The Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO) is urging the Pacific Australia Skills (PAS) program, backed by Australian funding, to focus on empowering women, enhancing accountability, and promoting climate action in the region’s training and development efforts. During a meeting with program representatives, PIANGO Executive Director Emeline Ilolahia outlined these priorities, emphasizing the necessity of skills development for women affected by the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme. Ilolahia highlighted the dual roles women often assume in the absence of their loved ones involved in the PALM programs and stressed the need for targeted training to enable these women to sustain their own development.
PIANGO is also keen on maintaining high accountability standards through its IAM Self-Assessment Toolkit, which serves to ensure that commitments to localization and robust civil society are upheld. This tool is instrumental for the organization’s National Liaison Units in tracking and fulfilling these commitments and ensuring that donors and partners also adhere to similar principles.
On climate action, PIANGO emphasized the importance of translating international discourse into actionable grassroots initiatives. Ilolahia expressed the need for a bridge between global discussions, like those at the COP summits, and community-level actions. The goal is to create platforms for youth voices in the Pacific to lead climate discourse and initiatives, fostering a new generation of leaders ready to advocate for their communities.
With the PAS program succeeding the former Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC), PIANGO’s recommendations could play a key role in shaping how skills development is approached across the Pacific. The call for a more inclusive and accountable framework resonates with broader regional ambitions, as both organizations and governments increasingly recognize the importance of localized and sustainable solutions to socio-economic and environmental challenges facing Pacific nations.