27 MARCH 2020
The importance of communicating “resilience” and what it means to the people of the Pacific was the focus of discussions which took place amongst a technical working group which met this week at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) headquarters in Apia, Samoa.
The working meeting brought together members of the Pacific Resilience Communications technical working group, communications experts, members of the Pacific media and the Pacific Resilience Partnership (PRP).
The objective of the working group was to develop communications products and guidelines, including a strategy to guide all communications work, to assist with and support the execution of tasks under the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP).
As a precautionary measure in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus, only some of the working group convened at the SPREP campus, with the majority linking in virtually from Fiji and French Polynesia.
SPREP’s Director General, Mr Kosi Latu, when delivering his remarks to officially open the working meeting on Monday, stated that the meeting was the only one allowed to go ahead, with the Secretariat having had to cancel or postpone several regional meetings due to the global pandemic.
He also noted the importance of having members of the Pacific media present at the working meeting and identified them as the key to bridging the gap between the technical working groups within the PRP Taskforce, and the people of the Pacific.
The Chair of the PRP Taskforce, Mr Engel Raygadas, speaking via Zoom link from Pape’ete, French Polynesia, touched on the importance of the work that would be undertaken during the working meeting.
“There is a lot of pressure on us to deliver work under the FRDP, and the outcomes and products which will be developed from this working meeting will greatly help in the delivery of these tasks.”
The Communications Technical Working Group is comprised of representatives from SPREP, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, members of the media, country representatives, as well as members of the PRP Taskforce.
For more information please contact Ms Nanette Woonton at [email protected].
