SOLOMON ISLANDS

87 team members
Adopt-a-country school: Mitiaro School
Accommodation: Takitumu School
Dining: Hospitality and Tourism Training Centre

Capital:    Honiara
Land Area:    28,370 sq km
Languages:     Pidgin, English
Currency:     Solomon Islands Dollar

 

The Solomon Islands is one of the four Melanesian independent states of the Pacific and is a country where tradition and custom still play an important part. The land size of the Solomon Islands is 28 370 km².
The 1000 islands that make up the Solomons have been inhabited for the last 30,000 years by Melanesian people.
The first Europeans to visit the Islands were the Spanish with Alvaro de Mendana naming them the Solomons. He also named the Islands of Santa Isabel, Guadalcanal and San Cristobal.
The Solomon Islands attained self governance and independence in 1978 from the British. The country remains in the Commonwealth.
The capital of the Solomon Islands is Honiara and the official language is English. However, only a fraction of the population speaks English with over 74 languages spoken in the area.
Age old customs are passed from one generation to the next, allegedly from the ancestral spirits themselves ensuring that the ancient ways are kept alive.
With an approximate population of 478,000 Christianity is the dominant religion.
Land ownership is generally reserved for Solomon Islanders. Land is most commonly still held on a family or village basis and may be handed down from the mother or father according to local custom.
The Solomon Islands is a constitutional monarchy with the English monarch as Head of State. The monarch is represented in the Solomon Islands by a governor general appointed by the parliament for a five year term.