New Partnerships in 2009

January 17th, 2011 jen Posted in New Partnerships in 2009 Comments Off on New Partnerships in 2009

Lots of activity in 2009 culminated in great new partnerships with InfoXchange Australia Technology for Social Justice who is delivering a Green PC Enterprise in Suai in partnership with the Suai Community Centre & FOS.  International Womens’ Development Agency (IWDA) is funding a Women’s program at the Suai Community Centre with a focus on rural livelihoods.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Two Library Technicians for Suai

January 17th, 2011 jen Posted in New Library Technicians for Suai Comments Off on Two Library Technicians for Suai

2009

Two library technicians are being trained for the new library at the Suai Secondary School & funded by FOS donors and Rotary Club of Balwyn.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

A Media Group for Suai 2006

January 17th, 2011 jen Posted in A Media Group for Suai Comments Off on A Media Group for Suai 2006

In 2006 the Friends of Suai received a request from Ergilio Vicente to provide video equipment to his organisation the Suai Covalima Youth Centre. The Friends of Suai agreed to provide $15,000 in funds towards setting up a youth video training group in Suai for the purpose of developing educational video production skills in the district.

Jen Hughes a local filmmaker had been working with the Friends of Suai since 2001 towards this and had consulted with Ergilio about it in 2000. It wasn’t until Ergilio attended a video production workshop with Oxfam that he realised the potential for video to help him with communication in the district as well as develop much needed skills and work for  youth in Suai. Jen put together the equipment parcel and travelled with the Co-ordinator of Friends of Suai, Pat Jessen to Suai in February 2006 and gave the first workshop to the 9 young people in the photograph above. Ergilio was the only person experienced with computers and one  or two of whom had never held a video camera, sat at a computer or touched a mouse.

It was in collaboration with Ergilio that this website Suai Media Space was set up in late 2008. There is more about Suai youth here and  a section dedicated to the activities of the Suai video training group named YoMaTre on this website and you can read more about it hereSome of the videos, stories and photography produced in the first workshop in 2006 and subsequent workshops are also in the Youth Media section of the site here.

In 2008 the group won a prize for their educational video about AIDS at a film festival in Dili. Unfortunately the film is too long to upload to the website.

The setting up of the media group and this website led to Emanuel Braz, (then of  the International Centre for Journalism), becoming aware of the start up media group. Emanuel decided then to make Suai one of the towns for further media development through the setting up of an Uma Media or Media House and journalism training funded by USAID. By the end of 2009 the satellite dish had been installed at the Suai Youth Centre with links to the Friends of Suai Community Centre. This meant then that Port Phillip had a broadband connection with Suai that revolutionised our communication. The new journalists are now uploading stories to timortoday.com. Read more about the Media House initiative here.

Previous to this Portuguese Telecom had an office in Suai, which was busy, expensive and unreliable. A house of viruses.

In late 2009 free social network software became available and Jen started up the suaimediaspace.ning.com social network to assist the people of Port Phillip communicate with people in Suai. The reality is that the social network is being used by people in Suai to keep in touch with each other – within East Timor and elsewhere in the diaspora. Many people are living and studying overseas. They are also using it to display their culture and do all the things everybody does on social networks – upload photographs, videos and music. As at January 2011 there are 172 members ( & growing) and conversations take place in Indonesian, English and Tetun.

In 2009 the Friends of Suai funded a photography workshop with Melbourne photographer Richard Jones in Suai, that resulted in two exhibitions of photographs. One for a conference in Dili and for the Connections Across the Timor Sea Exhibition in the St Kilda Town Hall in May 2010 as part of the 10 year Anniversary Celebrations. You can see some of the work here in the Suai Youth Section of Suai Media Space.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

East Timor veteran Shirley Shackleton wins Port Phillip Award

December 1st, 2010 jen Posted in Friends of Suai News, Port Phillip Residents Comments Off on East Timor veteran Shirley Shackleton wins Port Phillip Award

East Timor veteran of solidarity, Shirley Shackleton, wife of Greg Shackleton one of the Balibo Five murdered in 1975, has just one the Port Phillip Citizen of the Year Award in a ceremony at the St Kilda Town Hall.

In a speech to the assembled citizens Shirley shrugged aside the mammoth work load as well as the determination and courage she has shown through her  involvement with the solidarity movement for East Timor for thirty five years to tell a story of civil disobedience on our home turf. Shirley reminded us of the fragility of democracy through a local story about being wrongfully arrested in Albert Park whilst protesting against the park being converted into a racetrack for the Grand Prix.  At 78, Shirley Shackleton proved she hasn’t lost any of her sharp wit and determination to lay the bald truth before us when she asked us to remember that the wealth Australians enjoy now has been won at the cost of our own Aboriginal people.   Shirley beat five other nominees for the Award including the tremendously popular Father Bob Maguire who is a Port Phillip community icon.

