Fiji has officially presented a bid to host the 2026 Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Media Summit, proposing Savusavu as the potential location for the event. This announcement coincides with the gathering of over 70 media professionals from seven nations in Alofi, Niue, for the 7th PINA Media Summit.
The decision regarding the host country for the 2026 summit is anticipated to be made later this week. The summit officially commenced today and has already featured four pre-summit workshops focusing on essential topics such as enhancing national media associations, public finance management reporting, and addressing emerging climate and environmental trends prevalent in the Pacific region.
One significant aspect of this year’s pre-summit is the “Women in Media” workshop, spearheaded by femLINKpacific with support from The Asia Foundation, aimed at improving gender balance in media leadership and representation. Over 15 participants from various organizations across the Pacific and Australia have joined this session.
The main summit is themed “Navigating Media Resilience: Press Freedoms, AI, and Geopolitical Interests,” with discussions planned around how Pacific media can adjust to technological advances and outside pressures. Stanley Simpson, secretary-general of the Fijian Media Association, highlighted PINA’s crucial role in influencing regional media and upholding journalistic integrity amidst these challenges.
Throughout the week, attendees will investigate the influence of AI in journalism and the critical need to protect press freedoms. The summit will conclude with the release of the “State of the Pacific Media Report,” followed by the PINA Annual General Meeting.