Friends of Suai

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Comment by Pat Jessen on June 25, 2009 at 10:18am

Suai Sub District Coordinator in Melbourne

Last week Francisco d’Jesus Alvares the Sub District Coordinator for Suai, Timor Leste visited Port Phillip. Francisco was in Melbourne to attend training through Victorian Government’s Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD. Francisco and and Rui da Costa, Sub District Coordinator Lacluta Viqueque, had 4 weeks intensive English training and were placed at Wangaratta City Council to learn about local government in Australia and community development in a rural setting in Australia.

Friends of Suai (FoS) committee hosted a dinner for them in Port Phillip to hear about their experiences both in Australia and their work in Timor Leste. Francisco met with FoS Chairperson Bill Armstrong and Coordinator Pat Jessen to give us an update on his work in Suai town.

He also came to the St Kilda Town Hall for a roundtable discussion with the Mayor of Port Phillip Cr Frank O’Connor, Cr Rachel Powning, the FoS council representative and Governance team to discuss the first up coming municipal elections planned for 2009/2010. The municipal elections are planned to roll out with village level elections in September 2009, followed by legislative and president elections staged in 2010. The new municipal system will decentralise government to the districts providing greater opportunity for much needed development in rural and remote locations like Suai.

He told us that visited the State Library many times whilst in Melbourne and would like to see a municipal library in the heart of Suai so everyone can benefit from access to books and information. We showed him the St Kilda library while he was at the town hall.

Francisco enjoyed his time in Australia very much especially his chance to see snow on Mt Buffalo or Buffalo Mountain as he described it. He visited schools in Wangaratta and was impressed with youth participation and older people’s participation being valued in local decision making.

The Friends of Lacluta in Wangaratta made them both very welcome showing them the sights in their region.

It was a great opportunity for everyone to get together.

Comment by Desleigh Kent on June 8, 2009 at 5:28pm

Hello everyone out there! I also am a member of Friends of Suai that is supported by the City of Port Phillip in Victoria Australia. I am looking forward to another trip to Suai in September so I hope I can renew friendships began when I made my first trip there in 2008!

Comment by Jen Hughes on June 8, 2009 at 10:51am

Hi Pat,
That's great. I think it might be the Uma Media which is Uma meaning house - media house.

Comment by Pat Jessen on June 7, 2009 at 6:10pm

Green PC and Internet Coming Soon to Suai

Hi I am now back home in Australia after 3 weeks in Timor Leste. Simao and I went to Baucau to visit the 4 trainees at Info Timor. They had finished their first month training on Ubuntu office suite and PowerPoint and were ready to learn the technical side of refurbishing computers. They will return to Suai in late June to set up the new IT Suai Enterprise. All things being equal, the broadband internet is due to come to Suai in June also. The UMR Media house will operate from Suai delivering on the spot news across the nation. The youth centre and community centre will both provide internet café locations, so Suai will soon leapfrog into the digital age. It’s pretty exciting and we are all waiting to see the reality.

Friends of Suai also sponsored Richard Jones to run a one month workshop on digital photography assisted by interpreter Afreo Sanches from Arte Moris with members of YoMatre youth media and Radio Taroman Community Radio and other youth. The group exhibited their photographs at the Independence Day celebrations both at the youth centre and the Suai Market for all to see.

We are planning to put the exhibition on-line soon.

Pat Jessen 10/6/09

Comment by Jen Hughes on June 7, 2009 at 10:34am

Great to see you hear Pat perhaps you could invite Alberto and Simao to join this group by using the invite menu at the top and let's find a signature photo for this Group? Yesterday Liz and I took Anata and Grinalda to William Rickets Park, they couldn't stop videoing and photographing it they loved it. The other highlights of their trip in relation to our joint activities that I can judge, have been the visit to VEGOUT, Liz showing them her father's photographs and watercolours, the Human Sign and the Gurrumul concert at the Palais, they love them. Photos to come. We will be working together today to put some more stuff up. Have you checked out Anata's paintings?

Comment by Ann Wigglesworth on April 17, 2009 at 1:36pm

Hi I am a member of Friends of Suai in Port Phillip council, Melbourne. We meet regularly to discuss how we can support the Suai community. Friends of Suai (FOS) will be organising English language classes in Suai soon. People can contact the Suai Community Centre if they are interested, or write to this site.

Comment by Jen Hughes on April 8, 2009 at 7:39pm

If you are interested in the specific activities of the Friends of Suai you can join as an individual and join this group. Then you can report on events or activities, upload photos, start a discussion or whatever, you are participating in or helping with.