The Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Board held a productive discussion with the Head of the Journalism Programme at the University of the South Pacific, Dr Shailendra Singh Tuesday, reflecting on current collaboration and identifying opportunities to strengthen partnerships between industry and academia.
Key outcomes from the discussion include:
– ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
PINA will work with USP to support media research and development, including the use of industry experiences to inform research papers and potential joint publications.
– ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฐ๐๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค
Both parties agreed on the importance of renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between PINA and the USP Journalism Programme to formalise and guide future collaboration.
– ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐
PINA and USP will explore opportunities for joint activities and collaboration to mark World Media Freedom Day 2026.
– ๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ
PINA will advocate at the regional level for increased investment in journalism education and training institutions, noting the current resource and equipment challenges faced by USP and similar institutions across the Pacific.
– ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ฌ
A representative from the PINA Board will be invited to serve on the USP Journalism Programme Advisory Board, strengthening industry input into curriculum and programme development.
– ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ฌ
PINA will encourage and support greater participation of journalism students in regional initiatives, including attendance at the biennial Pacific Media Summit.
The PINA Board led by President, Kalafi Moala, is in Suva this week for its last face-to-face meeting before the Pacific Media Summit in Savusavu in September this year.