Shirley is one of twelve residents of Port Phillip whose work was critical to the success of the Timorese peoples’ struggle for independence. There are short introductions to them here and more about Shirley Shackleton here.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

10 Years Photos of Friendship Celebration

November 4th, 2010 jen Posted in 10 Years Photos of Friendship Celebration, 2010 Friendship Celebrations, Events, Friends of Suai News Comments Off on 10 Years Photos of Friendship Celebration

Over 200 people attended the event to celebrate the 10 year friendship with the signing up of a further ten years. At the same time a new strategic plan was launched together with a bookazine titled The Spirit of Friendship which is available from the St Kilda Town Hall Assist desk.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Community Centre Suai TL Dream

October 27th, 2010 jen Posted in Friends of Suai News, New UTE to Suai TL Comments Off on Community Centre Suai TL Dream

Community Centre’s dreams to have a new 4WD has come true. CoPP has donated a Hilux to the Centre in the 2010. The car arrived in Suai TL in September 2010. The car is very important to the Centre to run its projects, to transport people around the District, to monitor projects, to deliver and carry things to and from Dili.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Suai Timor-Leste Delegation

October 27th, 2010 jen Posted in 2010 Friendship Celebrations, Events, Friend Visits, Friends of Suai News, Port Phillip Visits, Suai Delegation, Suai Timor-Leste Delegation Comments Off on Suai Timor-Leste Delegation

Deputy District Administrator Teofilo do Carmo and Coordinator of Covalima Community Centre Alberto de Jesus Barros left Suai Covalima for CoPP, Melbourne Australia on 14th Oct 2010 to attend 10th year Anniversary Celebrations. They were looking forward to signing a new agreement to continue the friendship for another 10 years. See more here …

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Suai School Needs a Roof

September 28th, 2010 jen Posted in Friends of Suai News, Fundraising, School needs Roof Comments Off on Suai School Needs a Roof

In 2000 every school in Covalima looked like this one. Nobody knew where to start. Now our friends in Suai have requested funding to roof this school.This is a rare opportunity to fund something that will materially contribute to the education of young people in Suai and see the difference you have made within months. If you can contribute contact Pat Jessen through our Contacts page. In this story you can see a slideshow of photographs taken as a library was built for the Suai School and what a difference one Port Phillip family made when they contributed the bulk of the money needed to build a library for the Suai school. These families received wages to build the new library and now the children have a library the Friends of Suai are working to fill. You can contribute to the library by contacting Pat Jessen.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

New 4WD car registered in Timor-Leste

September 28th, 2010 jen Posted in Cars given by Friends to Suai, Friends of Suai News, New 4WD Car registered, Transport Comments Off on New 4WD car registered in Timor-Leste

On the 21st September the Acting Co-ordinator of the Friends of Suai in Suai, Albert de Jesus Barros, advised the new ute has been registerd under TL law  and is able to travel anywhere.

This may seem basic but registering the last truck was impossible. The country was destroyed and in chaos when it arrived in August 2000.  We are waiting on a photograph.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Community Reception to Celebrate further 10 years of Friendship

September 28th, 2010 jen Posted in 2010 Friendship Celebrations, Community Reception, Events, Friends of Suai News Comments Off on Community Reception to Celebrate further 10 years of Friendship

We reported in July that the Friends of Suai planned to hold a Civic Reception for the Friends of Suai in Port Phillip and a Schools Forum, in September this year.  The Schools Forum was held in September and was attended by 150 students and teachers.  The  Civic Reception  is now being held on the 18th October.

The City of Port Phillip together with Friends of Suai have issued a public invitation to  you to attend a Community Reception. It will be attended by  the Timor-Leste Ambassador to Australia, Abel Guterres, Deputy District Administrator Covalima, Teofilo do Carmo and Community Centre Coordinator Alberto de Jesus Barros.

The event will be given some sparkle with the musical presence of the DILI ALLSTARS (Acoustic Band) & the Tebe Cultural Group which includes Timorese singers and dancers from the Victorian community.

The occasion is being planned to celebrate Port Phillip Council signing of a  Friendship Agreement that will see the community friendship with Suai continue for another ten years.  A brief history of the friendship in the form of a bookazine will be launched together with a strategic plan that outlines the priorities of the group over the next ten years.

Date: Monday 18 October, 2010
Venue: Auditorium, St Kilda Town Hall
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
RSVP: 4 October 2010
Phone: 9209 6777 or Email: rsvp@portphillip.vic.gov.au

President of Timor Leste has sent his apologies for not being able to attend this event as planned.


AddThis Social Bookmark Button