The BRITISH FRIENDS OF VANUATU
was formed in 1986 with the objective
of helping to bridge the gap between the United Kingdom and the newly
independent Republic of Vanuatu. The idea grew out of the need felt
by expatriates of many nationalities, all of whom enjoyed the experience of
living, working or simply visiting the islands of Vanuatu and its people.
Richard Dorman CBE played the leading role in the association since it was
founded in 1986 until he retired as chairman in 1999. In November, 1999,
Richard was awarded the Republic of Vanuatu National Award of
Merit by the then Prime Minister, the Hon Donald Kalpokas, at a
ceremony in London, generously hosted by the Foreign &
Commonwealth Office.
In September 1999 Norman Shackley took over the chairmanship of
the association and remains in post at the present time.
Like Richard, Norman's origins are in Stafford in the west
midlands and both served in Vanuatu in the period shortly after
independence in the early 1980s when Richard was the British
High Commissioner based in Port Vila. On loan from the
British department of Customs & Excise, Norman served with the
Vanuatu Department of Customs & Taxes in both Santo and Vila
from 1982-1989. He is married (Mena) with two children -
Christopher (Ecole de L'Ambassade) and Nathan (born in Port
Vila) and, like Richard before him, also represents the
British Friends of Vanuatu as a Council Member on the Pacific
Islands Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The British Friends of Vanuatu
membership is currently around 600, including a large number of
overseas nationals and corporate members, with many members in
Australia and New Zealand, Vanuatu, the USA and Canada, Japan,
China and many European countries but particularly in France.
The association has links and works closely with 'Les Amis
Français de Vanuatu' based in Paris.
The Role of the British Friends of Vanuatu
: The association is active in a number of development
areas, but particularly so in education, funding the secondary scholarship
fees, in appropriate cases, of young people who would otherwise receive no
higher education . It has established relations with various like-minded
bodies at home and abroad and, from time to time, co-hosts events and
development projects with them. The association publishes a respected and widely-read newsletter which
provides reports on changing
political and social events in Vanuatu. While the newsletter
was produced by Richard Dorman in the period 1986-2004 it was recognised by
many academics and other students of the Pacific
as one of the most reliable historic records of the Vanuatu post-independent period
in existence. This web site provides, for members only,
electronic access to all
archive copies of the newsletter published since 1986.
The association cooperates with Britains
Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of International
Development in matters of common concern.
Officials of the association frequently answer inquiries from the
media and the public.
A major annual event in the associations calendar is the
Annual General Meeting and Dinner weekend which, for the past few years, has
been held at different venues around the UK. This event combines the annual
general meeting with an ideal occasion
for a get-together of old friends (including Vanuatu visitors)
and a chance to meet new ones. The event is normally held in late March or
early April.
Finance: The association is an independent, non-profit
making organisation depending almost entirely on subscriptions
from members. The membership fees are kept low so as to meet all pockets.
In December 2005 the British Friends of
Vanuatu established a Charity in the name of The British Friends
of Vanuatu Charitable Trust. The BFOV-CT is now the
charitable arm of the association and deals with all our
activities relating to education and the reduction of poverty in
Vanuatu.
Membership: Many members of the association have worked in
Vanuatu and elsewhere in the Pacific. They include former diplomats, expatriates employed by the British or Vanuatu governments, VSOs
and GAP year students,
as well as church and business people. There are also ni-Vanuatu islanders
who have made their homes in the United Kingdom. In addition,
corporate membership has been extended to various government
and business organisations, and other bodies concerned with the region.