PCBL hosted the 2023 GM & CEO Conference in Aotearoa, bringing together 24 broadcasters from the Pacific broadcasting collective to collaboratively design the future of the Pacific industry.
Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited (PCBL) has just announced the opening of the second round of Pasifika On Air (POA), a contestable fund for PCBL’s Pacific broadcasting partners designed to enable the creation of Pacific stories for a global audience.
Open to all PCBL’s Pacific broadcasting partners, POA is the only programme of its kind offering a platform for the development of Pacific stories told in a Pacific way.
The inaugural POA programme was launched in 2021 during PCBL’s virtual conference and resulted in 15 projects being funded from 11 broadcasters
The programmes produced from the first round of POA focused on the impact of and resilience to Covid in the Pacific, with industry veteran Stephen Stehlin of Sunpix providing support as the commissioner.
The content produced provided a sobering look into how people from across the Pacific had their lives changed during the pandemic, the ongoing effects, and how they as individuals and communities overcame adversity.
“POA enabled our Pacific broadcast partners to produce truly world-class content ,” says PCBL Chief Executive Natasha Meleisea. “Just as important as the story, is the process of creating it. We wanted to create an opportunity for our broadcasters to apply the training and equipment they have received from us in a practical way.” The announcement was made during PCBL’s Pacific Broadcasters, CEO/ General Managers Conference 2023, which was appropriately built around the idea of Story Sovereignty and the untapped strength that lies in the tradition of Pacific storytelling.
“There is such a wealth of history and tradition in the Pacific that can be shared with the world, and rightfully so, these stories should be shared by those who are stewards of their own cultures. They are the storytellers; we just want to enable them to tell their own stories and amplify their voices.” says Meleisea.
