Letters from Samoa: Talent auditions, Law & Justice Open Day

Last week was a busy week for us here at the NHRI. Firstly we had our first round of auditions for our TV Talent Show, Samoa Rights Taleni. We had a variety of contestants, and some were selected to participate in the TV show. I can’t give away too much just yet, but can say there were a couple of standout contestants who can really deliver the talent we were hoping to see. Some performed poems, others dance, songs, and even a fantastic rap channeling Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have a Dream speech crossed with Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise. We have another round of auditions at the end of the month. Keep your eyes peeled on Samoa’s TV1 in the month of November…

Later in the week we had the Law and Justice Sector Open Day, where representatives of government departments, NGOs, and universities attended to promote their work in the law and justice sector. The Office of the Ombudsman was there, promoting our new human rights mandate, and hopefully encouraging a few more contestants for the TV show. I was also helping out at the Austraining International stall, talking about the Australian Volunteers for International Development program. The Open Day started with an impressive performance from the Prison Choir. After the official opening, it was bustling with students and other members of the public there to learn about potential careers and what organisations can do for them. In typical Samoan style, the Open Day was accompanied by too-loud music, which was a shame as it made it extremely difficult to speak with people. Hopefully next year this will be rectified, because there was a good turnout, and people were very interested to hear about the work of the organisations.