50 years of dedicated service

DWU President Prof Cecilia Nembou gives Kaspar Bas an award to recognize his 50 years of service to DWU.

Kaspar Bas who is known as papa Kaspar by all the students and staff who had studied at Catholic high school, DWI and DWU, is celebrating 50 years of dedicated service to the institution this year. A special dinner was held in his honor to mark the occasion. Kaspar came to Catholic High in 1968 from his Kayan village, Bogia, at the request of Archbishop Adolph Noser to help Fr Kenneth Feehan build the institution. He looked after the school grounds, creating the lawns, planting the trees, and cultivating the beautiful flower gardens for all those years. He continues to live and work on campus with his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Hundreds of students who had passed through Catholic High, DWI, and DWU will remember Kaspar and have their own stories to tell.

Students urged to play an effective role in the media

Guests, lecturers and students of the Communication Arts Department at the 2018 Media Freedom Day celebrations

By Elijah Chapok

PNG Media Council President Neville Choi has encouraged journalism students of Divine Word University to play an effective role in the media.

Mr. Choi said on Friday anyone could use social media to label the mainstream news as ‘fake’, just because it did not push their interests.

He also asked the students to be prepared and able to adapt to the developments in technology.

“Because of the times that we live in, we need to do more. It is a challenge that the Papua New Guinea media faces each day in every newsroom,” said Mr. Choi.

Mr. Choi said that one of the main priorities of the Media Council was the training of the next generation journalists.

“The Media Council of PNG will be working to put in place live, interactive newsrooms or news hubs in each of the journalism schools; so that student journalists are trained to be effective in the mainstream media landscape from the second they graduate, instead of having to go through retraining, once they arrive in mainstream newsrooms. This is an idea which will be implemented in a future date.”

According to Mr. Choi, MCPNG believed that having these active newsrooms would not only offer a practical feel to students, but also save media organizations time and resources.

Speech brings tears

By Anton Selve

A student had many people in tears at the Divine Word University’s 36th graduation ceremony with his moving valedictory address.

Valedictorian Peter Nasale acknowledged the important people in the lives of each graduating student, and the hard work and hurdles that many parents had to overcome to send their children to DWU.

Nasale challenged each graduate to remember and to dedicate their achievements to the people that matter.

“This achievement is not of our own struggles, but for all those who contributed one way or the other to see that this day is reached,” he said.

He also remembered the parents and the loved ones that the students had lost during their schooling years.

Waide praises social media

By Thomas Dilu

Social media has become a vital tool for journalists in the digital world today.

EMTV Lae Bureau Chief of News and Current Affairs Scott Waide said this at the Media Freedom Day celebrations held at Divine Word University on May 4, 2018.

Giving an insight into the world of journalism in PNG, Mr Waide said social media today played a vital role and could be an extension of journalism work or be a negativity in the world we lived in.

He said 21st century people want journalists to give opinions because today people spoke and not the media through their elected leaders in the parliament.

Mr Waide said that in order for a journalist to be good in his or her field, he or she must cope with the increase of digital age and spend more than five years in the field to see whether the profession has improved or not.

Academic says western concept of garamut wrong

By Anton Selve

A Papua New Guinean specialist in the field of communication has challenged the traditional European concept of the PNG garamut.

Divine Word University’s Head of theCommunication Arts department Dr Alphonse Aime said that the European Anthropologists’ concept of the garamut, (as a slit- drum) was wrong.

Dr. Aime presented a paper on the garamut in a conference organized by the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania in the United States.

He said that his paper was a contradiction to the previous studies that were carried out on the garamut.

“The Europeans defined the garamut as a slit-drum making it equal to the Jamaican steel drum, however the garamut to us is not just a musical instrument, it means a lot more to us,” he said.

He explained the need for PNG people to redefine the term used to explain garamut, stating that the whole purpose of the thesis wasn’t to show the Europeans what they were capable of as a country but what they could teach themselves of their culture.

“We don’t need to show the Europeans anything, I think we need to start redefining the term and the significance of the garamut,” he said.

“The garamut means so much more to us, it is a spiritual connection, a social agency and also a distribution of a person- it carries the name of the person who owns it.”

