FIJI UNIVERSITY AND MEDIA INDUSTRY JOIN FORCES TO BUILD PACIFIC JOURNALISM CENTRE
BY TANGIORA HINAKI
The Fiji National University and the Fijian Media Association have signed an agreement to establish a new Pacific journalism centre aimed at strengthening training, research and professional development across the region.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the 8th Pacific Media Summit in Savusavu, Fiji, with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka attending the ceremony.
The proposed Pacific Centre for Communication and Journalism will be based at Fiji National University’s Derrick Campus in Samabula and will bring universities and working journalists together to help shape the next generation of Pacific media professionals.
FNU Vice-Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba said the partnership was part of the university’s commitment to serving Fiji and the wider Blue Pacific.
“We promise as a national university, as we do with our partners across the Blue Pacific and beyond, the Fiji National University is out to serve,” Professor Nabobo-Baba said.
She said the university and the Fijian Media Association also planned to work with the Pacific Islands News Association and other media organisations across the region.
“Through this partnership, we have an opportunity to contribute to stronger journalism not only in Fiji but across our Blue Pacific region,” she said.
The centre is expected to provide professional training, research opportunities and regional cooperation while also focusing on digital journalism, media literacy and emerging technologies including artificial intelligence.
Fijian Media Association president Rosi Tamani-Doviverata said the agreement marked an important moment for Pacific journalists.
“For many years, most of us in this room have seen how important it is to cover everyone else’s moments. Today, that story is ours,” she said.
Ms Tamani-Doviverata said one of the key differences with the new partnership was that working journalists would have a direct role in shaping journalism education.
“Our industry is changing faster than at any other point in its history,” she said.
“The people best placed to say what a journalist needs to know are the people doing the job every day. That is what makes this partnership different.”
She said the centre could become an important training hub for journalists from smaller Pacific nations.
“For years, when newsrooms in one of our smaller Pacific nations needed an experienced journalist, the answer was often to recruit from Fiji,” she said.
“So, here is a better offer. Don’t just hire our journalists, send us yours. Come and train with us. Come and grow with us.
“Fiji is ready to lead the way, and we would rather lead together than alone.”
Ms Tamani-Doviverata also urged development partners to help journalists from smaller Pacific countries access the training.
“To our development partners and sponsors, I encourage you to sponsor a seat in that classroom for a journalist from a country that cannot afford to send one,” she said.
“It costs no more than another workshop, but it can last a career.”
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka formally launched the initiative during his keynote address to the summit, describing strong and professional journalism as central to a connected and resilient Blue Pacific.
The partnership is expected to bring the newsroom and classroom closer together, creating more opportunities for students, working journalists and media organisations across the Pacific to share knowledge and build professional skills.