Papali'i offers Ph.D. candidates to help with Arts Festival
by Fili Sagapolutele
Samoa News Correspondent
The University of Hawai'i-Manoa has two Ph.D. candidates from its College of Business ready to assist the organizing committee of the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts with its website, says UH official Papali'i Dr. Tusi Avegalio.
The festival runs from July 20-Aug. 2nd but actual activities end July 31.
During last week Wednesday night's meeting for the local business community and Festival organizers, one of the issues raised concerned keeping the festival's website up to date with information on planning, venues, accommodations and immigration policies.
At the meeting Papali'i, who returned to Honolulu Thursday night, said UH's College of Business can assist the Festival with its website by providing students with expertise in the field of technology to work with the committee.
Committee co-chair Fagafaga Daniel Langkilde said he would take the offer into consideration, adding that the website is one of the ways to reach a vast number of people around the world looking for information on the festival, which is expected to attract more than 2,000 participants, not including VIPs, government officials and tourists.
Fagafaga said the committee is working on upgrading and updating its website with the Festival less than 8 months away.
Papali'i told Samoa News on Friday that there are two Ph.D. candidates from the UH College of business whose expertise in information technology can be recruited to work as student interns for the Pacific Arts Festival committee.
"These two candidates' expertise is in website design and also in terms of marketing and applications," said Papali'i in a telephone interview from Honolulu. "Anybody can set up a website, but there are many different levels of complexity involved and the Festival's website is expected to involve many areas."
"Right now the complexity of the Arts Festival in terms of registration for participants, immigration issues, venues and other matters is alot to deal with and needs expertise," said Papali'i.
He also said that website and individuals with expertise in information technology is an important method to be used to implement planning of the Arts Festival.
"You cannot do without it. Without it, you will have to employ more people," he said.
Fagafaga told Samoa News yesterday that the committee had met with Papali'i before returning to Honolulu.
"Papali'i had made the offer of two candidates to assist with the website and we are working out the details now as to what is involved," said Fagafaga. "But no commitment has been made yet."
Fagafaga also said that the committee met yesterday and designated Clara Reid, who works at the Office of Tourism, as their press person, to handle press issues including getting press releases out on the festival.
He said this is in response to last Wednesday's meeting with the Chamber in which several members of the business community raised concerns over the lack of information being disseminated to the public about the festival.
"The business community has a valid concern and this is our responsibility and its been addressed now," he said.
Samoa News has learnt that there are at least two local parties putting together proposals to design and manage the website for the festival committee.
At least one of the proposals is looking at the site as an 'income center' for the festival, where a return on investment in the website and profit would be expected from advertising and product revenues.
Pacific Arts Festival website: www.festival-pacific-arts.org
Reach the reporter at fili@samoanews.com
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