Dihm welcomes line agencies and province govts to protocol training

Caption:  Acting-Secretary Foreign Affairs William Dihm

 

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, October 18, 2015 (PNG)

ACTING-Secretary for Foreign Affair, William Dihm, welcomed government line agencies and provincial government representatives to the department’s Protocol Module training workshop held in Port Moresby.

The week long workshop saw Foreign Service cadets and other invited institutions get acquainted in various protocol standard practices in terms subject from etiquette, communication, events, and other important areas.

He made special mention of the visiting facilitators from the New Zealand Foreign Affairs Department that included Chief of Protocal NZ Joanna Kempkers and Protocol Advisor NZ Fiona Fowler.

“I would like to thank our facilitators for coming all the way from New Zealand to deliver this module,” Dihm said.

“We have two important people, Ms Joanna Hilders Chief of Protocal New Zealand Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ms Fiona fowler Protocal Advisor to the ministry.”

He also welcomed participants for the first time from other line agencies and provincial governments.
“This is the second last program in this course and I understand and received a message last night from Graham Hassle (Associate Professor- Director Pacific Islands Programmes) that the head of the school (School of Government Victoria University of Wellington) is intending to come and we are planning for the graduation around the 2nd of November.

“On behalf of the Minister and my senior managers we would like to welcome you and to also welcome those from other agencies.”

“Let me assure you that this workshop is very important for those who worked together during the hosting of the Pacific Games and the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in early September and we had some very good experiences with one or two bumps along the way.”

He added that the protocol module would serve as an opportunity to share experiences in the lead up to, events like the hosting of a ACP (Africam, Carribian and Pacific) summit next year in May and then the APEC leaders meeting in 2018.

“I want to say again that my department is grateful to New Zealand for hosting this program on protocol,” he said.

“We do not only work with our counterpart the ministry for foreign affairs with the New Zealand and also a special relationship with Victoria University that actually delivers the program and they work very closely with the ministry for foreign affairs and trade in New Zealand to select the speakers and get the resource people to back up this program.”

Foreign Service training programs were reintroduced 2014 that saw the first batch of graduate in June this year with the second lot undertaking this week training.

The protocol module is the 10th undertaken- with other models that included Communication, Regional and International Trade, APEC, and Development Cooperation with Aid Donors.