Around 80 media delegates from more than 10 Pacific Island countries, including Fiji, have gathered in Niue for the 7th Pacific Media Summit 2024.

The summit, themed “Charting a Resilient Future: Pacific Media Navigating Press Freedoms, AI & Geopolitical Interests,” was officially opened by Niue Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi last night.

Tagelagi says that Niue was chosen as the host country during the last PINA summit two years ago.

He adds that they are happy to be hosting the event this year as it coincides with Niue’s 50 years of self-government.

“I thank you for being here and being part of that. It brings to life what is required here. So many times, small islands like Niue are neglected from hosting some of the meetings within the region, and this is something that I advocate for. It is part of that regional visit we always talk about, that everyone should be included.”

PINA member and organizing committee member Makareta Komai says the idea of hosting this summit every two years is to bring stakeholders together to discuss media development in the Pacific.

Komai says that some of the issues to be discussed during the three-day summit include the geopolitical interests of larger powers working in the region, and media freedom.

“As you know, in Fiji we have gone through 13 or 14 years of working under the media legislation. These are some of the experiences that our colleagues from Fiji will be sharing with their regional media colleagues. The third topic is artificial intelligence.”

Komai adds that PINA will also be holding its general conference during the summit.

She confirms that the Fijian Media Association has put in a bid to host the next biennial summit, which will be put to a vote during the general conference on Friday.