One of the many casualties of the Trump administration’s crackdown on “soft power” that enabled many democratic media and truth to power global editorial initiatives has been BenarNews, a welcome contribution to the Asia-Pacific region.

BenarNews had been producing a growing range of insightful on powerful articles on the region’s issues, articles that were amplified by other media such as Asia Pacific Report.

Managing editor Kate Beddall and her deputy, Imran Vittachi, announced the suspension of the decade-old BenarNews editorial operation this week, stating in their “Letter from the editors”:

• READ MORE: Evicted PNG settlement fears collective punishment over gang rape and killing
• Other BenarNews reports on Asia Pacific Report

“After 10 years of reporting from across the Asia-Pacific, BenarNews is pausing operations due to matters beyond its control.

“The US administration has withheld the funding that we rely on to bring our readers and viewers the news from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, the Philippines and island-states and territories in the Pacific.

“We have always strived to offer clear and accurate news on security, politics and human rights, to shed light on news that others neglect or suppress, and to cover issues that will shape the future of Asia and the Pacific.

“Only last month, we marked our 10th anniversary with a video showcasing some of the tremendous but risky work done by our journalists.

“Amid uncertainty about the future, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank our readers and viewers for their loyalty and trust in BenarNews.

“And to Benar journalists, cartoonists and commentary writers in Washington, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, thank you for your hard work and passion in serving the public and helping make a difference.

“We hope that our funding is restored and that we will be back online soon.”

BenarNews: A decade of truth in democracies at risk.    Video: BenarNews

One of the BenarNews who has contributed much to the expansion of Pacific coverage is Brisbane-based former SBS Pacific television journalist Stefan Ambruster.

He has also been praising his team in a series of social media postings, such as Papua New Guinea correspondent Harlyne Joku — “from the old school with knowledge of the old ways”. Ambruster writes:

“Way back in December 2022, Harlyne Joku joined Radio Free Asia/BenarNews and the first Pacific correspondent Stephen Wright as the PNG reporter to help kick this Pacific platform off.

“Her first report was Prime Minister James Marape accusing the media of creating a bad perception of the country.

“Almost 90 stories in just over two years carry Harlyne’s byline, covering politics, geopolitics, human and women’s rights, media freedom, police and tribal violence, corruption, Bougainville, and also PNG’s sheep.

“Her contacts allowed BenarNews Pacific to break stories consistently. She travelled to be on-ground to cover massacre aftermaths, natural disasters and the Pope in Vanimo (where she broke another story).

“Particularly, Harlyne — along with colleagues Victor Mambor in Jayapura and Ahmad Panthoni and Dandy Koswaraputra in Jakarta — allowed BenarNews, to cover West Papua like no other news service. From both sides of the border.

“And it was noticed in Indonesia, PNG and the Pacific region.

“Last year, she was barred from covering President Probowo Subianto’s visit to Moresby, a move condemned by the Media Council of Papua New Guinea.

“At press conferences she questioned Marape about the failure to secure a UN human rights mission to West Papua, as a Melanesian Spearhead Group special envoy, which led to an eventual apology by fellow envoy, Fiji’s Prime Minister Rabuka, to Pacific leaders.”

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

One of the many casualties of the Trump administration’s crackdown on “soft power” that enabled many democratic media and truth to power global editorial initiatives has been BenarNews, a welcome contribution to the Asia-Pacific region.

BenarNews had been producing a growing range of insightful on powerful articles on the region’s issues, articles that were amplified by other media such as Asia Pacific Report.

Managing editor Kate Beddall and her deputy, Imran Vittachi, announced the suspension of the decade-old BenarNews editorial operation this week, stating in their “Letter from the editors”:

• READ MORE: Evicted PNG settlement fears collective punishment over gang rape and killing
• Other BenarNews reports on Asia Pacific Report

“After 10 years of reporting from across the Asia-Pacific, BenarNews is pausing operations due to matters beyond its control.

“The US administration has withheld the funding that we rely on to bring our readers and viewers the news from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, the Philippines and island-states and territories in the Pacific.

“We have always strived to offer clear and accurate news on security, politics and human rights, to shed light on news that others neglect or suppress, and to cover issues that will shape the future of Asia and the Pacific.

“Only last month, we marked our 10th anniversary with a video showcasing some of the tremendous but risky work done by our journalists.

“Amid uncertainty about the future, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank our readers and viewers for their loyalty and trust in BenarNews.

“And to Benar journalists, cartoonists and commentary writers in Washington, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, thank you for your hard work and passion in serving the public and helping make a difference.

“We hope that our funding is restored and that we will be back online soon.”

BenarNews: A decade of truth in democracies at risk.    Video: BenarNews

One of the BenarNews who has contributed much to the expansion of Pacific coverage is Brisbane-based former SBS Pacific television journalist Stefan Ambruster.

He has also been praising his team in a series of social media postings, such as Papua New Guinea correspondent Harlyne Joku — “from the old school with knowledge of the old ways”. Ambruster writes:

“Way back in December 2022, Harlyne Joku joined Radio Free Asia/BenarNews and the first Pacific correspondent Stephen Wright as the PNG reporter to help kick this Pacific platform off.

“Her first report was Prime Minister James Marape accusing the media of creating a bad perception of the country.

“Almost 90 stories in just over two years carry Harlyne’s byline, covering politics, geopolitics, human and women’s rights, media freedom, police and tribal violence, corruption, Bougainville, and also PNG’s sheep.

“Her contacts allowed BenarNews Pacific to break stories consistently. She travelled to be on-ground to cover massacre aftermaths, natural disasters and the Pope in Vanimo (where she broke another story).

“Particularly, Harlyne — along with colleagues Victor Mambor in Jayapura and Ahmad Panthoni and Dandy Koswaraputra in Jakarta — allowed BenarNews, to cover West Papua like no other news service. From both sides of the border.

