Joni Madraiwiwi citations (62 citations, Page 2)

Our Country at the Crossroads - 2001 Parkinson Memorial Lecture Series, 15 August 2001 http://www.usp.ac.fj/journ/docs/news/wansolnews/wansol1508013.html.

“Back then (in 1985) the issue of the day was nuclear testing, now we are faced with problems such as climate change, overfishing, deforestation, shipments of radioactive materials through Pacific waters and nuclear proliferation. We need to remain vigilant so that we won't become victims again.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Address to Greenpeace, Suva, 10 July 2005.

“It is not our background that will count but our individual actions and initiatives. Education is the great leveller: irrespective of origin, it places everyone on the same footing.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Address to Sathya Sai School in Matawalu, Ba Province, 8 February 2006.

“The essence of traditional leadership is learned by osmosis. The next generation learns from what their elders and the current generation does. This was appropriate in a society where the pace of change was gradual.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Address to the Pacific Regional Workshop on Leadership Development, Lami, Fiji, 9 July 2005.

“Traditional leadership is based on ascription. In former times, there was some degree of flexibility which enabled change. This was based on prowess in war and statecraft. The British fossilised the system and traditional leaders became government functionaries. Their authority was strengthened by the colonial administration.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Address to the Pacific Regional Workshop on Leadership Development, Lami, Fiji, 9 July 2005.

“Corruption undermines public confidence in our country and institutions. It is a huge cost to the economy. Combating it will take courage, determination and perseverance. The most effective means of doing it is by creating a climate not receptive to corruption.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Address to Transparency International Fiji book launch, 9 December 2005.

“The (racial and cultural) difference is to be celebrated, not fried or criticised, and we are so much richer for it.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Message to cadets at Xavier College in Ba, Fiji, 27 July 2005.

“The critical element in this equation is developing inclusiveness that envelopes all these competing priorities (of the different ethnic groups) in a manner that is fair to all. Without it we risk remaining a divided society all the more tragic for having unfulfilled our potential.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Opening address to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference in Nadi, 6 September 2005.

“Not five generations distant, Fijians were cannibalizing each other. The missionaries and the colonial administration imposed a veneer of civilization on their native subjects. However, it is not apparent that they imparted to them any profound understanding of the process involved in the maintenance and upholding of the law.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Siwati Memorial Lecture, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 24 September 2004 http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0409/S00253.htm.

“It (insecurity) is a feeling that is deeply felt and is shared by most members of my community, irrespective of religion, status, education, background or place of origin.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Speech to the Fiji Law Society, 2 July 2005.

“When we exclude part of the community, we deny ourselves the participation and contribution of those left out. We allow the possibility of conflict in some future time, neither scenario we can afford. Everyone, irrespective of ethnicity, has a contribution to make no matter how humble or small.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Opening address to the Leadership Fiji 2006 program, 9 March 2006.

“The Spirit of Rotary is to voluntarily improve the lot of their fellow human beings because it is the ultimate calling in life. Not for reward of for personal gain, but for the satisfaction of having made a positive difference to someone else. How different would life be if those of us with more advantages could all practice these virtues? This would be a society where the strong would be just and the weak secure. It is an ideal that we can all work towards.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Speech to the Lautoka Rotary Club (Centenary Dinner), 12 March 2005 http://www.fiji.gov.fj/publish/printer_4326.shtml.

“The politicians pontificate and manoeuvre with eloquent manifestos and pronouncements saying little about the challenges we must confront.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Our Country at the Crossroads - 2001 Parkinson Memorial Lecture Series, 15 August 2001 http://www.usp.ac.fj/journ/docs/news/wansolnews/wansol1508013.html.

“We need to move forward and beyond the point where we endlessly pursue the demons bequeathed us by our history.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Opening address to the Tourism Forum at the Sheraton Resort, 7 July 2005.

“Inclusiveness is disguised by the ability to offer a sometimes disturbed community a vision of themselves and the means to achieve it together.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Opening address to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference in Nadi, 6 September 2005.

“When I was nominated for the position of Vice President I was very unenthusiastic about it. But I took the post because it provided a powerful platform to talk on matters that are important for the country.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Closing address to the National Youth Peace camp at Debua, 9 December 2005.

“It is time to move forward together. Stronger for the bitter experiences we have shared, wiser for the suffering inflicted on us and more compassionate for having the capacity to forgive. For all its faults and cruelties, Fiji remains a country full of promise and hope simply demonstrated by the goodwill that has endured and the love we have for this land that is our home.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Our Country at the Crossroads - 2001 Parkinson Memorial Lecture Series, 15 August 2001 http://www.usp.ac.fj/journ/docs/news/wansolnews/wansol1508013.html.

“Part of them (citizens of Fiji) wishes to believe that we are all one people and as a nation must move forward together. Another part of them is fearful that the hand they extend in friendship will be either spurned or crushed.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Opening address, Pacific Islands Political Studies Association (PIPSA), 24 November 2005.

“Our ethnicity is part of us, however, it should not isolate or distance us from the community in which we live. People of different cultures cannot not live peacefully together unless they have respect for each other. I accept that seeking further integration is a challenge and it cannot be imposed or done under duress; the feeling has to come from within ourselves. To create an environment for that to happen, we have to develop situations and opportunities that place people in a position to make choices and this is one of them. And unless we begin to see our neighbours as people, as human beings rather than by ethnicity, it is difficult to shed our stereotypes of each other.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Opening address to the Leadership Fiji 2006 program, 9 March 2006.

“We need to try and focus less on ethnicity in this country and concentrate on trying to improve the lot of the marginalized whoever they are.”

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Joni Madraiwiwi

Speech to the Lautoka Rotary Club (Centenary Dinner), 12 March 2005 http://www.fiji.gov.fj/publish/printer_4326.shtml.