In April 2014, the University of New Caledonia hosted the 1^st PIURN Conference from 3^rd to 7^th of November 2014 in Noumea.

The Conference theme, namely the fundamental relationships of people to the land and their natural environment theme, is key to the South Pacific island societies. The panelists addressed the concepts of ownership and belonging, as well as

the «tensions» conveyed by these concepts. The event gathered academics, confirmed as well as early-stage researchers, professionals, stakeholders, community representatives from New Caledonia and from the entire South Pacific.

This conference aimed at drastically fostering the dialogue between researchers, institutions, economic and political actors and local communities in a regional and comparative approach.

Conference proceedings: 1st PIURN Conference proceedings 2014

The National University of Samoa hosted the 2nd PIURN Conference from 19th to 21st of September 2016 in Apia.
Conference theme: “Addressing the Challenges of Sustainability in the Pacific Islands”.
3 colloquiums on the following themes were addressed:

• The evolving principles and practices in customary land tenure systems in the Pacific in the context of development pressures and climate change.
• Pacific Regional Cooperation in the 21st century.
• Pacific Indigenous Art form and Languages in the 21st century – the challenges of sustainability.

Conference proceedings: 2nd PIURN Conference proceedings 2016

The 3rd Conference of the Pacific Islands Universities Research Network (PIURN) took place at the University of French Polynesia from Monday, October 8th to Wednesday, October 10th 2018.
During three days, nearly eighty scientific papers from twelve territories and nineteen universities in the Pacific region have been presented.
Further to previous PIURN conferences held in New Caledonia (2014) and Samoa (2016), the conference aimed to strengthen cooperation and discussions between PIURN members and third parties with the view to designing new collaborative projects. This year, participants had the opportunity to discuss and debate on a general thematic: Traditional knowledge, academic knowledge and current universities’ research dynamics in the Pacific region
The conference addressed various topics:

1. The place of women in Pacific islands economy and gender equality
2. Current trends in Oceanian literature
3. Language transmission in a multilingual setting
4. The question of violence during the first contacts between Oceanians and Europeans
5. Tourism in Oceania-Pacific: towards post-exoticism?
6. Practices (family farming) and food security
7. Sustainable uses of natural resources
8. Contributions to public policies
9. Tools development

Conference website: https://piurn2018.sciencesconf.org/

The 4th PIURN Conference took place on November 22nd and November 23rd 2021. Hosted by the Solomon Islands National University, the Conference took place virtually due to the Pandemic context.

The general theme of the Conference was “Shaping our Tomorrow Today: Research, Innovation and Practice in the Pacific”. For two days, over 60 abstracts, by 29 different Universities, were presented on 12 different panels, addressing 6 themes :

• Impact of Covid 19 in the Pacific
• Improving Health and Well-Being in the Pacific Communities
• Strengthening Pacific Culture and Identities
• Climate Change and Biodiversity in Pacific Islands Countries and Territories
• Sustainable Technology and Innovation in the Pacific
• Good Governance and Innovative decision making for sustainability of Pacific Societies

The Conference also presented two PIURN Collaborative scientific projects (FALAH & ITN SUDPAC) through two plenary sessions.

Report 4th PIURN Conference – Key points

PIURN held its 5^th conference on 4, 5 and 6 July 2023 at The University of the South Pacific (USP) Cook Islands Campus. The 5^th PIURN Conference also marked the 10-year anniversary of the Network, and was attended by PIURN Member Universities, as well as Universities and Research institutes from the region (Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii).

The work of Epeli Hau’ofa. one of the most revered academics in the Pacific, provided the.  conference theme, ‘Exploring this Sea of Islands’. During the three days of the Conference, 36 sessions were organized on a range of topics: Oceania Worldviews, Status of Women, Climate Risks and Transformations, Health Challenges, Education in the Pacific…. The conference also highlighted scientific and academic cooperation in the region and presented research collaborative projects.

A “Festschrift” on the Cook Islands academic Dr. Marjorie Crocombe was also organized to celebrate her contribution to the region, and was attended by Cook Islands Prime Minister Mr. Mark Brown, Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Mr. Henry Puna, and many Cook Islands and international academics. A plenary session, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the network, was held on Tuesday, July 4^th, with high-level guest speakers, on the theme “Empowering Pacific Islands’ universities: PIURN, an asset for the South Pacific region”. This session unveiled the new name of the network: Pacific Islands Universities Regional Network as well as the new vision and mission for PIURN. The plenary session was followed by the screening of the 52-minutes bilingual documentary (English and French), funded by a PIURN Call for Proposals, on climate-induced migrations, Nations of Water. For more information, please visit the website.

For more information, please visit : 

Programme – 5th PIURN Conference

Abstract Book English FINAL

Summary 5th PIURN Conference