Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabula with FNU Vice-Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba and the Fijian Media Association President Rosi Tamani-Doviverata after the MOU singing at Savusavu today.

The Fiji National University (FNU) and the Fijian Media Association (FMA), have taken a major step towards strengthening journalism education and professional development in Fiji and the wider Pacific, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 8th Pacific Media Summit 2026 in Savusavu today.

A key initiative under the MoU is the proposed establishment of the Pacific Centre for Communication and Journalism, to be based at FNU’s Derrick Campus in Samabula. The proposed Centre would bring together academia and the media industry, creating opportunities for journalism education, professional practice, research and industry development to work more closely together.

FNU Vice-Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba during the MOU singing with the Fijian Media Association at Savusavu today.

FNU Vice-Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba said the initiative reflected the University’s commitment to serving Fiji and the wider Blue Pacific through meaningful partnerships.

“We promise as a national university, as we do with our partners across the Blue Pacific and beyond, the Fiji National University is out to serve,” Professor Nabobo-Baba said. Professor Nabobo-Baba added that the partnership also had the potential to create a wider impact across the Pacific.

“FNU and the Fijian Media Association intend to work with the Pacific Islands News Association and the wider Pacific media community. Through this partnership, we have an opportunity to contribute to stronger journalism not only in Fiji but across our Blue Pacific region,” she further stated.

The Vice-Chancellor also highlighted that the proposed Centre would take an industry-led approach to journalism education, with working media professionals expected to play an important role in shaping learning and professional development opportunities for aspiring and practicing journalists.

FMA President Rosi Tamani-Doviverata described the MoU as an important moment for the media industry, particularly because it gives journalists and media organisations a direct role in shaping the future of journalism education.

“For many years, most of us in this room have seen how important it is to cover everyone else’s moments. Today, that story is ours,” she said.

“To the Vice-Chancellor of Fiji National University, thank you for what you have given us and our industry: something that is rarely offered, which is the opportunity to lead here in Fiji and across the Pacific,” added the FMA President.

Ms Tamani-Doviverata said the rapidly changing media environment made stronger collaboration between universities and newsrooms, increasingly important.

“Our industry is changing faster than at any other point in its history. The people best placed to say what a journalist needs to know are the people doing the job every day. That is what makes this partnership different,” Ms Tamani-Doviverata further elaborated.

She said the partnership could also help strengthen the capacity of journalists across the Pacific. “

For years, when newsrooms in one of our smaller Pacific nations needed an experienced journalist, the answer was often to recruit from Fiji. So, here is a better offer. Don’t just hire our journalists, send us yours. Come and train with us. Come and grow with us. Fiji is ready to lead the way, and we would rather lead together than alone,” she reiterated.

Ms Tamani-Doviverata also called on development partners and sponsors to support professional development opportunities for journalists from Pacific Island countries, who may otherwise be unable to access training.

“To our development partners and sponsors, I encourage you to sponsor a seat in that classroom for a journalist from a country that cannot afford to send one. It costs no more than another workshop, but it can last a career,” she said.

The partnership also brings together media organisations that may compete for audiences and stories, but have united through the Fijian Media Association behind a common vision, for the future of journalism. The proposed Pacific Centre for Communication and Journalism is an opportunity to bring the classroom and newsroom closer together, giving students, journalists and media organisations across the Pacific, more opportunities to learn, share and grow together.