The 2013 Pacific Media Partnership Conference and associated workshops were held in Port Vila, Vanuatu, from 17 to 19 September. The fourth in a series of conferences, it was organised by the ABU and hosted by the Vanuatu Broadcasting Television Corporation (VBTC).

The event, themed ‘Broadcasting for Development’, was aimed at providing a platform for the Pacific region’s broadcasters and other media professionals to share knowledge and expertise to improve media in the region.

Edward Nipake Natapei, Acting Prime Minister, Acting Media Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, said at the opening that it was important to share information and learn from the region’s experiences.

“There is an important issue of climate change affecting the Pacific region,” he said. Broadcasters must provide information about rising sea levels affecting people living in coastal areas.

The conference enabled the participants to interact, share and learn from experts who presented on wide ranging topics including implementing digital technologies, journalism, sports coverage and reporting.

The three-day PMPC 2013 comprised two days of pre-conference workshops followed by a full day conference that offered media personnel an opportunity to discuss issues crucial to the sustainability and development of broadcasting in the region.

It was supported by NHK International, the ITU, UNDP and PACMAS.

Radio New Zealand International conducted a workshop on ‘Journalism; Threading the line between Professional and Personal’.

NHK International speakers presented on election reporting and the role of Pacific Islands broadcasters in crisis management.
ITU expert Colin Knowles conducted workshops and a conference session on ICT and Broadcasting, Analogue to Digital migration.

More than 80 delegates including journalists, programme professionals, senior executives, engineers, policy makers and regulators from 13 countries attended the event.