Australian Leadership Award scholarships awarded to top Fiji candidates including for the first time a visually impaired student
11 December 2012
The Acting Australian High Commissioner, Mr. Glenn Miles, today presented 7 Fiji citizens with the prestigious Australian Leadership Award (ALA) scholarship.
These scholarships are implemented by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) as part of the Australia Awards initiative. The ALA program aims to develop leadership, build partnerships and enduring linkages between developing countries and Australia.
“These 7 outstanding people have been identified for their potential to assume leadership roles that can influence social and economic policy reform and development outcomes in Fiji and the region on their return home,” said Mr. Miles.
One of the awardees, Ms Sovaia Faktaufon, is Fiji’s first ever visually impaired ALA recipient. Born completely blind, Sovaia is a teacher at the Fiji School for the Blind. She has completed her Bachelors in Education majoring in Literature and Language. Sovaia is determined to be one of the first visually impaired persons in a managerial position in Fiji and has always wanted to pursue a career in human resource management and accounting.
“I would like to be one of the pioneers in the Human Resource field for visually impaired people in Fiji. Presently the public and especially employers are of the view that people with disability can only be employed under their associations or within special needs group. When I return from my Masters I will work to change this view of us who have a disability”, said Sovaia.
“These scholars can be justifiably proud of winning a prestigious award that will equip them to serve as future leaders of their field in their country and region, and I congratulate them all”, said Mr. Miles.
The Australia Awards initiative demonstrates Australia’s commitment to developing leadership and building partnerships and linkages within developing countries, while addressing priority development issues of Fiji and the region.
The 7 awardees will undertake postgraduate studies at Australian universities in fields that include Agriculture, Nursing Leadership & Management, Development Studies, Gender & Development, Geophysics, Resource Economics and Human Resource Management. The seven awardees will also participate in a tailored leadership development program during the course of their studies to strengthen their leadership skills, establish regional networks and enhance their understanding of regional development challenges.
The seven awardees are; Ms Sovaia Faktaufon (Master of Commerce – Master of Strategic Human Resource Management; University of Wollongong), Adi Tiriseyani Naulivou (Master of Development Studies; University of Melbourne), Mr Robin Achari (Doctorate in Agriculture; University of New England), Ms Haemarie Taito (Master of Nursing Leadership & Management; University of South Australia), Ms Miliana Ratu (Master of Development Studies Gender and Development; University of Melbourne), Ms Makereta Alfereti (Master of Resource Economics; ANU) and Mr Sefanaia Seru (Master of Science; Geophysics; Curtin University)
The successful 7 Fiji citizens have been selected from over 100 Fiji applicants.
The Acting Australian High Commissioner presented the awardees with their tickets at a Pre-Departure function held at the Australian High Commission today.
Further information about Australia Awards can be found at www.australiaawards.gov.au.
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