BUK BILONG PIKININI HOSTS ANNUAL REFRESHER TRAINING FOR TEACHERS WITH SUPPORT FROM EXXONMOBIL PNG

Buk bilong Pikinini (BbP) launched another round of its Annual Refresher Training 2025, held at APEC Haus in Port Moresby from April 7th to April 17th. The training has been made possible through the generous support of ExxonMobil PNG, reaffirming their ongoing commitment to early childhood education in Papua New Guinea.

This year’s training brings together 54 dedicated teachers, including 44 BbP teachers from Library Learning Centres across Port Moresby, Lae, Goroka, and Manus, alongside 10 teachers from four partner libraries in Tari and Kikori, supported by Santos.

The refresher training is a core component of BbP’s teacher training program, designed to ensure that all its teachers stay up to date with current trends and topics in early childhood education. The sessions aim to strengthen the teachers' capabilities, build confidence, and equip them with innovative strategies and tools to enhance classroom learning for PNG’s youngest learners. Topics covered in the first week included basic media coverage for teachers with basic photography and videography skills; Nutrition Education, BbP’s latest program launched last year, how to incorporate this into BbP’s existing curriculum, what foods are ideal for growing brains and how to give awareness to parents on this; and ICT on laptop skills, Microsoft Office, Gmail, Google Drive and BbP’s Digital Learning program through the BbP App and educational videos.

Buk bilong Pikinini Executive Officer, Leanne Resson, said:

“This training is vital in ensuring that our teachers continue to provide high-quality, inclusive, and engaging learning experiences for the children who attend our Library Learning Centres. We are grateful to ExxonMobil PNG, Santos for their support and all other partners - which allows us to invest in our teachers and, ultimately, the future of Papua New Guinea.”

The program features a variety of workshops and collaborative activities focusing on literacy, numeracy, ICT, digital learning, monitoring and evaluation, inclusive education, child protection, and classroom management techniques—all tailored to the needs of early childhood teachers.

BbP also had support from PNGAir for travel of teachers from Lae and Goroka. As well as Black Swan Security for vehicle transport.

Buk bilong Pikinini remains committed to its mission of providing access to quality education for all children in Papua New Guinea and empowering teachers to be at the forefront of this transformation.