Investing in our Pacific Islands media to help build a resilient people is at the core of a capacity building opportunity to amplify weather and climate.
Weather and climate are crucial to the daily lives and livelihoods of Pacific Islands people. Each year the planet reaches scorching temperatures, a reminder as to how extreme weather events are intensifying due to climate change.
From 17 to 18 September this year a regional media workshop will be held to build the capacity of our Pacific Islands media living and working in the region to report on weather and climate. Selected journalists will also cover the 8th Pacific Meteorological Council Meeting (PMC8) and the 4th Pacific Meteorology Ministers Meeting (4PMMM) from 21 to 25 September in Tonga as part of a Pacific News Team.
“As a Pacific Islander, I know all too well just how much our lives are impacted by weather and climate. We know firsthand what happens when we have floods, cyclones and droughts. It is essential that people are well informed so families and communities can prepare for what may come,” said Salesa Nihmei, Director of Climate Science and Information of SPREP.
“Our Pacific media play an important role in helping to magnify essential information, just as it’s our important role to help strengthen their abilities to do so. We encourage Pacific media to apply for these opportunities.”
This Mana Master Class is coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the Pacific Community with support from the Australia and New Zealand Government- funded Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific (COSPPac).
Expressions of Interest is now open from Pacific Islands’ journalists working and living in the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands (RMI), Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu or Vanuatu.
Working in partnership, SPC and SPREP will deliver the two-day training and work with Pacific News Editors to support the Pacific News Team as they cover the PMC6 and 4PMMM. This will help build Pacific media networks with weather and climate experts from across the Pacific island region and the world.
