Each week on Engage, we aim to share with you a selection of links to articles and stories about the Australian aid program and international development that we find interesting or noteworthy. Here’s a snapshot of online stories this week:

• In the first of three episodes of Development Drums which looks at the relationship between effective and accountable states, active citizenship and development, Rakesh Rajani and Martin Tisné discuss accountability, open government and development.
• Joanne Wallis argues that it’s time to shift Australian perceptions of the South Pacific from that of an ‘arc of instability’ to an ‘arc of opportunity’.
• Do transnational corporations have a place in Fair Trade? Anna Bowen asks the question on WhyDev.
• On the World Vision blog, Dom McInerney shares the inspiring story of Cain and Louise, whose lives have changed after taking part in small business and life skills training funded by Australia’s aid program in Solomon Islands. Meanwhile in Indonesia, the AusAID-funded HIV Cooperation Program for Indonesia (HCPI) is helping educate workers in the Balinese port of Benoa, who are at increased risk of contracting HIV. Read more on the GRM International blog.
• Andrew Anton Mako helped conduct a survey in the PNG Highlands province of Enga as part of the Promoting Effective Public Expenditure (PEPE) in PNG project. In a post on Development Policy, he shares his first impressions.