Dr Rolph Payet is to represent President James Michel at the 4th Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands

Global Conference on Oceans, coasts and islands - 01.04.2008 (Seychelles Nation) 
Dr Payet to represent President Michel in Hanoi

The special adviser to the President is expected to deliver a special keynote address from President Michel at the conference, which will go on until April 12.

It will focus on three major themes related to achieving ecosystem management and integrated coastal and ocean management at national and regional levels, and in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

The adviser, who also chairs the Working Group on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Implementation of the Mauritius Strategy, will be involved in coordinating the “SIDS Ocean Strategy Workshop.”
He will also chair the high-level panel on “Oceans, Climate and Small Island Developing States.”

The Hanoi conference will mobilize high-level policy attention, advance discussions on key ocean and island issues to provide a review of progress achieved or not realised in advancing ecosystem management and integrated coastal and ocean management by 2010 at national and regional levels.

It will also address the goal of reducing marine biodiversity loss by 2010 and of establishing networks of marine protected areas by 2012.

These targets were adopted by the world's political leaders at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and are considered in the context of climate change, which, as indicated in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will have profound effects on ecosystems and coastal populations around the world.

Launching of university media lab

Launching of university media lab - 14.03.2008  (Seychelles Nation)
University to boost society, says new media team
The launching of Seychelles University will greatly impact all sectors of the Seychellois society in the same way as other new universities are known to do around the world.

The chairman and members of a new Seychelles University Foundation’s (SUF) team called the “Media Lab” which was launched at State House on Wednesday said.

“Any university that has been launched in any country has had a big impact in transforming society and it is important for Seychellois to understand those impacts,” said Dr Rolph Payet, who chairs both the SUF and the Media Lab.

He said that creating awareness on such issues to the public is one of the reasons why the media group, comprised of personnel from, media, communication and related sectors of public and private organizations, was formed.

“People will need to understand that overnight the university will have capacity to absorb many more people than had the chance to go to university overseas previously,” he said, explaining that at the moment, due to limitation of resources, government sponsors only those who have 18 points and above, which is very high, because there has to be a cut-off point, but others who have a bit less but have nevertheless qualified well enough would have access to the University of Seychelles.

“This means we will end up with more graduates and therefore more professionals and the economy will move ahead as many more changes happen in society,” he said, adding that there will be more disposable income.

Dr Payet said that the Media Lab is meant to implement specific goals of the strategic plans and will embark on an information campaign, first to motivate and encourage young Seychellois to prepare and aim for institution, so that when the university is operational, there will be enough Seychellois who meet the minimum entry requirements.

“The group will encourage young Seychellois to do their best at school and urge parents to be more involved in their children’s education,” Dr Payet said.

Another aim of the media team is to assist in the fund raising campaign that will be launched soon, he said, adding that the university is next month expected to have an office in town whose venue will be made public in due course.

Workshop discusses coastal community resilience

Workshop discusses coastal community resilience - 29.02.2008 ( from Seychelles Nation)

Over 40 delegates belonging to the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWS)) from the region and beyond are meeting over three days in the Seychelles to exchange knowledge and analyse tools and practices for enhanced coastal community resilience.

They are carrying out the exercise through a three-day workshop being held at the Maison de Football, Roche Caiman.
The workshop is being hosted by the Department of Risk and Disaster Management (DRDM), with the support of the United Nations (UN) International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).

It is being organized under the theme ‘Approaches to Coastal Community Resilience’, and its main highlight was the showcase of Silhouette island as a small and resilient community, through a 15-minute documentary that was shown to participants after the workshop’s official opening yesterday.

The opening, as well as the screening of the documentary, took place in the presence of the special advisor in the Office of the President, Dr Rolph Payet; the Head of the Secretariat of ICG, Tony Elliot; and DRDM’s director general, Michel Vielle, who also happens to be the Chairman for Group 6 – Mitigation, Preparedness and Response of the ICG/IOTWS.

Participants of the workshop come from countries around the Indian Ocean region, notably Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles.

Local participants attending the workshop are said to be partners to DRDM in the collective effort to manage and limit the outcome of disasters and such in the event they should occur on our territory.

Red Cross joins in efforts to address risks of climate change

Red Cross joins in efforts to address risks of climate change - 25.02.2008
The Red Cross Society of Seychelles (RCSS) in collaboration with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Change Centre (RCCC) organised a one-day session last week under the theme “Understanding and addressing the risks of climate change”.

The one-day session, held at the International Conference Centre, is the first in four steps of a Memorandum of Understanding, signed recently between the RCSS and the RCCC, ´Preparedness for climate change 2006-08´. The objective of the MOU is to strengthen the capacity of the national society to better understand and address the risks of climate change to the vulnerable people in the country and the implementation of its programs.

Speaking to Seychelles Nation after the course’s opening, the Disaster Management Coordinator for the RCSS, Andy Roucou, said that climate change poses the threat of exposing the world to various humanitarian crisis, and as an organizations which deals with such emergencies, it is imperative that actions to gain knowledge of the phenomenon are engaged sooner.

Citing as example, he said that if the water were to rise because of global warming, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies all over the world would be required to assist those affected by the happening, and so it is important to brainstorm in this respect, “in order to identify what is expected of us should such a tragedy struck”.

Among the facilitators of the workshop was the special adviser in the President’s Office, Dr Rolph Payet.