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© 2025 Island Innovation. All rights reserved.

    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

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    Showing 9 of 126 news items in Connectivity & Digitization
    Empowering Youth to Shape Governance in Yap
    Connectivity & DigitizationJanuary 21, 2025

    Empowering Youth to Shape Governance in Yap

    Excerpt and Photo from undp.org A new Youth in Civic Education program was recently launched by Yap’s State Legislature, in the Federated States of Micronesia. Supported by the people and Government of Japan via Phase Two of the Strengthening Legislatures in Pacific Island Countries (SLIP II) project – implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office – 13 high school students from across the State participated in the program with the aim to enhance youth participation in the democratic space through hands-on activities such as mock elections and parliamentary debates. Hon. Nicholas Figirlaarwon, Speaker of Yap State Legislature, said it was critical to engage with the next generation of Micronesian leaders: “We want our youth to speak so we can listen. We hope to revitalise the hearts of our young people to care for Yap, to love Yap, and to stay in Yap.”

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    The Canary Islands hosts the III Macaronesian Summit to strengthen the alliance between the Atlantic archipelagos
    Connectivity & DigitizationNovember 12, 2024

    The Canary Islands hosts the III Macaronesian Summit to strengthen the alliance between the Atlantic archipelagos

    Excerpt and Photo from noticias8islas.com and translated from Spanish The Canary Islands hosts the third edition of the Macaronesia Summit in Lanzarote, a key event to revitalize relations between the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde. Representatives of these four archipelagos discussed and approved cooperation strategies on key issues such as sustainable tourism, innovation, technology, renewable energy, circular economy and connectivity. This summit marks the return of meetings between these mid-Atlantic territories, after a six-year break since their last edition in 2018 in San Miguel, Azores. The first summit took place in 2010 in Sao Vicente, Cape Verde. The Lanzarote meeting, which took place between 6 and 7 October, seeks to give a new impetus to territorial integration through an approach that allows common challenges to be faced. Strategic areas of cooperation

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    How the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla has turned the AI boom into a digital gold mine
    Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 17, 2024

    How the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla has turned the AI boom into a digital gold mine

    The artificial intelligence boom has benefited chatbot makers, computer scientists and [Nvidia investors](https://apnews.com/article/nvidia-numbers-revenue-data-centers-ai-3ec00b9954d1dc69424d7851c89c6ca5). It’s also providing an unusual windfall for Anguilla, a tiny island in the Caribbean. ChatGPT’s [debut](https://apnews.com/article/what-is-chat-gpt-ac4967a4fb41fda31c4d27f015e32660) nearly two years ago heralded the dawn of the AI age and kicked off a digital gold rush as companies scrambled to stake their own claims by acquiring websites that end in .ai. That’s where Anguilla comes in. The British territory was allotted control of the .ai internet address in the 1990s. It was one of hundreds of obscure top-level domains [assigned to individual countries and territories](https://apnews.com/article/countries-popular-top-level-domain-names-2a6044ed4082e866ccf675e79a57e6f4) based on their names. While the domains are supposed to indicate a website has a link to a particular region or language, it’s not always a requirement. Google uses google.ai to showcase its artificial intelligence services while Elon Musk uses x.ai as the homepage for his Grok AI chatbot. Startups like AI search engine Perplexity have also snapped up .ai web addresses, redirecting users from the .com version. Anguilla’s earnings from web domain registration fees quadrupled last year to [$32 million](https://gov.ai/document/2024-09-09-022435_1388763330.pdf), fueled by the surging interest in AI. The income now accounts for about 20% of Anguilla’s total government revenue. Before the AI boom, it hovered at around 5%.

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    Pacific island nation unveils blockchain-based savings bond ‘Palau Invest’ prototype
    Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 17, 2024

    Pacific island nation unveils blockchain-based savings bond ‘Palau Invest’ prototype

    Photo Credit: Soramitsu. Retrieved from globalgovernmentfintech.com The government of the world’s smallest country has showcased a prototype of a blockchain-based savings bond system. The government of Palau, an Asia-Pacific island nation with a population of just 18,000 people, has unveiled the prototype of a blockchain-based savings bond system to be named ‘Palau Invest’. The prototype’s public debut follows the announcement just under three months ago that Japan-headquartered fintech company Soramitsu was working on a system to issue, manage and operate savings bonds using blockchain technology in an initiative supported by funding from Japan’s government. In a new announcement this week, Soramitsu states that the prototype system has been revealed ‘to demonstrate to the public of Palau how the digital savings bonds can work is now launched, so the people of Palau can learn about the system and educate themselves before bonds are issued by the Ministry of Finance of Palau’.