“And it was noticed in Indonesia, PNG and the Pacific region.

“Last year, she was barred from covering President Probowo Subianto’s visit to Moresby, a move condemned by the Media Council of Papua New Guinea.

“At press conferences she questioned Marape about the failure to secure a UN human rights mission to West Papua, as a Melanesian Spearhead Group special envoy, which led to an eventual apology by fellow envoy, Fiji’s Prime Minister Rabuka, to Pacific leaders.”

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

As Tibetan students return to school for the spring term, they are being subjected to propaganda movies about heroic Chinese soldiers and storytelling contests extolling the greatness of the Communist Party, according to sources inside Tibet and state media reports.

Students and teachers across Tibet are also being told to abandon “superstitious” thinking in a bid to eliminate Tibetan Buddhism, two sources from the region said.

The renewed push for patriotic education is the latest example of Beijing seeking to eradicate Tibetan culture and assimilate all ethnic groups into the majority Han Chinese culture.

State-run media reports say the campaign is aimed at promoting “ethnic unity” and cultivating the “red gene” in Tibetan children -- a term that refers to the Communist Party’s revolutionary spirit and history. They include images of teachers showing propaganda movies to children.

According to the two sources, teachers must provide in-depth explanations on “Chinese national spirit and warmth” and guide students about China’s socialist system under something called the “First Lesson of the Year.”

Teachers must also boost students’ understanding of the “four consciousnesses” and achieve the “two safeguards” –- both of which refer to efforts to modernize Chinese society and upholding party rule with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the core, the two sources said on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

(Citizen Photo)

“We will certainly see more and more of education being used for propaganda purposes,” said Harsh V. Pant, vice president of studies and foreign policy at New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation and a professor of international relations at King’s College London.

“This will manifest both in terms of official government policy, as well as in terms of how gradually the younger generation will be indoctrinated with certain ideas about China and its role in Tibet,” he told Radio Free Asia.

‘Red stories’

Last month, the County Education Bureau of Pelbar (or Banbar in Chinese) County at Chamdo in the Tibet Autonomous Region launched an online storytelling competition for primary and secondary school children to narrate “red stories” about the greatness of the party.

The competition resulted in 44 video submissions, with more than 100 students and parents taking part in the activity, county level announcements said.

Students across the region have also been shown videos about the recent relief work conducted in Dingri County, where an earthquake struck in January, killing at least 126 people.

Officials in the video said the work has “closely combined ideological and political education with vivid examples” from earthquake relief.

(Citizen Photo)

The recent push in Tibetan schools stems from the October 2023 Patriotic Education Law, which put central and regional departments in charge of patriotic education efforts.

“The government’s work report specifically highlighted political and ideological education as a priority alongside skills training, so the emphasis on the spread of propaganda in schools is likely to be higher,” said Anushka Saxena, a research analyst at Bengaluru, India-based Takshashila Institution.

Abandon ‘superstitious’ thinking

Authorities are also telling teachers and students to abandon religious and “superstitious” thinking in schools in a bid to eliminate Tibetan Buddhism and language study, the two sources said.

The Chinese government issued directives on Feb. 25 entitled “Two Absolute Prohibitions” and “Five Absolute Restrictions” which includes strict bans on religious propagation in schools, the use of religious elements in the education system and the participation of teachers and students in religious activities.

The directives also prohibit the wearing or carrying of religious symbols or clothing in schools.

“Teachers are instructed to report to authorities every month, confirming that they are not teaching any religious course to their students while many Tibetan teachers are being dismissed citing lack of proficiency in Chinese as the reason,” the second source said.

These policies are designed to strip children of their Tibetan identity and nature, said Tsewang Dorji, a research fellow at the Dharamsala, North India-based Tibet Policy Institute.

“Xi Jinping’s emphasis on making education a priority will intensify these efforts,” he said. “And if such policies about political and ideological education continue to persist in the next 10 to 20 years, Tibetan language, culture, identity and Buddhism is under huge threat.”

Translated by Tenzin Palmo. Edited by Tenzin Pema, Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Tenzin Norzom and Tenzin Tenkyong for RFA Tibetan.

For nearly half a century, Papua New Guinea has been more than just a home for Laurence “Rocky” Roe — it has been his canvas, his inspiration, and his great love.

A master behind the lens, Rocky has captured the soul of the nation through his photography, preserving moments of history, culture, and progress.

He bid farewell to the country he has called home since 1976 in June 2021 and is now retired and living in Australia. We reflect on the extraordinary journey of a man whose work has become an indelible part of PNG’s visual history.

• WATCH: The Malum Nalu’s full interview with Rocky Roe
• Other Malum Nalu articles

A journey born of adventure
Rocky Roe’s story began in Adelaide, Australia, where he was born in 1947. His adventure in Papua New Guinea started in 1976 when he arrived as a mechanical fitter for Bougainville Copper. But his heart sought more than the structured life of a mining camp.

In 1979, he took a leap of faith, moving to Port Moresby and trading a higher salary for a passion — photography. What he lost in pay, he gained in purpose.

“I wanted to see Papua New Guinea,” Rocky recalls. “And I got an opportunity to get paid to see it.”

Capturing the essence of a nation
From corporate photography to historic events, Rocky’s lens has documented the evolution of Papua New Guinea. He was there when leaders rose to prominence, capturing moments that would later adorn national currency — his photograph of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare graces the K50 note.

His work went beyond the formal; he ventured deep into the Highlands, the islands, and bustling townships, preserving the heart and spirit of the people.

With each shot, he chronicled the changing landscape of Port Moresby. From a city of well-kept roads and modest housing in the 1970s to its present-day urban sprawl, Rocky witnessed and documented it all.

