Fiji has officially proposed to host the 2026 Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Media Summit, planning to use the town of Savusavu as the venue. This announcement coincides with the ongoing 7th PINA Media Summit, where over 70 media professionals from seven nations are meeting in Alofi, Niue.
The decision regarding the host for the 2026 summit is anticipated later this week. The current summit commenced today and has already included four pre-summit workshops where participants have discussed critical topics such as enhancing national media organizations, reporting on public finance management, and tackling emerging climate and environmental issues in the Pacific.
A significant aspect of this year’s pre-summit activities is the “Women in Media” workshop, organized by femLINKpacific and supported by The Asia Foundation, aimed at promoting gender equality in media leadership and representation. More than 15 participants from various organizations in the Pacific and Australia have taken part in this initiative.
The main summit will center around the theme “Navigating Media Resilience: Press Freedoms, AI, and Geopolitical Interests.” Discussions will focus on how Pacific media can adapt to technological advancements and various external pressures. Stanley Simpson, the general secretary of the Fijian Media Association, highlighted PINA’s crucial role in influencing regional media and preserving journalistic integrity in the face of these challenges.
Over the course of the week, attendees will delve into the impact of AI on journalism and the vital need to protect press freedoms. The summit will wrap up with the publication of the “State of the Pacific Media Report,” followed by the PINA Annual General Meeting.