The Sunkamap Times came about after Stephen Dickens - who was working on Bougainville Island, PNG, as Communications Adviser to the Bougainville Transition Team (BTT) and assisting with the peace process there - approached NZAID with the idea for a newspaper for the region.

When Steve finished his mission with the BTT, he stayed on in Bougainville and worked with the Bougainville government in a capacity-building role, setting up all the systems and procedures needed to run a small newspaper.

Articles and features were in both English and tok pisin and written mainly by local Bougainvilleans and the articles covered many aspects of life on Bougainville. Issues such as law and order and the peace process are covered, as well as information on reconciliations, local news stories, community news, women's issues, HIV-AIDS, technology and youth.

This was Bougainville's first 'real' newspaper and it provided an opportunity for people to receive news and information on what's relevant to them, as well as allowing people to have a say in the run-up to the elections of an Autonomous Government on Bougainville.

The paper was printed in Kokopo, East New Britain by PNG Printing and had a print run of 5000.

Click here (pdf 2.5meg) to see the first edition.