The evolution of photography
Rocky’s career spanned a transformative era in photography — from the meticulous world of slide film, where exposure errors were unforgiving, to the digital revolution, where technology made photography more accessible.

“Autofocus hadn’t been invented,” he recalls. “Half the world couldn’t focus a camera back then.” Yet, through skill and patience, he mastered the art, adapting as the industry evolved.

His assignments took him to mine sites, oil fields, and remote locations where only helicopters could reach.

“I spent many hours flying with the door off, capturing PNG from above. Looking through the camera made it all feel natural. Without it, I might have been scared.”

The man behind the camera
Despite the grandeur of his work, Rocky remains humble. A storyteller at heart, his greatest joy has been the connections he forged—whether photographing Miss PNG contestants over the years or engaging with young photographers eager to learn.

He speaks fondly of his colleagues, the friendships he built, and the country that embraced him as one of its own.

His time in Papua New Guinea was not without challenges. He encountered moments of danger, faced armed hold-ups, and saw the country grapple with law and order issues. Yet, his love for PNG never wavered.

“It’s the greatest place on earth,” he says, reflecting on his journey.

A fond farewell, but not goodbye
Now, as Rocky returns to Australia to tend to his health, he leaves behind a legacy that will live on in the countless images he captured. Papua New Guinea will always be home to him, and its people, his extended family.

“I may come back if someone brings me back,” he says with a knowing smile.

Papua New Guinea bids farewell to a legend, a visual historian who gave us the gift of memories frozen in time. His photographs are not just images; they are stories, emotions, and a testament to a life well-lived in the pursuit of beauty and truth.

Farewell, Rocky Roe. Your work will continue to inspire generations to come.

Independent Papua New Guinea journalist Malum Nalu first published this article on his blog Happenings in Papua New Guinea as part of a series leading up to PNG’s 50th anniversary this year. Republished with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

As the Washington Post faces a staff rebellion and plummeting subscription rates, billionaire owner Jeff Bezos has introduced a new mission statement: “Riveting Storytelling for All of America.”

The Washington Post‘s new slogan, “Riveting Storytelling for All of America,” is “meant to be an internal rallying point for employees,” the New York Times (1/16/25) reported.

The new path forward, as introduced in a slide deck to staff by Suzi Watford, the paper’s chief strategy officer, demands that the paper “understand and represent interests across the country,” and “provide a forum for viewpoints, expert perspectives and conversation” (New York Times, 1/16/25). It will do this as “an AI-fueled platform for news” that delivers “vital news, ideas and insights for all Americans where, how and when they want it.”

This appears to mean shifting resources toward opinion, specifically opinions from the right. According to the New York Times report:

Bezos has expressed hopes that the Post would be read by more blue-collar Americans who live outside coastal cities, mentioning people like firefighters in Cleveland. He has also said that he is interested in expanding the Post’s audience among conservatives.

The Post has already begun to consider ways to sharply increase the amount of opinion commentary published on its website, according to two people with knowledge of the talks. An adviser to the Post, Lippe Oosterhof, has conducted brainstorming sessions about a new initiative that would make it easier to receive and publish opinion writing from outside contributors.

How AI is meant to play into this is unclear.

The Post already has more columnists than you can shake a stick at. This new direction sounds like the Foxification of the Washington Post, a move away from any attempt to hold the powerful to account, toward inexpensive clickbait punditry.

‘Make money’

The red area represents the proportion of Jeff Bezos’s total wealth that would be required to cover the Washington Post‘s losses for a year.

Watford’s slide deck presented three pillars of the Post‘s new model: “great journalism,” “happy customers” and “make money.” The Post lost roughly $77 million in 2023. (It also lost some 250,000 subscribers after Bezos killed the paper’s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris—FAIR.org, 10/30/24.)

In order to make money, its new “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” (yes, that’s what the Post slide deck apparently called it) is to reach 200 million “paying users.” The paper currently has about 3 million subscribers, making it an “audacious” goal indeed. As the Times pointed out, even if the Post could achieve the impossible task of monetizing every visit to its website, no major corporate media outlet has been getting more than 100 million monthly unique visits—paying and non-paying—outside of the spike in traffic around the election.

Back in 2019, the Post was claiming 80–90 million unique visitors per month. Those visits peaked in November 2020 at 114 million, but quickly and steadily dropped after Biden’s inauguration. The Post stopped posting its audience numbers online after January 2023, when they were down to 58 million.

Of course, most online corporate media have been struggling. The thing about the Post is that its absurdly wealthy owner, the second-richest person on Earth, can easily afford to lose $77 million a year. That’s 0.03% of Bezos’s current net worth.

‘We are deeply alarmed’

Guardian (1/15/25): “The plea from staff…comes a week after the Post laid off roughly 100 employees…roughly 4% of the publication’s staff.”

No doubt the Post needs help. Just days before the new mission statement was revealed, over 400 staff members signed a letter to Bezos asking for a meeting (Guardian, 1/15/25).  The letter read:

We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution, broken with a tradition of transparency, and prompted some of our most distinguished colleagues to leave, with more departures imminent.

Bezos’s response—a slide deck about “riveting storytelling” on “an AI-driven platform” that prioritizes churning out opinions to draw in conservatives—is hardly likely to ease the mind of any serious journalist at the paper.

Nor is trying to “expand the Post audience among conservatives,” while still paying lip service to “great journalism,” likely to solve the Post‘s problems. As CNN‘s former CEO Chris Licht discovered (FAIR.org, 6/8/23), you can’t do good journalism while trying to appeal to both sides in the context of an increasingly radical right, because that side demands acceptance of lies and conspiracy theories that are incompatible with actual journalism.

