Today, U.S. Ambassador for Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu, Joseph Cella, launched a Project Management course specifically for Fijian women to equip them with the skills to better manage projects that mitigate the impacts of climate change and natural disasters in the country.

Ambassador Cella said, “This project management course is designed to help generate new ideas, practical tools, and techniques to help Fijian leaders access and manage international adaptation funds. We hope that this investment from the American people will open doors for more Fijian women to take leadership roles in managing investments to help achieve the shared goal of a more prosperous and resilient future for the people of Fiji.”

The course is part of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) partnership with the University of the South Pacific to help Pacific island countries become more environmentally resilient. The five-month, professionally accredited course will help leaders strengthen their management skills to design and implement disaster-related and climate change adaptation projects. Class participants include mid-level managers of government departments, non-governmental organizations, and representatives from the private sector.

This is the fourth project management course supported by USAID’s Ready project in Fiji and the first specifically aimed at supporting women project managers or who aspire to be project managers in the future, as lower numbers of women participated in some of the other trainings. To date, USAID has supported more than 400 leaders in the region to gain accredited project management qualifications, including women and people with disabilities.

USAID Ready is a five-year regional project that supports Pacific Island countries (PICs) as they adapt to climate change. USAID Ready works with 11 countries – Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu – to achieve their climate change adaptation goals by assisting countries to develop policies and legislation, access climate finance, and build capacity to manage adaptation projects.