APCAN’s engagement with the Australia Awards Solomon Islands in 2023

As this year comes to an end, APCAN Solomon Islands reflects on the engagements and partnerships it has made with various stakeholders ranging from the international and regional organizations, governments, civil society organizations, private sector, and academic institutions in 2023.

One of the key partners which APCAN has engaged with is Australian Awards Solomon Islands (AASI) and the Solomon Islands Australia Alumni Association (SIAAA). APCAN recognized the critical role that AASI provides in ensuring that returning scholars have access to job related opportunities, mentoring, professional networking, and/or connection to relevant information on post- graduation capacity building opportunities as they enter or re-enter the workforce. 

As a network that was initially set up as a subset of the broader Australian Alumni Network in Pacific countries, APCAN acknowledged the meaningful engagement and collaboration with AASI this year by supporting returning cohorts of the AASI scholars through information sharing, mentoring, and connecting them with what's happening in the climate change, disaster risk management and overall resilience building space in Solomon Islands and regionally after graduating from university through an Australia Awards Scholarship. 

This year, APCAN participated in three workshops hosted and facilitated by AASI in Honiara and these were:

1.       Preparing for Reintegration Workshop held on the 24 May 2023 via zoom; 

2.       Reintegration Workshop held in person on the 22 September 2023 at Heritage Park Hotel, Honiara; and

3.       Preparing for Reintegration Workshop held on 1 December 2023 via zoom. 

Over these three events, a total of about 23 have benefited from this information, mentoring and networking sessions. APCAN was grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with AASI in supporting the graduates as they navigate enter or re-enter the workforce and navigate through their career pathway.