Peter O`Neil,John Momis,Peter Taylor,Lawrence...

Peter O`Neil,John Momis,Peter Taylor,Lawrence Daveona.......

BUKA, PNG --- A two day seminar planned for next month will enable Bougainvilleans to get an update on the implementation of the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement.

The untapped potential of the autonomous region’s economy and the ability of crisis-affected communities to move on with life will also be brought to the fore at the seminar scheduled for August 29-30 in Port Moresby.

The Port Moresby-based Bougainville Association chair Paul Nerau told the Post-Courier in a recent interview the two-day seminar would revolve around the theme “Bougainville’s sustainability going forward,’’ and its outcomes would be a win-win for all stakeholders.

“The program is still at the draft stage but at the seminar’s conclusion it should be a win-win situation (in terms of information disseminated) for all stakeholders including Papua New Guinea and the autonomous region of Bougainville,” he said.

Some of the seminar presenters are considered experts on the peace agreement and have played key roles in its formulation.

These include Australian constitutional lawyer Anthony Regan and academic Dr Edward Wolfers from the University of Wollongong.

Respected Pacific Island economist Dr Satish Chand will also give a presentation on the economic aspirations of the autonomous region.

While award-winning Catholic nun, Sister Lorraine Garasu, will give seminar participants an insight into the challenges she faces in her attempts to rehabilitate conflict-affected Bougainvilleans.

PBA deputy chair and former MP Sam Akoitai appealed to national parliamentarians to attend the two-day seminar to appreciate the complexities of the peace agreement.

“It is important for all levels of government to understand the Bougainville Peace Agreement,” he said.

While the association has and will take the lead in disseminating as much information as possible through the planned seminar and in the lead-up to the referendum, PBA executive Salome Rihatta said they have not forgotten Bougainville’s next generation who were born after the crisis.

“We are working with student associations from UPNG (University of PNG), DBTI (Don Bosco Technology Institute) and the high schools as a lot of them don’t know the background to autonomy as they were born after the crisis,” she added.