World Traveling Guide

Several hundred people, some handicapped and some not, took part in this walk connecting the town hall of Papeete to the hall of the assembly of French Polynesia.

"Our slogan is: 'the handicap is in the glance of the other', therefore we wanted to show that the handicapped people have a legitimate place in companies," explains the Minister for Solidarity, Patricia Jennings.

The event also marks the opening of "the week of the handicapped" in Polynesia. This year, the theme is "social integration". Various events will lead to a forum, which will see representatives from various companies accommodating and advising handicapped people.

President Temaru announced in his speech that a law compelling Polynesian companies to integrate 4 % handicapped people among their personnel should soon be subject to a vote by representatives of the assembly. Temauru called on all elected officials of whatever party to approve the text "unanimously". In French Polynesia more than 5,000 adults and 1,300 children suffer from a handicap.

Meanwhile, the second International Tahitian Tattoo Convention opened Thursday at the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti, bringing together tattooing specialists from French Polynesia as well as Europe, New Zealand and Japan. The festival, known as Tattoonesia 2006, was opened by French Polynesia Culture Minister Tauhiti Nena. The Festival ran until Nov. 12 and included several events, performances and conferences.

The "first Tattoo Beauties awards" was organized for Saturday night with twelve candidates coming from Pacific Islands competing for top awards.

Simeon Huuti took home the Tahiti Tattoo Festival top award and the International prize was awarded to Japanese tattoo specialist Shige. Last year, Hutti and Filip Leu of Switzerland won the top awards. Huuti won the jury's grand prix in the traditional tattooing category. Leu won the jury's special prize.

For more than a century, European missionaries prohibited tattooing in what today are Tahiti & Her Islands, considering it a sign of decadence. Previously, during ancient times, the Polynesian people considered tattooing a fundamental part their culture. Since the 1980s, the people of French Polynesia have revived the art of tattooing, which some observers consider as an obvious sign of cultural rebirth. The next Tahiti Tattoo Festival is to be held Nov. 8-11 2007.

Memorial of the American presence in Bora Bora.

The government of Tahiti nui -French Polynesia- launches the project of a Memorial of the American presence. In deed, on February 14,1942, 5000 GI's debark on the island to install a military base. They will remain there for more than four years. In fact, the military base is at the origin of the first airport of French Polynesia.