Ms Kasanita Seruvatu, Training Adviser for the Samoa Police Institutional Strengthening Project, attended the UN conference Diversity in Policing conducted 15th - 16th January 2008 in Vienna, Austria. The conference was coordinated by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in cooperation with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Ms Seruvatu, who was invited to participate by the UN, made a presentation to conference delegates on ‘Diversity in Policing - Best Practice in Samoa and Fiji'. Prior to her appointment to the Samoa Police Project Ms Seruvatu was the Director of Education and Training for the Fiji Police Force and had also worked closely with the Pacific Regional Policing Initiative (PRPI) in Fiji and other Pacific Island Countries.
‘It was a wonderful experience for me to represent the Samoa Police Project and the Pacific at this international conference and to meet delegates from all over the world including Nigeria, Cameroon, India, Brazil, Romania, Pakistan, Canada and Ireland' said Ms Seruvatu.
‘Delegates were very interested in policing developments in the Pacific and it was most beneficial for all of us to share information and discuss various challenges and opportunities' she added.
Dr Rowan Barnsley, Executive Consultant and Project Director for the Samoa Police Project, said that ‘participation in this international conference was an honour for Ms Seruvatu and the Samoa Police Project and consistent with Global Justice Solutions' focus on encouraging professional development and providing opportunities for Pacific Island women engaged across our projects'.
