Six Pacific Island Leaders will pursue professional placements in their chosen field thanks to the help of the Greg Urwin Awards. The Award recipients come from a diverse range of fields including health, science and agriculture.
Established in 2008 in memory of the late Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, the Greg
Urwin Awards have been supported by PLP on behalf of AusAID and are awarded annually by the
Forum to emerging Pacific Islander leaders in a range of disciplines.
The 2012 Greg Urwin Award recipients are: Ms Cathy Timothy (Papua New Guinea), Mr Rohitesh
Kumar (Fiji), Ms Mary Victoria Faasau (Tonga), Ms Takena Redfern (Kiribati), Ms Siatua Lautua
(Samoa) and Humpress Harrington (Solomon Islands).
The successful candidates were chosen through a competitive process that considered academic
performance, leadership qualities and areas of professional interest – in particular, areas of
significant benefit to Pacific Island Countries.
The 2012 award recipients have been engaged in various forms of cutting edge research and
essential service delivery, and will undertake professional attachments with institutions such as
the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, Griffith University of Queensland, the Prince of Wales
Hospital in Sydney and the Queensland Urban Utilities operation in Brisbane. They will commence
taking up their placements in 2012.