The approach taken by rural communities in Samoa to address pressing issues such as gender-based violence and climate change has impressed the UNDP Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja.

Ms. Wignaraja, who is also the UN Assistant Secretary-General on her first visit to Samoa, also believes other countries around the globe can learn from the small island state of Samoa.

She had the opportunity to visit and have a dialogue with the local community, Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa and leaders of the Samoan community. 

"We talked about her vision for the country, the things that she prioritises and how to engage on those issues," said the top-ranking UN official. "One of the things to be noted is that Samoa cannot afford to wait. 

"Samoa does not cause climate change as the carbon footprint here is tiny but it suffers from the changing weather patterns, the warming of the sea and all of the concerns of climate change."

The transition into renewable energy, education and non-communicable diseases were among other topics discussed by Ms. Wignaraja and the Prime Minister.

The highlight of her visit to Samoa so far is her engagement with the local communities on the island of Manono and the village of Vaie'e with the top-ranking UN official describing the visit as a wonderful experience, due to the villagers' "sense of protecting the natural resources, assets and the environment that is quite immense and hard to explain". 

"Whether it was the fisheries area with conservation of clams, corals, mangrove rehabilitation and all run by the villages. I mean they own it and to see that type of ownership and capability is very helpful and eye-opening," said Ms. Wignaraja. "Then we went to the village of Vaie'e and I was more impressed. 

"From the traditional leadership, the church leaders, women and men as well as the young boys and girls of the villages who have just said no to violence. They have made a bold stance that there is no place for gender-based violence in their community and to see that coming from tiny kids and young leaders all the way up to the leaders of the community, is something wonderful and powerful."

"I was saying to them, I wish I could take this model of dialogue and mediation as well as by-laws in place and as a matter of fact, we need to take that kind of approach not just across Samoa but we also need to take this across the world. 

"You see what's happening across the world with all the conflicts going on, if we can take the model used by the village of Vaie'e and show that these things actually be addressed by hosting very important and fruitful conversations. 

"People change and sometimes we say that culture is bad. No, if there are bad sides to culture, that has to change. These leaders and community leaders are showing the way."

Ms. Wignaraja also acknowledged Samoa's voice in regional forums and also on the global stage, saying she is of the view that Samoa's voice and participation in regional and international forums are getting stronger and louder. 

"We are pleased that Samoa is the Chair of AIOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) because it's bringing the voice of the Pacific to the global stage ahead of the next COP [Conference of Parties] meeting, and that is very critical," she said.

Discussing the country's finances, the top-ranking UN official said Samoa needs to get better deals on concessional finances, to avoid getting into too much debt. 

"Money is too expensive and unfortunately this country does not want to get into more debt. It wants to borrow on good terms," she said. "So we have this question of how we can bring down the cost of money for a country like Samoa so we can bring out these amazing models and implement them across the country. 

"Because it's amazing how you can protect your culture and say no to violence or any bad practice at the same time. The fact that you can conserve your culture and environment all at once is mind-blowing. 

"The fact that you can send your young people overseas for employment but can attract them back and get good remittances, ideas and knowledge back is great. These are the things I think the world can learn from Samoa."

The wealth of the Samoan people in terms of culture, traditions and social capital also impressed Ms. Wignaraja, who said these assets are not valued enough. 

"It's immense. Maybe sometimes from the outside, we don't see it and we don't value it enough. We need to learn about what's going on here and it's just a matter of supporting national leadership development policies, supporting local level actions and the aspirations by bringing them together with economic policies because the country must grow and keep growing."

Ms. Wignaraja served as the Acting Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Management Services, UNDP and as special adviser to the UNDP Administrator, which are roles that she has performed throughout 2019 after working as the Director of the United Nations Development Operations Coordination Office (DOCO) from 2014 to 2018. 

She brings over 25 years of experience in the United Nations mission and UNDP’s role in the sustainable development agenda.  She has a deep knowledge of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the global, regional and country-level workings of UNDP, across policy, programme, management and operations.  

She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration (Development Economics) from Princeton University and a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from Bryn Mawr College, USA.