When Bezos bought the Post (Extra!, 3/14), he assured the paper’s employees that “the paper’s duty will remain to its readers and not to the private interests of its owners.” That sentiment was repeated in Watford’s slide deck this week. But Bezos’s actions in the past months—including the killing of the Harris endorsement, Amazon donating $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural fund and paying Melania Trump $40 million for her self-produced documentary, and, most recently, Bezos appearing onstage with other multibillionaires at Trump’s inauguration—make clear that the principle is as meaningless to Bezos as the slogan that debuted after Trump’s first election: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

That slogan will continue to adorn the front page for the time being, perhaps in the hope that readers searching for an actual news organization that holds those in power to account will be fooled into subscribing.

ACTION ALERT: You can send a message to the Washington Post at letters@washpost.com.

Please remember that respectful communication is the most effective. Feel free to leave a copy of your message in the comments thread here.

This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Julie Hollar.

Veteran journalist and editor Stanley Simpson has spoken about the enduring power of storytelling and its role in shaping Fiji’s identity.

Reflecting on his journey at the launch of FijiNikua, a magazine launched by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka on Christmas Eve, Simpson shared personal anecdotes of growing up in Savusavu, a place he described as a hub of vibrant storytelling.

“I grew up listening to stories that were humorous, serious, tragic, and enlightening,” he said.

• READ MORE: A very difficult 2 years, says PM
• New magazine Fiji Nikua to bring back in-depth journalism and story telling

“These stories instilled values, kept the community together, and reminded us of our principles and identity.”

The launch of FijiNikua is the culmination of years of dedication to the craft of journalism and magazine production.

“This is the fifth magazine I’ve had the privilege of editing. I love the way magazines provide the space to tell stories, no matter how long they may be.”

His career in publishing began in 2006 when he left a secure position at UNDP to pursue a dream.

Storytelling dream ‘persisted’
Teaming up with journalist Imraz Iqbal, they launched Fiji Living magazine, driven by a passion for telling stories that mattered. However, their vision faced challenges during the political unrest later that year, resulting in attacks on their office and colleagues.

“Despite the pain and chaos, the dream of storytelling persisted.”

That resilience led him to helm Mai Life Magazine, producing award-winning journalism that uncovered corruption, celebrated community triumphs and addressed pressing social issues.

In his speech, he expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and the coalition government for their role in repealing the MIDA Act, paving the way for greater media freedom.

“For 16 years, our media landscape was constrained. We cannot let this moment pass without leaving a strong legacy of free spirit and free speech for future generations.”

As general secretary of the Fiji Media Association, Simpson announced initiatives to establish a journalism institute and Press Club and revealed that Savusavu will host the Pacific Media Summit in 2026, inviting regional media to converge and celebrate the power of storytelling.

“FijiNikua is more than just a magazine; it’s a platform for meaningful stories.

“In an era dominated by social media and short-form content, this magazine offers a space for complete, in-depth narratives that inspire and connect us.”

The launch event closed with a call to action, inviting all Fijians to embrace and support FijiNikua as a platform for stories that define and reflect the heart of the nation.

Republished from The Fiji Times with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

In the expansive landscape of Pacific journalism, one magazine stands for unwavering command and unfiltered truth. Islands Business, with its roots deep beneath Fijian soil, is unafraid to be a voice for the Pacific in delivering forward-thinking analysis of current issues.

Established in Fiji’s capital, Suva, Islands Business has carved out a niche position since the 1970s and is now the longest surviving monthly magazine for the region.

With Fiji’s restrictive Media Industry Development Act (MIDA) only repealed in April 2023 following a change in government, the magazine can now publish analytical reporting without the risks it previously faced.

• READ MORE: Other QUT Journalism reports
• Islands Business website

With a greater chance for these stories to shine, communities have a greater chance that their voices will be heard and shared.

Islands Business general manager Samantha Magick notes the importance of digging below the surface of issues and uncovering injustices with her work.

“I feel like that time where you have to be objective and somehow live above the reality of the world is gone,” Samantha says.

“Quite often I can go into a story thinking one thing and come out saying, ‘I was completely wrong about that.’

‘Objective openness’
“Maybe it’s about going in with an objective openness to hear things, but then saying at some point ‘we as a publication, platform or nation should take a position on this.’”

Magick provides the example of the climate change issue.

“Our position from the start was that climate change is real. We need to be talking about this, we need to be holding these discussions in our space,” she says.

“As long as you declare that this is our position and where we stand on it, why would I give a climate denier space? Because it’s going to sell more magazines or create more of a stir online? That’s not something that we believe in.”

Despite the magazine’s dedication to probing coverage of business and social issues, new waves of digital journalism continue to affect its reach.

With an abundance of free news readily available online, media outlets around the world have seen a significant reduction in demand for paid content, recent research shows.

Despite this being a global phenomenon, the impact appears to be harsher on smaller outlets such as Islands Business compared to large media corporations.

‘Younger people expect to not pay’
“Younger people expect to not pay for their media content, due to having so much access to online content,” Magick says.

“We need to be able to demonstrate the value of investigative reporting, big picture sort of reporting, not the day-to-day stuff, and to be able to do that, we need to be able to pay high quality reporters and train them up in future writing.”

Islands Business’s newest recruit, Prerna Priyanka, agrees that this very style of reporting attracted her to work for the publication.

“Their in-depth writing style was something new for me compared to other media outlets, so learning and adapting as a rookie journalist was something that drew me to work with them,” Prerna says.

Prerna notes she has some say over the topics she can cover and strives to incorporate important issues in her work.

“I believe it’s essential to shed light on pressing issues like gender equality and environmental sustainability, and I actively seek out opportunities to do so in my work,” she says.

As Islands Business looks forward, Samantha Magick aims to ensure the diverse Pacific voices remain centred in every discourse and are an active part of the magazine’s raw, unfiltered storytelling.

Dominique Meehan is a student journalist from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT who travelled to Fiji with the support of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan Mobility Programme. This article is republished by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN), QUT and The University of the South Pacific.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region.