Use technology to help: Czuba

By Bradley Asa

Department of Higher Education Research Science and Technology Secretary Professor Jan Czuba urged graduates to use technology to help people and not only to help themselves.

Secretary for Higher Education Research, Science and Technology Prof Fr Jan Czuba addressing DWU graduates.

He urged the students to use social media for good and lift others and not tear them down.

 “A fundamental approach to life transformation is using technology and social media for therapy; it forces you to have an opinion, provides intellectual stimulation, increases awareness, boosts self-confidence and offers hope,” Prof Czuba said.

Professor Czuba called on the graduates to be responsible users of the technologies wherever there were.

He told the graduates that they had a mission to perform and they should not be afraid to use technological interventions of the digital age to change the deserts of human hearts into knowledge based society that cares and loves.

Prof Czuba was the keynote speaker at DWU’s 36th Graduation.

First PNG journalist gets PhD in communication

By Pamela Barara

A lecturer from Divine Word University has become the first PNG journalist to earn a doctorate degree(PhD) at the University’s graduation ceremony on Sunday. 

Dr Kevin Pamba becomes the first PNG journalist to graduate with a doctoral degree.

Dr Kevin Pamba, from Ialibu, Southern Highlands Province, is currently the Director for Community Information Centre at DWU and also a part time lecturer for the Communication Arts Department.

He holds a Degree in Journalism from the University of Papua New Guinea and a Master of Arts in International Communication from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

He says being the first journalist to do so is a step forward as there aren’t many people studying the area of communication in the country and that the few that do should be active in doing their jobs.

 “With the development process of the country, a lot of things are not being done because people are not aware of their rights and responsibilities, as communication experts, we need to be proactive and engaged in wanting to unravel the mysteries of development, How do you do that? You need to write and know the issues,” he said

He has encouraged Communication Arts students to aim high in the field of communication because that will help with the development of the country

Dr Pamba also received an award for his research thesis titled ‘Communicating with indigenous landowners in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project – A PNG investigative case study’ which he carried in Hela province.

Have passion, says graduate

Communication Arts graduate Elishebah Musia wins an award.

By Mischelle Keam

A communication Arts graduate has advised her fellow students to have passion and concentration in their specific fields of study.

Elishebah Musia, who graduated with Bachelor of Communication Arts, was awarded the Paul Gardner award for the best media research at DWU.

“I’m very thankful and privileged to be the top female presenter to receive the Paul Gardner Award for excellence in media research in DWU,” said Elishebah.

“In the next three to five years, I am more interested in doing communication development as a communication officer,” she added.

Parent proud of only daughter

By Tamara Agavi

Peter Mell, an accountant with a firm in Port Moresby, was one of the many parents who came to Madang to witness Divine Word University’s 36th graduation.

“I am very proud of my only daughter who graduated today with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Accountancy” said Mr Mell.

Mr Mell said his daughter Deffneigh Mell was an inspiration and role model to her younger siblings and other family members who couldn’t make it on Sunday to see her get her much awaited “mambu”.

When asked what his encouragement was to the current and future graduands, his reply was, “Don’t ever stop believing in yourself, the moment you stop, you’re going to lose everything”

 Mell will travel with his daughter back to Port Moresby on Wednesday from Mt Hagen where Deffneigh has secured a job with British American Tobacco as a trainee Accountant.

When asked about her four years at DWU, Deffneigh  replied with a playful glint in her eyes “I’m going to miss Divine Word but not the food”.

Solomon Islands students graduate

By Indy Maealasi

Three Solomon Islanders were among the 871 Divine Word University students who graduated on Sunday.

The three are Michael Agi, who graduated with a Bachelor Degree in physiotherapy, Rosemary Maoma who graduated with a BA in Tourism and Management Hospitality and Brenda Sevala who graduated with a Masters in Research Methodology. Rosemary Maoma was also awarded the Innovative Proactive Integrity (IPI) Catering award.

Mr Agi said that his achievement would not have been possible without confidence, perseverance and determination.

He is currently doing his first year residency at the Kavieng Hospital, New Ireland province.

Mrs Sevala said that graduating with the masters was a dream come true.

“It’s one of my dream to become a social researcher so that I have a job that enables me to carry out research to contribute to the development of Solomon Islands,” she said.

She is lecturing at the Solomon Islands National University.