Honolulu, HI

In March 2014, Maria Kottermair – a GIS Analyst with iREi – presented our work with project partner Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) at the PRiMO 2014 “Building Communities of Practice for Resilience” conference in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The presentation on the “Geospatial Information Database for the Outer Islands of the FSM” was part of a data session about existing and emerging data sources.

Suva, Fiji

In November 2014, Maria Kottermair participated in the Pacific Islands GIS&RS User Conference at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. She presented iREi’s Outer Island GIS project, which fit right with this year’s theme “Empowering Pacific Communities through Improved Geospatial Data”. The conference offered a great venue to meet and connect with people from all over the Pacific and learn about their work. FSM environmental leaders with iREi’s environmental education books. Holding the books, from left to right, are Mr. Albert Roby (Pohnpei), Mr. Robert Jackson (Kosrae), Mr. Andrew Yatilman (Outer Islands), Mr. Ismael Miguel (Chuuk), and Ms. Christina Filmed (Yap).

Workshop, Pohnpei, FSM. 2014.

In partnership with Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) from Hawaiʻi and the College of Micronesia (COM-FSM), iREi assisted in facilitating a workshop on GIS data of the FSM. This resource, the GIS data, serves many purposes, but only if it is readily accessible to and usable by decision makers. With that in mind, on Oct. 17 and 21-22, 2014 we conducted a workshop and training on how to access and use geospatial information to tackle natural disasters (e.g. typhoons) and create maps that can be used as references and analysis tools when evaluating appropriate emergency response. Faced with decisions to make, users can evaluate information from many sources, including critical facilities, population, and land cover for any part of the FSM. In this way, anyone with disaster response and risk reduction responsibility can make the most informed decisions possible.

Pohnpei, FSM. 2013

Did you know that among the languages spoken in the FSM, 13 are officially considered endangered by UNESCO? At the top of that list is the language of Mwoakilloa, an outer island of Pohnpei. With the assistance of volunteer Jamie Sands, IREI initiated communications with Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages (LT) two years ago. IREI Vice-Director Yvonne Neth spearheaded the effort and reached out to LT Director, Dr. Gregory Anderson, with an offer for collaboration to initiate remedial action. Read more...

Workshop, Pohnpei, FSM. 2013.

For over two decades, Geographic Information System (GIS) has been the worldwide standard for depiction and analysis of land surface features. As powerful as this software may be, its utility in any particular place is controlled by the availability of accurate raw data. In collaboration with our new partners Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) from Hawaiʻi and the College of Micronesia (COM-FSM) in Palikir, IREI has engaged in an ambitious project to inventory GIS data available for the FSM, acquire and catalogue extant GIS files, determine what important information is missing, and develop new data to fill identified gaps. The project was formally launched at the May 2013 kickoff meeting attended by GIS users and stakeholders from all parts of the FSM.

2010

At the 2010 Pacific Islands Bilingual Bicultural Association (PIBBA) conference on Majuro Atoll, Jacqueline Hazen had an apropos opportunity to share IREI’s work in the FSM with educators and policy makers from Guam, CNMI, the FSM, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. Participants applauded how our bilingual educational products embody the goals of PIBBA.

Later, at the 2nd Micronesian Teachers’ Education Conference (MTEC) on Kosrae, Jacqueline introduced teachers from across the FSM to our new books and other finished and upcoming products. They enthusiastically explored their new textbooks and brainstormed ways to use them with their students. We wish to thank the organizing committees of both conferences, and Mr. Shelten Neth and Pohnpeian PIBBA Delegation for their wonderful support!