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    Strong Partnership Helps Deliver Essential Services to the Remote Bougainville Atoll Islands
    Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 17, 2024

    Strong Partnership Helps Deliver Essential Services to the Remote Bougainville Atoll Islands

    Excerpt and Photo from postcourier.com.pg The atoll islands of Ta’aku (Mortlock), Nuguria (Fead), Tulun (Carterets), Nukumanu (Tasman), and Nissan Island are the most remote of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. The inhabitants of these islands have to travel 200 to 500km to reach Buka, often sailing in open, treacherous seas and sustaining high fuel costs. To bring services to these islands the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) has to charter a large vessel safe enough to transport public servants and large enough to allow the delivery of several different essential services in one trip. Through the Community Government Institutional Strengthening Project (CGISP), a partnership initiative between the ABG Department of Community Government, the Australian Government and Government of New Zealand, the ABG chartered MV Athan Spirit to deliver solar light kits to over 3,000 island households.

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    Pacific Islands Students Offered Space Education Opportunities
    Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 11, 2024

    Pacific Islands Students Offered Space Education Opportunities

    Excerpt and Photo from spaceanddefense.io Two private Australian organisations, One Giant Leap Australia Foundation and Cambrian Defence & Space, have joined forces to bring space education outreach to Pacific Island nations by offering scholarships to Pacific Island nation students to attend the Global Space Challenge 2024. The Global Space Challenge incorporates specialists from the space community, astronauts, and prominent space leaders to solve space problems and is available to students in years 7 and 8. This October, a larger number of Pacific Island students will be attending, thanks to the teaming of One Giant Leap Australia and Cambrian Defence & Space. One Giant Leap is a not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education and careers. Cambrian is an Australian defence and space industry consultancy focusing on defence and space business development, space-based research, and creating pathways to space for microgravity research and innovative technologies.

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    Island Schools: Leading Global Educational Innovation
    Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 10, 2024

    Island Schools: Leading Global Educational Innovation

    Island schools have long faced challenges that are distinct from their mainland counterparts. Geographical isolation, limited resources, and demographic changes can make it difficult for educators in these regions to offer the same level of opportunity found in more populated areas. Yet, in the face of these challenges, island schools are also proving to be fertile grounds for educational innovation, creating unique learning environments that not only cater to local needs but also provide global insights into future-ready education. The Virtual Island Summit 2024 offered a glimpse into this growing trend through a session sponsored by the [Edge Foundation](https://www.edge.co.uk/). The session, titled “Island Schools – Leading Global Innovation,” highlighted how island schools across the globe are emerging as leaders in educational innovation through digital transformation, inclusive and flexible curricula, and international partnerships. Moderated by Olly Newton, Executive Director of the Edge Foundation, the session brought together educators and policymakers who discussed how island schools are overcoming challenges to deliver equitable and high-quality education.

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    What I found on the secretive tropical island they don’t want you to see
    Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 4, 2024

    What I found on the secretive tropical island they don’t want you to see

    Excerpt and Photo from bbc.com Diego Garcia, a remote island in the Indian Ocean, is a paradise of lush vegetation and white-sand beaches, surrounded by crystal blue waters. But this is no tourist destination. It is strictly out of bounds to most civilians – the site of a highly secretive UK-US military base shrouded for decades in rumour and mystery. The island, which is administered from London, is at the centre of a long-running territorial dispute between the UK and Mauritius, and negotiations have ramped up in recent weeks. The BBC gained unprecedented access to the island earlier this month. “It’s the enemy,” a private security officer jokes as I return to my room one night on Diego Garcia, my name highlighted in yellow on a list he is holding. For months, the BBC had fought for access to the island – the largest of the Chagos Archipelago. We wanted to cover a historic court case being held over the treatment of Sri Lankan Tamils, the first people ever to file asylum claims on the island, who have been stranded there for three years. Complex legal battles have been waged over their fate and a judgement will soon determine if they have been unlawfully detained.

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    VIS2024 highlights the need for collaboration among island stakeholders, governments
    Connectivity & DigitizationSeptember 26, 2024

    VIS2024 highlights the need for collaboration among island stakeholders, governments

    Decision-makers from the world’s islands alongside expert stakeholders from civil society, academia, and the private sector have highlighted the outsized impact that island communities have in global sustainable development goals throughout the week-long 2024 Virtual Island Summit (VIS). Hundreds of speakers and thousands of attendees participated in the VIS discussing key topics for island communities including sustainable tourism, the blue economy, climate adaptation, and financing. Sponsors for the summit included clean transportation non-profit CALSTART, conservation finance organisation the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, education policy institution the Edge Foundation, ocean thermal energy conversion consortium PLOTEC, and the Cayman Islands Government. During the summit, President of the Canary Islands Fernando Clavijo Batlle highlighted the need for knowledge-sharing and capacity-building between island stakeholders in his keynote address. “We need forums like this one to share successful experiences and for islands together to move forward,” he noted, adding: “Forums like this are essential, they are necessary. We must share our problems and our solutions, our successful projects because of course, as you well know, islands are never given anything for free – we have to achieve through our effort.”

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