia keeping up by Camilla Burkot and Ashlee Betteridge

Urban politics in Melanesia: shallow roots by Julien Barbara and Meg Keen

PNG’s discretionary expenditure crunch by Stephen Howes and Rohan Fox

Tuberculosis and the mystery of the invisible solutions by Mary Moran

How a boxer brought a new country together by Sir Manasupe Zurenuoc and Felicity Herbert

How much tax should backpackers pay? By Stephen Howes

Trials and tribulations of a development mum by Lindy Kanan

A reframed Pacific regionalism: rise of the foreign ministers by Matthew Dornan and Tess Newton Cain

How did PNG spend the resources boom? By Stephen Howes and Rohan Fox

In brief

Fortnightly links: RCT sceptics, cash + childcare, US-China trade, Global Fund, and more

A new RCT for PNG in the law and justice sector

Pacific and PNG Greg Taylor scholarship – call for expressions of interest

Effective Altruism Australia conference – videos online

Engaging diasporas in development

Aisyiyah: 99 years of women’s empowerment

This is the fortnightly newsletter of the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, published every second Friday.

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Development Policy Centre

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