Ensuring Pacific voices are part of the global conversation

Pacific representatives join their Asian broadcaster counterparts at the 2025 Asiavision Coordinators Meeting, in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Attendees at the recent 2025 Asiavision (AVN) Coordinators Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam have been reminded of the power of storytelling in connecting diverse communities and addressing shared challenges.

Representing the Pacific region at the VTV Vietnam hosted event were Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited’s (PCBL) Content Manager Tia Soakai, Apenisa Waqairadovu from Fijian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) and Ruci Ranitu from Fiji TV.

Tia says the annual meeting was an opportunity to connect with fellow Asia Broadcasting Union (ABU) members and continue nurturing its partnerships.

“For us, this meeting is not just about networking, it is about making sure the Pacific is actively contributing to and benefiting from AVN,” Tia says.

“Our broadcasters have powerful stories to tell, and this platform allows us to amplify them to a global audience.”

Every year, AVN convenes all coordinators to review the past year’s achievements and plan for the 12 months ahead, while also serving as a platform for members to collaborate, share content, and strategise on strengthening regional media partnerships.

Tia says this year, the overall meeting theme was, Going Global – News for an International Audience, and talanoa included coordinating news coverage, enhancing regional storytelling, and exploring opportunities to address critical global and regional issues.

During the two-day meeting, Tia connected with many of the 57 Asia Broadcasting Union members from news organisations across Asia and the Pacific.

She says a key focus of the meeting was exploring how Pacific newsrooms can enhance their participation in AVN.

“We discussed the type of content Asian broadcasters need from the Pacific to enhance cross-regional storytelling, how Pacific broadcasters can better structure and share their stories within the AVN network and how we can strengthen disaster coverage, drawing insights from Asian broadcasters’ experience in handling major crises,” Tia says.

“With climate change increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, the Pacific must have a strong presence in global newsrooms.”

“This has been a great opportunity to discuss how can Pacific broadcasters better share our experiences in disaster coverage and learn from our Asian counterparts.”

Tia adds there was strong interest from AVN members in amplifying Pacific voices, particularly around climate change, sustainable development, and cultural resilience.

“We want to ensure Pacific stories are not just featured, but prioritised,” she says.

“There’s a strong appetite for more human-centred, culturally rich content, and this meeting reinforced the need to actively contribute.”

“For PCBL, the meeting reinforced the importance of amplifying Pacific voices through regional partnerships and highlighted the growing interest in Pacific stories,” she says.

“It has also provided insights into leveraging AVN’s network for broader coverage of key issues like climate change, media freedom and gender equality.

“Looking ahead we want to continue our collaboration with AVN on news stories, including comprehensive coverage of regional events and happenings, and strengthen Pasifika TV’s role as a bridge between the Pacific and Asia by encouraging our broadcasters to produce more stories highlighting Pacific perspectives on regional and global issues.”

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