Good governance lecture to visit Saipan

Government ethics, nepotism, and public information will take center stage at free presentations to be held at the Northern Marianas College this weekend.

Father Fran Hezel and Jason Aubuchon, the scholars running the Pohnpei-based research institute Micronesian Seminar, will deliver a presentation on “Good Governance.”

“Considering that the year 2005 is an election year, it is timely that the project is delivered to the community. It will help individuals become aware about ethics in government, society, and in personal lives,” according to the NMC Community Development Institute.

The college will sponsor the event together with the NMI Council for the Humanities.

The presentation will begin with a brief history of the evolution of the Trust Territory into self-government, the shape of the different governments and the way they differ, layers and levels of government, and purposes of the government.

The discussion will also focus on customs against bribes, ethical decision making in the government, nepotism, and voting, effective enforcement of the law, public information, and the people’s exercise of control over government.

Lastly, the presenters will talk about the cultural challenges to effectively running the government, including motivating the educated people to effectively run a modern government in the CNMI.

The presentation, which is expected to take up to two hours, will be repeated in three different sessions to reflect each audience.

The public and NMC employees are invited to attend the first session, which will be held from 9am to 11am Friday in Room D-1 of the NMC campus in As Terlaje.

Another session will be held for government officials and NMC employees on Friday afternoon, from 1pm to 2:30pm, in the same venue.

For the last session, the audience will be board members of the Humanities Council and other invited guests. The final session will take place on Saturday morning, from 9am to 11:30am, also in Room D-1 of the NMC campus.

The NMC Community Development Institute is urging interested individuals to register by Thursday, April 28, to reserve a seat. The institute may be reached at 234-5498 extensions 1005, 1030, or 1014, or at compass@nmcnet.edu.

Micronesian Seminar has just begun a tour of Chuuk, Yap, and Palau to do a mixed-media presentation on the subject.

“After a quick introduction to government, with a brief look at the purpose of government and the main features of the government structure, we offer a brief explanation of what ‘Government by the people, for the people, of the people’ means. Then, the presentation moves on to the video segments,” according a news statement from MicSem.

According to its website, MicSem is a research-pastoral institute founded by the Catholic Church in 1972. Its main mission is community education, although it has engaged in social and historical research. For 30 years, MicSem has served the people of what was once the Trust Territory of the Pacific—the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

MicSem was officially turned over to the Jesuits of Micronesia in 1992, and is currently registered as a non-profit organization in the Federated States of Micronesia.

MicSem’s goal is to assist the people of Micronesia in reflecting on life in their islands under the impact of change in recent years. As it does this, MicSem reflects the church’s desire to serve society even as it works to help islanders integrate their faith and culture.