Dannicah Chan is the second Samoan selected among hundreds of Resilient Pacific Islands Leaders (RPIL) Fellowship applicants.
The other is Vivian Sua Ioapo.
Chan currently volunteers as an executive hub member of the Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum and formerly worked as a Project Finance and Administration Officer at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
After graduating from Samoa College, Chan achieved her Secondary School and Pacific Secondary School certificates.
She moved on to obtain her Certificate IV in University Preparation over subsequent years at the University of Queensland’s Foundation Year.
Afterwards, she completed her studies at the University of Queensland and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in commerce with a dual focus on accounting and business information systems.
Chan believes in becoming an expert; she needs to develop her skill set, broaden her network, further her education, and immerse herself in fellowship programs like the 2023 RPIL Fellowship.
By doing this, she will be surrounded by peers from all around the Pacific region who are similar to herself and with whom she can collaborate to find ways they can work together towards building a resilient Pacific region.
This year the East-West Center will host a six-week, US-funded Pacific leadership development program, including a residency in Hawai’i and a field immersion in Washington DC.
This program will allow individuals from a Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders to enhance their leadership capacities and build a network with other leaders from across the Pacific.
The curriculum for these rising leaders will be centred around the following areas of critical importance to humanity identified in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. The program strengthens participants’ knowledge and understanding of key regional economic, social, political, health, educational and environmental issues and cultivates culturally sustaining leadership capacities.