David talks about the struggle to raise awareness of critical Pacific issues such as West Papuan self-determination and the fight for an independent “Pacific voice” in New Zealand  media.

He outlines some of the challenges in the region and what motivated him to work on Pacific issues.

Listen to the Earthwise interview on Plains FM 96.9 radio.

Interviewee: Dr David Robie, deputy chair of the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) and a semiretired professor of Pacific journalism. He founded Pacific Journalism Review and the Pacific Media Centre.

Interviewers: Lois and Martin Griffiths, Earthwise programme

Broadcast: Plains Radio FM 96.9, 18 March 2024 plainsfm.org.nz/

Café Pacific: youtube.com/@cafepacific2023

Microsite: Eyes of Fire : 30 Years On

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by David Robie.

Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of any vibrant democracy and society’s collective responsibility to safeguard and protect it, says Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Information and Communication Technology Timothy Masiu.

Masiu was chief guest at the 2023 University of the South Pacific Journalism Student Awards function held in Suva on Friday evening.

“The USP Journalism Awards not only recognises excellence in reporting, but also the commitment to ethical journalism, unbiased storytelling, and the pursuit of truth,” said Masiu.

• READ MORE: Communication Minister Masiu’s full speech at Café Pacific
• USP journalism award winners
• Journalists responsibilities vital, says Masiu

“In an era where information flows abundantly, the responsibility of journalists to uphold these principles has never been more critical.”

While recognising the hard work and dedication put in by the student journalists in their stories, Masiu took the time to acknowledge the challenges that journalists face in the pursuit of truth.

“Today, we recognise the hard work, dedication, and exemplary storytelling that have emerged from the vibrant and diverse community of journalists who have made their mark within USP.”

This year 16 students from the USP journalism programme were recognised for their outstanding achievements in journalism.

Sponsorship media
The awards this year were sponsored by the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), The Fiji Times, Islands Business, FijiLive and Sports World.

“The journalists we celebrate today have embraced this responsibility with vigour, showcasing the power of words and the impact they can have on shaping our world,” said Masiu.

Being a former journalist himself, Masiu said the role of journalism as the Fourth Estate could not be understated — “the role of journalism is pivotal in our society, serving as the watchdog, the voice of the voiceless, and the bridge that connects communities”.

Masiu thanked the journalism school faculty heads and mentors who have guided these aspiring journalists for their dedication in nurturing the next generation of storytellers.

“Your influence goes beyond the classroom; it shapes the future of journalism in the Pacific and beyond,” he said.

The event included presentation of a $10,000 cheque by the PNG government to the USP journalism programme as part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the USP School of Journalism and the PNG National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) on June 19, 2023.

The minister described the collaboration as a testament to recognition that the exchange of knowledge, resources, and expertise was essential in nurturing the next generation of journalists who would shape the narrative of the Pacific region.

Shared training vision
Signifying more than just a formal agreement, he said the MoU represented a shared vision for the future of journalism training and mentoring in the Pacific.

“Through this collaboration, students will have the opportunity to engage with seasoned professionals, gaining insights into the ever-evolving landscape of journalism,” he said.

“I request that the USP School of Journalism or wider USP will have appropriate programmes to upskill or re-train our deserving NBC staff who are non-journalists.”

Journalism head Associate Professor Dr Shailendra Singh acknowledged the support from the PNG government for the USP Journalism Program.

Speaking about the USP Journalism Awards, Dr Singh said these were the longest running and most consistent journalism awards in the Pacific in any category.

He paid tribute to the founder of the awards in 1999, former USP journalism head Professor David Robie, adding that he wished that journalism awards would be revived in Fiji and the region.

“Journalists carry out a crucial function — sometimes it’s a thankless task. Our best journalists should be recognised and helped in their work,” said Dr Singh.

Winners of the 2023 USP Journalism Awards:

• Most Promising First-Year student: Riya Bhagwan
• Best News Reporting: Aralai Vosayaco and Nikhil Kumar
• Best Radio Student: Josepheen Tarianga
• Best Television Students: Nishat Kanti and Maretta Putri
• Best Sports Reporting: Sera Navuga
• Best Feature Reporting: Prerna Priyanka and Viliame Tawanakoro
• Best Regional Reporting: Lorima Dalituicama
• Best Online Reporting: Brittany Nawaqatabu
• Most Outstanding Journalism Student of the Year: Yukta Chand and Viliame Tawanakoro

Awards sponsored by the Journalism Students Association:

• Wansolwara Outstanding Reporting Award: Ema Ganivatu
• Best Inclusive Award, Best Editorial Team, and Best Professional Award: Nikhil Kumar
• Team player Award: Ivy Mallam
• Students Choice Award: Andrew Naidu
• Outstanding Social Service to USP Community: Rhea Kumar

Monika Singh is a reporter for Wansolwara, the online and print publication of the USP Journalism Programme. Republished in partnership with Wansolwara.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of any vibrant democracy and society’s collective responsibility to safeguard and protect it, says Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Information and Communication Technology Timothy Masiu.

Masiu was chief guest at the 2023 University of the South Pacific Journalism Student Awards function held in Suva on Friday evening.

“The USP Journalism Awards not only recognises excellence in reporting, but also the commitment to ethical journalism, unbiased storytelling, and the pursuit of truth,” said Masiu.

• READ MORE: Communication Minister Masiu’s full speech at Café Pacific
• USP journalism award winners
• Journalists responsibilities vital, says Masiu

“In an era where information flows abundantly, the responsibility of journalists to uphold these principles has never been more critical.”

While recognising the hard work and dedication put in by the student journalists in their stories, Masiu took the time to acknowledge the challenges that journalists face in the pursuit of truth.

