Please join us for the BLUE PACIFIC FUTURES webinar series this Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 12:00noon (HST).
BOUGAINVILLE INDEPENDENCE
A New Nation Rising in the Pacific
What are the plans for Bougainville, the newest nation in the making?
About this event
The 2001 Peace Agreement that ended Papua New Guinea’s civil war called for a referendum by the people of Bougainville. In 2019 over 97 percent of Bougainvilleans voted to secede and establish an independent nation-state. Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville Government have recently agreed to a timetable that will transfer many governmental responsibilities by 2023, and establish full independence in 2027.
Oceania’s newest nation-state will face many challenges. It is unclear what economic activities will be given priority to sustain Bougainville. As a matrilineal society, the role of women will be critical to decision-making at all levels. Bougainville’s relationships with other Pacific Island nations, particularly the neighboring Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, have yet to be determined. And as global geopolitical tensions rise across the Indo-Pacific, Bougainville will need to forge new diplomatic ties with the region’s metropolitan powers.
Speakers
JAMES TANIS, former President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government. Prior to serving as President, he was elected as the Vice President of the Bougainville People’s Congress, a coalition of different warring factions united together to end the war and find lasting peace. He is among the few surviving negotiators and signatories of the Bougainville Peace Agreement. After signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement, served as Minister for Peace and Reconciliations in the Interim Bougainville Provincial government to implement reconciliations and weapons disposal to provide security for the first elections of the Autonomous Bougainville Government. As an Eminent Person, he continues to play an essential role in plans for Bougainville’s future independence.
DR ANTHONY REGAN, Fellow, Department of Pacific Affairs, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University. A constitutional lawyer by training Regan has played a pivotal role as an advisor on the Bougainville peace process. He has written widely on Bougainville. His books include The Bougainville Referendum: Law, Administration and Politics(2019, ANU Press), Light Intervention (2010, USIP Press), and Clever People Solving Difficult Problems – Perspectives on Weakness of State and Nation in Papua New Guinea (2005, ANU).
Blue Pacific Futures
The series is jointly organized by the Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at Georgetown University.
To Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bougainville-independence-a-new-nation-rising-in-the-pacific-tickets-168121773751
Contact canzps@georgetown.edu for accommodations.
Check your time zone
Washington DC, USA Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 6:00 pm EDT
Honolulu, HI, USA Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 12:00 noon HST
Buka, PNG Thu, Sep 23, 2021 at 9:00 am BST
Canberra, Australia Thu, Sep 23, 2021 at 8:00 am AEST
