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This paper presents a picture of educational needs and ways South Pacific countries are addressing these needs. It proposes that the two major educational issues facing Pacific nations as they address the task of human resource development are those relating to equity of access to quality education and training, and the appropriateness of curricula. It draws attention to the fact that the educational needs of Pacific Island states are not being and cannot be met through formal schooling systems only. Instead, Pacific communities rely heavily on 'non-formal ' programmes provided by a large range of non-government organisations (NGOs) and 'informal ' learning exchanges also. The challenge today is how the new and exciting developments in distance and open education can be adapted and utilised within the Pacific context. The Pacific Region Accounts of the Pacific region usually begin by highlighting that the region is one of enormous linguistic, cultural and geographical diversity, ranging from large resource-rich countries such as Papua New Guinea, which has over 700 languages, through to small resource-poor atoll countries, such as Kiribati, consisting of a group of islands scattered over huge expanses of open ocean (see Table 1). The fragile nature of our resource bases is a second point of note, a fact which makes Pacific countries extremely vulnerable to the elements: cyclones, temperature changes, and sea rises. The third point is that Pacific countries have experienced a 'late', and 'short ' colonial period, and a relatively recent independence (Western Samoa was the first country to gain self-government in 1962). Many have maintained close relationships with former colonial administrations in the independence era, a fact which is reflected in favourable aid and migration policies. Integration into global networks through patterns of trade, 3