“Today, we recognise the hard work, dedication, and exemplary storytelling that have emerged from the vibrant and diverse community of journalists who have made their mark within USP.”

This year 16 students from the USP journalism programme were recognised for their outstanding achievements in journalism.

Sponsorship media
The awards this year were sponsored by the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), The Fiji Times, Islands Business, FijiLive and Sports World.

“The journalists we celebrate today have embraced this responsibility with vigour, showcasing the power of words and the impact they can have on shaping our world,” said Masiu.

Being a former journalist himself, Masiu said the role of journalism as the Fourth Estate could not be understated — “the role of journalism is pivotal in our society, serving as the watchdog, the voice of the voiceless, and the bridge that connects communities”.

Masiu thanked the journalism school faculty heads and mentors who have guided these aspiring journalists for their dedication in nurturing the next generation of storytellers.

“Your influence goes beyond the classroom; it shapes the future of journalism in the Pacific and beyond,” he said.

The event included presentation of a $10,000 cheque by the PNG government to the USP journalism programme as part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the USP School of Journalism and the PNG National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) on June 19, 2023.

The minister described the collaboration as a testament to recognition that the exchange of knowledge, resources, and expertise was essential in nurturing the next generation of journalists who would shape the narrative of the Pacific region.

Shared training vision
Signifying more than just a formal agreement, he said the MoU represented a shared vision for the future of journalism training and mentoring in the Pacific.

“Through this collaboration, students will have the opportunity to engage with seasoned professionals, gaining insights into the ever-evolving landscape of journalism,” he said.

“I request that the USP School of Journalism or wider USP will have appropriate programmes to upskill or re-train our deserving NBC staff who are non-journalists.”

Journalism head Associate Professor Dr Shailendra Singh acknowledged the support from the PNG government for the USP Journalism Program.

Speaking about the USP Journalism Awards, Dr Singh said these were the longest running and most consistent journalism awards in the Pacific in any category.

He paid tribute to the founder of the awards in 1999, former USP journalism head Professor David Robie, adding that he wished that journalism awards would be revived in Fiji and the region.

“Journalists carry out a crucial function — sometimes it’s a thankless task. Our best journalists should be recognised and helped in their work,” said Dr Singh.

Winners of the 2023 USP Journalism Awards:

• Most Promising First-Year student: Riya Bhagwan
• Best News Reporting: Aralai Vosayaco and Nikhil Kumar
• Best Radio Student: Josepheen Tarianga
• Best Television Students: Nishat Kanti and Maretta Putri
• Best Sports Reporting: Sera Navuga
• Best Feature Reporting: Prerna Priyanka and Viliame Tawanakoro
• Best Regional Reporting: Lorima Dalituicama
• Best Online Reporting: Brittany Nawaqatabu
• Most Outstanding Journalism Student of the Year: Yukta Chand and Viliame Tawanakoro

Awards sponsored by the Journalism Students Association:

• Wansolwara Outstanding Reporting Award: Ema Ganivatu
• Best Inclusive Award, Best Editorial Team, and Best Professional Award: Nikhil Kumar
• Team player Award: Ivy Mallam
• Students Choice Award: Andrew Naidu
• Outstanding Social Service to USP Community: Rhea Kumar

Monika Singh is a reporter for Wansolwara, the online and print publication of the USP Journalism Programme. Republished in partnership with Wansolwara.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

International environmental campaign group Greenpeace’s flagship Rainbow Warrior is currently sailing across the Pacific, calling at ports and collecting evidence to present to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the World Court — during a historic hearing in The Hague next year.

Rainbow Warrior staff and crew will be joined by Pasifika activists sailing across the blue waters of the Pacific, campaigning to take climate change to the globe’s highest court.

Their latest six-week campaign voyage started in Cairns, Australia, on July 31 and will call on Vanuatu, Tuvalu, and Fiji. Currently, they are on a port call in Suva.

• READ MORE: ‘Frustrated’ USP law students were catalyst for landmark UN climate vote
• The Rainbow Warrior affair – a human rights transition from nuclear to climate change refugees — David Robie
• Other Pacific climate crisis reports

Greenpeace Australia’s Pacific general council member Katrina Bullock told IDN: “Part of what we really wanted to do during the ship tour was to bring together climate leaders from different parts of the world to talk and share their experiences because climate impacts might look different in different parts of the world.”

Staff and volunteers at Greenpeace’s iconic campaign vessel have been welcoming local people here, especially youth, to speak to their campaign staff about what they do and why climate justice campaigns are important to save the pristine environment in the region that is facing a multitude of problems due to climate crisis.

“Everybody is sharing the same struggles, so we had Uncle Pabai and Uncle Paul (indigenous Torres Straits Islanders from Australia) who came with us to Vanuatu, where they joined up with some terrific activists from the Philippines who are also looking at holding their government accountable,” Bullock said.

“If we become climate refugees, we will lose everything — our homes, community, culture, stories, and identity,” says Uncle Paul whose ancestors have lived on the land for 65,000 years.

‘Our country will disappear’
“We can keep our stories and tell our stories, but we won’t be connected to country because country will disappear”.

That is why he is taking the government to court, “because I want to protect my community and all Australians before it’s too late.”

The two indigenous First Nations leaders from the Guda Maluyligal in the Torres Strait are plaintiffs in the Australian Climate Case suing the Australian government for failing to protect their island homes from climate change.

They are training other Pacific islanders on activism to hold their governments to account.

The UN General Assembly on 29 March 2023 adopted by consensus a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the ICJ on the obligations of states in respect of climate change.

This opinion aims to clarify the legal obligations of states in addressing climate change and its consequences, particularly regarding the rights and interests of vulnerable nations  — and people.

It is the first time the General Assembly has requested an advisory opinion from the ICJ with unanimous state support.

