New Relationships Forged in Niue as regional media associations pledge unity and collaboration

THE MCPNG was privileged to be invited to the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) 7th Pacific Media Summit hosted in Niue.

The bi-annual event brought together 80 members of Pacific media, media partners and stakeholders to discuss the way forward for media in the region.

MCPNG President Neville Choi was invited to co-facilitate a Pre-Summit Workshop themed 'Strengthening National Media Associations in the Pacific' with Fiji Media Association President, Rosi Doviverata. The pre-summit workshop was supported by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS).

The pre-summit workshop united National Media Association representatives who gathered to discuss common challenges and find solutions and strategies to help solve them.

Over the two days of the workshop, Media Association representatives identified the common challenges of sustainability, resources and equipment, and leading donor funded media support to ensure that local media contexts were acknowledged and met with as little donor influence as possible.

All media association representatives who attended the PINA summit in Niue agreed for there to be a stronger focus by PINA on meeting some of the challenges they face in the region.

PACMAS officials who were present for the pre-summit workshops volunteered to give media association participants as much freedom as possible to discuss the way media associations have been dealing with donors and foreign media partners.

During the final closed-door session discussion, media association representatives formulated a list of recommendations to be presented to PINA and to be included in the 75th Pacific Media Summit Outcomes Document.

In a show of regional media association unity, all media association representatives who were involved in the voting of member representatives to the PINA Board, unanimously nominated Mr. Choi to be the National Media Associations Representative on the board.

ENDS…//