Emmanuel Peni

Emmanuel is Coordinator and Administrator of this newly established project. It has been organised in response to the Proposed Frieda Copper & Gold Mine Application for Mining License. This mine threatens 400,000 Indigenous people of the Sepik River Basin with loss of livelihood and destruction of their environment. Emmanuel leads the planning of local awareness activities, reporting to communities and advocating on behalf of his people. Significantly he gathered more than 6000 signatures from river-dwelling communities located near the mine which became the base for newspaper coverage in PNG. Emmanuel also successfully engaged the PNG Royal Constabulary and PNG Defence Force in advocacy training. He commented that the Police “after the training, have related more with us in respectable ways and have actually tried to help us”. Emmanuel hopes the DTP course will develop his speaking, writing and communication skills ‘globally’ and assist his comprehension of international laws policy-making and international public discourse. He looks forward to meeting other human rights activists and policy-influencers “people who care about our region – this will increase social capital and make international approaches easier.”