(Photo: ABC News – Ian Cutmore)

Australia’s ABC is supporting Pacific media to cover the Pacific Island Forum, which is being held in Suva, Fiji from 11 to 14 July.

ABC International Development is supporting eight Pacific journalists to travel to Suva to cover the meeting, under the aegis of the government-funded Media Development Initiative and the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme and in partnership with the PIF Secretariat and Pacific Islands News Association (PINA).

The Pacific journalists are reporting for their own media organisations throughout the week. They are being joined by eight Fijian journalists and are participating in media masterclasses run by veteran media practitioners Dorothy Wickham (Solomon Islands) and Rita Narayan (Fiji).

Claire Gorman, the ABC’s Head of International Services, said the ABC was committed to engaging meaningfully with the diverse people and cultures that make up the Pacific region and Timor Leste.

“The ABC is in a unique position in the Australian media landscape in its scale of coverage of Pacific affairs and its support for Pacific media,” she said.

ABC International Development has been supporting Pacific journalists to cover significant Pacific Islands Forum meetings since 2017.

The ABC’s own coverage of the forum is available on ABC Radio Australia, ABC Radio Australia Facebook, ABC Australia and on the ABC News website and ABC News app.