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Joel Kalpram | Create your badge




Hello fellow global villagers, my name is Joel Kalpram from the Republic of Vanuatu, a small island nation in the south-west Pacific. I lived on the main island of Efate and my village is Erakor, situated on the outskirts of the capital, Port Vila. In Vanuatu we speak many languages and with over 100 Indigenous languages we are by head of population the most multilingual country on the planet. I was educated in the English system, but French is another language spoken here. Our national language is Bislama but my mother tongue is known as 'South Efate'. I migrated now live in Australia.

My hobbies are dancing, reading, fishing, cooking, travelling, meeting new people and making new friends, especially with other young people interested in changing the world for the better.

Thank you for taking the time to have a look at my profile and seeing what I am passionate about in life. Like all young people, I love the social time I spend with my friends and colleagues I work with. I hope the photos I have posted here express the joie de vivre that I experience in my work.

I worked with an organization called Youth Challenge Vanuatu - (check out the website at www.youthchallenge.com.au). We are engaged in community development projects in some of the remote islands in Vanuatu where local ni-Vanuatu youth join with young people from countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand. My work was focused on the day to day management of the the various projects that we initiate. I was also involved with some of the pre-field work training and orientation programs that we run for visiting volunteers and local participants.

I am currently involving with another organisation known as Pacific Black Box (www.pacificblackbox.com.au). We work with some Pacific Island communities to produce community based digital resources using open source software (FOSS).

I have been fortunate enough to attend both national and international conferences that have inspired me to work towards empowering young people to take initiatives themselves and be a positive force for change in their communities. I believe that young people today face particular problems and challenges which in the future will need solutions that we will be responsible for ourselves. We need to develop the skills to face these challenges and take action in our own local communities as well as at the national and international levels.

One of the key values I believe in is the appreciation and respect for differences and diversity. Each of us reflects the values of a unique and important culture instilled in us by previous generations and on whose foundations we must build and incorporate the many changes that confront us as young people.

Whatever difficulties lay ahead, it is important that we young people face them together, fully informed and strong in our resolve to make the world a better place.

It would be great to hear from you if you would like to contact me.

regards from the tropical South Seas,

Joel Kalpram

Lismore, NSW
PO Box 61
2480
Australia




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Joel Kalpram | Create your badge




Hello fellow global villagers, my name is Joel Kalpram from the Republic of Vanuatu, a small island nation in the south-west Pacific. I lived on the main island of Efate and my village is Erakor,... (more)