Hon Dr Shane Reti
Minister for Universities
Minister for Pacific Peoples

Universities Minister Dr Shane Reti will travel to Port Moresby this week to attend the Conference of Pacific Education Ministers alongside representatives from Pacific nations and Australia, to collaborate on shared education priorities.

The theme of the conference, Transforming Edukesen for a Better Pacific, reflects the need for the region to adapt and embrace innovative approaches in response to global educational changes.

This transformation aims to enhance growth and create a more effective, equitable and sustainable education system. It will impact everything from individual classrooms to national education frameworks.

“The Pacific is critically important to New Zealand given our shared social, language, cultural, and historical links,” says Dr Reti.

“This conference is an opportunity to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment as a Pacific nation to working together in addressing shared education challenges.

“This engagement is of particular significance to New Zealand, given we are celebrating 50 years of independence and diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea.

“New Zealand enjoys a positive and longstanding relationship with the Pacific education community. Our investments across the region support the educational aspirations of our Pacific whanau.

“I am therefore pleased to announce New Zealand’s investment of $1.5 million over three years from our International Development Cooperation programme in the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report.

“This investment will support education leaders, Ministers, officials, teachers, and communities to better understand global challenges in education and use this information to bolster local education policy and planning, including in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says.

While in Papua New Guinea, Dr Reti will meet with education counterparts and experts from across the region to further strengthen relationships and collaborate on shared educational goals. He will also provide a statement on the recent Second Pacific Education Development Partners Coordination Meeting hosted in Wellington.

Dr Reti will host an event with recipients and alumni of the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships Programme, which provides a range of tertiary and short-term scholarships across the Pacific.

Dr Reti departs New Zealand on Tuesday 18 March and returns on Thursday 20 March 2025.

© Scoop Media