Resolution youth-driven
The resolution was youth-driven, and it originated with a law school students’ project at the University of the South Pacific’s Vanuatu campus and ultimately led to the Vanuatu government tabling it at the UN.

This Pacific-led resolution has been hailed as a “turning point in climate justice” and a victory for the Pacific youth who spearheaded the campaign.

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, entrusted with settling legal disputes between states. It entertains only two types of cases: contentious cases and requests for advisory opinions.

“We have been collecting evidence from across the Pacific of climate impacts to take to the world’s highest court as part of the ICJ initiative,” Bullock said.

“We have also had the opportunity to mobilise communities and bring the leaders from all parts of the world together to share their experiences and do some community training.”

The Rainbow Warrior has a long history of daring activism and fearless campaigning and has been sailing the world’s oceans since 1978, fighting various environment destroyers and polluters.

In 1985, the first Rainbow Warrior ship was sunk by a terrorist bombing at New Zealand’s Auckland port by French security agents with the death of a Greenpeace photographer, Fernando Pereira, on board because the ship and its crew were fearlessly campaigning against French nuclear testing in the Pacific.

The ship’s crew also evacuated the people of Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands who were irradiated by US nuclear testing and moved them to a safer atoll.

Modern sailing ship
Today’s Rainbow Warrior is a sophisticated modern sailing ship with a multinational crew that includes Indians, Chileans, South Africans, Australians, Fijians, and many other nationalities.

Last week they were sharing their stories of environmental destruction with local youth and children to take the fight further with the help of stories collected from people in the Pacific.

According to Bullock, the shared stories were filled with trauma and loss as they went from island to island.

“We were in Vanuatu, and some of the women shared their experiences of what it was like after a cyclone to lose lots of herbal medicine and the plants that you rely on as a community, and what that means to them and why Western pharmacies aren’t a substitute.”

The Rainbow Warrior activists were shown the loss of land and gravesites and collected many stories they believe will make an impact. While they are berthed in Fiji, students and community members were given guided tours on the boat and informed on their work – including how they navigate the high seas.

One such group was the students and teachers from a local primary school, Vashistmuni Primary School in Navua, who were excited and fascinated to learn about the work the Rainbow Warrior does.

Their teacher said that while it is part of their curriculum to learn about climate change and global warming, “it was good to bring the kids out and witness firsthand what a climate warrior looks like and its importance.

‘Hopefully, they take action’
“Hopefully, they go back and take action in their local communities.”

For Ani Tuisausau, Fijian activist and core focal point of the climate justice working group in Fiji, her choice to take this up was personal.

“I am someone who is constantly going to my dad’s island, so compared to how it was then to how it is now, it is different,” she told IDN.

“There are some places where I used to swim. They are polluted, and then, of course, the sea level rises. I don’t want my kids growing up and missing out on the beauty of our beaches and what I experienced when I was younger.

“For that to happen, there needs to be a change in mindsets,” argues Tuisausau, “and this is the best opportunity on board the Rainbow Warrior — they get to hear the stories of what is happening in the Pacific and compare and relate to what is happening in our backyard.”

The Rainbow Warrior’s stories include intense stories and dignified climate migration but also the loss of culture and land. The team is confident that collecting these stories will give them a fighting chance at the ICJ.

Bullock says that when she started with the Rainbow Warrior five years ago, she thought facts and figures were a way to change mindsets.

“But now I realise that while facts and figures are important, stories are crucial because they touch hearts and move people to action”.

Rainbow Warrior leaves Suva tomorrow and heads back to Australia via Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Sera Sefeti is a Wansolwara journalist at the University of the South Pacific. This article was produced as a part of the joint media project between the non-profit International Press Syndicate Group and Soka Gakkai International in consultation with ECOSOC on 13 August 2023. IDN is the flagship agency of IPS and the article is republished by Asia Pacific Report as part of a collaboration.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Janine Jackson interviewed Rising Up‘s Sonali Kolhatkar about the power of narrative for the June 16, 2023, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript.

Janine Jackson: Most of us have a memory about a time someone judged us based on things they heard about people “like us.” They couldn’t, if only for a moment, see us as an individual, because that view was clouded by hundreds of tales they’d heard about people with our skin color, or clothing, or physical ability.

(City Lights, 2023)

And most of us can also recognize that our vision of people we don’t know has been shaped by stories we’ve been told. It’s not a giant leap to see how that can affect our political choices and possibilities.

Narrative is a tricky and significant thing, and the subject of a lot of important new work, including that of our guest today.

Sonali Kolhatkar is the host and executive producer of the daily radio and TV program Rising Up With Sonali, and the racial justice and civil liberties editor at Yes! Magazine. Her new book, Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice, will be published this month by City Lights, and she joins us now by phone. Welcome back to CounterSpin, Sonali Kolhatkar.

Sonali Kolhatkar: It’s such an honor to be with you, Janine. Thank you for having me.

JJ: It’s my pleasure. I’ve been hearing about the importance of narrative in social justice spaces for a few years now, and I want to ask you to clarify, because it sounds “soft”; it sounds like meta-phenomena. You can think, well, let’s change facts on the ground, and then we’ll talk about what stories we tell about them.

So I want to ask you to just respond, how do we define narrative, and how do you situate that within what else needs to happen?

SK: Those are great questions, and it is a new front in organizing, and I’m really glad it is, because as a journalist for a few decades now, I have seen the power of how narrative shifts culture, and how culture then shifts policy.

We’d like to think, especially on the left, that if there is a wrong that needs to be righted, that all we have to do is make the case to the right people ardently enough, and it’ll happen. But unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that way. And we find ourselves, especially today, at a time when white supremacy is so resurgent, and so it really was important for me to explore this idea of how our narratives are shaped.

