UN News Centre - It’s here. The third Small Island Developing States (S.I.D.S) conference is only hours away now and after all the preparations, the time has come.
“It’s critically important for us to put our best foot forward and we have done just that,” chief executive of the conference, Fa’alavaau Perina Sila, told UN Radio yesterday after the S.I.D.S facilities were officially handed over to the U.N.
The site’s aquatic centre is used for accreditation, with photos for identification cards being taken next to diving boards and a lap pool.
The hockey stadium has been temporarily converted into office space. Hanging bananas decorate walkways where joggers once stepped, and electric carts ride up and down the complex routes.
On Friday afternoon, the site had more visiting families than delegates.
The Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States is set to begin tomorrow, with a series of pre-conference forums on youth, private sector and civil society, organized mostly off-site.
Former Cabinet Minister, Safuneituuga Paaga Neri, surrounded by her grandchildren, was among those visiting the complex earlier in the week.
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“I wanted them to see this. It is historic,” she said. As part of the preparations for the conference, the school year was adjusted to give students a break, and free up more volunteers for the conference.
The scenes from the Faleolo International Airport into Apia are filled with decorations welcoming visitors, painted coconuts and flowers.
Asked what she hoped the conference would bring, Safuneituuga’s answer turned to climate change. She stressed that partnerships must be created that will allow people living near the shores to withstand extreme weather and rising sea levels.
Samoan journalist, Andrew Fa’asau, told UN Radio that the people he has interviewed in the run up to the event are particularly concerned about the impact of climate change.
“They hope that something good will come out of this conference with regard to the small island nations like us,” he said, adding that islanders are pointing to industrialized nations for causing the climate woes.
The expectations held for this conference are seen outside of the sports complex gates, where Samoan police direct traffic on streets named “SIDS”, “welcome” and “hope.”
In a Guardian opinion piece this week, Prime Minister Tuilaepa urged world leaders’ help warning that the Pacific islands are sinking.
“I want world leaders to see for themselves what our islands are doing to deal with climate change, natural disasters and the tough economic challenges thrust upon us,”
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