An evening to celebrate achievements

On Thursday evening Minister for Education Hon Teina Bishop hosted a buffet dinner at the Tamarind Restaurant in honour of the 72nd meeting of the USP Council.
Over 80 USP members from overseas attended along with local guests who included senior parliamentarians and their wives, former members of parliament, local educationalists and USP management.
The USP VIP members are made up if Ministers of Education from the Pacific. The Marshall Islands Ambassador, His Excellency Amatlain Kabua was present.
Among the guests were New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Murray McCully and his group. They had just arrived from NZ for the Joint Ministerial meeting on Friday.
Every guest was donned with an ei.
The theme for the evening was informal island style. Speeches by Minister Bishop, Prime Minister Hon Henry Puna and USP Vice Chancellor Prof Rajesh Chandra were followed by dinner which featured local dishes like rukau, ika mata, taro and also salads, grilled fish and roast pork with crackling. There were many compliments on the food especially the pork. After dessert, entertainment was provided with a dance team from Avarua School.
The Tamarind turned out to be a great choice given the weather was perfect, fine with just a slight breeze. Sue and Robbie’s staff did an extremely professional job, from the kitchen to the table, the food and the service were first class.
Minister Bishop spoke first, welcoming guests and USP members and he also paid a special welcome to Deputy Leader of the Opposition Hon Wilkie Rasmussen.
He spoke of the relationship with the USP as being a partnership which should be celebrated. Government and the USP shared similar views. Bishop said not enough was being done to celebrate the USP’s achievements. He spoke of this current, 72nd session as evidence of a growing desire to celebrate achievements.
Bishop congratulated the NZ and Australian governments for their assistance. He said there remained many challenges one being to take the USP to another level of excellence. He concluded by thanking the USP’s Cook Islands Advisory Board and USP Director Rod Dixon and his staff.
Prime Minister Hon Henry Puna spoke next and he welcomed guests and NZ Foreign Affairs Minister McCully. He acknowledged the achievements of Jim Brown who was recently appointed President of USP’s Student Council, Businessman now motivational speaker Mike Pero and ground breaking Medical Researcher Graham Matheson. He welcomed the USP visitors to the Cook Islands.
Puna referred to the special relationship with NZ and the support from NZ. For this he thanked Minister McCully and the NZ government. He introduced the new Cook Islands High Commissioner to NZ, Te Tika Mataiapo, Dorice Reid.
USP Vice Chancellor Chandra spoke comprehensively of the USP’s proud record of achievements. Firstly he thanked the Prime Minister and Minister Bishop for hosting the dinner and for their kind words. On behalf of the Council he acknowledged the support of the Cook Islands, Australia and NZ. He pointed out that it was NZ who was among the group which established the USP.
On behalf of the Pro Chancellor he thanked the Cook Islands government for its hospitality and arrangements. He reported that it had been a good workshop. Council performance had been discussed and Council had a sound governance framework in place. He said the USP would work alongside government to achieve the vision which came out of the Economic Development Summit.
Chandra said he wanted to put on record that the USP was proud of former USP scholars Minister Bishop and Minister Mark Brown. The USP was also proud of other alumni who were contributing to the Cook Islands.
Chandra mentioned that modern communication technology meant the USP was committed to ensuring its presence also extended benefits to the outer islands of the Cook Islands. He said the USP had become a world leader in deploying technology to outlying areas and to all Pacific islands. He spoke of the Cook Islands being among the best of countries in clarity of aspirations.
Chandra paid tribute to Pastor Tevai Matapo (Chair of the local USP Board and emcee for the evening) saying he was very capable.
He said he was pleased with local USP Director Rod Dixon whom he described as a “model” for other Pacific nations.
In terms of quality, Chandra said the USP was as good as any NZ and Australian University. He said in 2018 the USP would be 50 years old. He said the USP was tied to the future of the Pacific, it would deliver value and be a beacon of hope. The USP would be an example of good governance.
The entertainment by the dance team from Avarua School was the highlight of the evening with the finale seeing many guests brought outside and put through both slow and fast ura.
It was plain to see why Avarau School has one of the top dance teams on the island.
The USP visitors will take home some fond memories of this night.

Headlines : Times 290 02 March 2009
- Lucky $1,000 winner
- Century old palm trees and the French connection
- Koutu Nui takes part in Raui meeting in Moorea
- WOM Award Dinner for Ake Hosea-Winterflood
- Island of Atiu to host Koutu Nui AGM in June 2009