14 November 2012: The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) coordinated the first regional training on the Pacific Climate Change Portal for national counterparts. Participants discussed user needs and the establishment of a network of climate change portal editors and users.

The training, which took place at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva, Fiji, on 6-8 November 2012, equipped participants from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu with skills and knowledge for maintaining their countries’ information relating to climate change on the Portal. According to SPREP, the Pacific Climate Change Portal will house a database of national climate change projects in the region.

Makelesi Gonelevu, SPREP Knowledge Management Officer, indicated that the training also: identified how the Portal meets the needs of Pacific islands people; and provided an opportunity to test the Portal, collecting user feedback on improvements or additional features. Participants also received training in searching the virtual libraries of the University of the South Pacific and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) for climate change information.

Representatives from SPC, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) also attended the training. [SPREP Press Release]