Sonali Kolhatkar: “I have seen the power of how narrative shifts culture, and how culture then shifts policy.” (photo: Amanda McIntosh)

And it’s kind of a simple thing, because it’s all around us. As human beings, it is extremely natural for us to have an idea of how our world works based on all of the things that we have been exposed to from childhood in storytelling, whether it’s through mass media, the TV shows we watch and the movies that we watch; whether it’s in the communities we live in, and so the people we interact with; classes we took in school, or the college courses we took—all of that shapes our view of the world.

And so narrative, this idea that intentional storytelling, which is how I define it, shapes our worldview, is a very important way in which we can fight for a better world.

And for journalists like me, that is where I am most comfortable, because I engage in narrative work every single day.

The mainstream media like to think that there’s this myth of objectivity, but what they’re doing is, they’re bringing in the narratives that they have internalized to every story that they write, instead of identifying the narrative, or even trying to change the narrative.

So we have had racist narratives, narratives promoting racist stereotypes, for so many years. In my book, I look through the history of Hollywood, I look at the right-wing shock jocks of the kind that FAIR has been analyzing for years, and how they perpetuated racist narratives, and kept the culture of the United States, a nation built on white supremacy, kept that ideology alive in the hearts of far too many Americans.

But our nation is changing demographically, and in order to fulfill the promise of democracy, people of color need to be seen as full human beings. And that’s where narrative work to upend racist narratives, and replace them with racial justice narratives, comes in.

So a lot of organizations are doing that work. A lot of storytellers are now doing that work.

I look at how independent media has offered a counterpoint to mainstream media for years, and changed narratives.

I look at how Hollywood is being infiltrated by new progressive, independent filmmakers of color, who are finally getting the space, albeit still not commensurate with population, to tell their own stories, and to tell the stories of people of color, so that we are seen as full, complex human beings.

I delve into critical race theory and college education, and upending narratives through storytelling in print, and even social media.

And finally, face-to-face conversations, how we can really come together as a country. And I don’t want to sound too idealistic. As someone who has been looking at social justice issues for many years, in fact, it’s been hard to not be too cynical.

But in doing the research and writing this book, I found myself really feeling more hopeful, because what’s happening is as the demographic shifts are happening in this country, people of color are finally starting to feel less marginalized by speaking up, speaking out and rising up—take a look at the title of the book!

So that’s what I think about as narrative, and I really hope your listeners, and Americans all around us, start to see narrative work as important work that is a critical part of social justice work.

JJ: It’s really just naming something that’s happening all the time. I think that it’s undeniable, how language and how framing can change opinions.

Years ago, when I was talking about affirmative action, there was research saying that when you talk to people about “affirmative action,” they’re for it. If you talk to people about “preferential treatment,” they’re against it.

On a very basic level, it’s about the words we use. It’s about the language we use to frame and set up situations that we’re talking about.

So if we can bring it up to the present day, when you talk to people—and you explore this in the book—about “diversity,” that’s one thing; when you talk about “equity”… It’s about what pictures those words call up in people’s brains, and the idea that that is actually important and worth paying attention to.

SK: Yeah, I mean, context matters so much, right?

Like, say, take the simple slogan “Black Lives Matter.” For the independent media, when we covered this movement when it first started 10 years ago, it was not something that our audiences were jarred by, because our audiences had already been conditioned to understand that Black lives have not mattered in American history. But to an audience that has been exposed only to Fox News, or, for that matter, even just CNN, “Black Lives Matter,” if they really didn’t want to accept that the country is white supremacist, sounded like Black folks asking for preferential treatment, as if that term meant Black lives matter more than everyone else’s.

So context matters, history matters, and that’s where the independent media comes in.

YouTube (10/28/15)

And words matter. So there was a campaign by ColorLines magazine, which I write about in the book, to pressure media outlets to stop using the word “illegal” when referring to undocumented immigrants.

In fact, so many outlets were, and some still do, refer to undocumented people as “illegals,” not even “illegal people,” but “illegals,” right, which is a dehumanizing term. And when you can dehumanize people, then it justifies treating them as second-class citizens, treating them as less than human.

And so changing that language, which at that time was not seen as a really important part of work, but that ColorLines pushed for, did help to change the narrative on seeing undocumented immigrants as people, as human beings.

And Associated Press changed their language, and you started to see that culture shifting. It doesn’t mean that we’ve won rights for undocumented folks, but it means that we are on our way to doing so, and we have to keep pushing.

So yeah, words matter, and I’m really glad you brought that up: the “I-word,” as it’s been called, right?

And there’s so many other words, you can look around, and one of the things I want to do with my book is help readers and listeners identify narrative around them.

When you are watching a movie, a Hollywood film, to be able to look at it with a critical mind and say, that’s a white supremacist narrative, that’s a white savior complex, a common trope. Wow, here’s a movie where the men have all the speaking parts, and women are props, or people of color are props.

And it’s telling the stories of white folks from white perspectives, because the writers are white, the executive producers are white, and people of color, women, who are marginalized in the stories are marginalized then in our culture as well. So we want people to be able to see those things more clearly for themselves, and then commit to changing them.

JJ: And to recognize that, as much as you might think words are words and reality is reality, there is a way that changing the conversation can actually change the facts on the ground.

It’s a dialectic, of course, but there is a back and forth between—if you’re comfortable calling people “illegals,” you’re going to have a certain kind of political conversation.

And just to remove that from the conversation does actually have a material effect. I think that’s important.

Independent (7/9/20)

SK: Absolutely. Content shapes culture and culture shapes content. They work hand in hand.

And one of the other things that I point out in my book, even though we may not think of it as a narrative around race, I have a whole chapter on it, because I feel so strongly about it. It’s called copaganda.

It’s not a phrase that I came up with, but it’s a phrase that racial justice activists have used for a long time, and that is: mass media narratives that portray police as the good guys. It’s something that we see in Hollywood all around us: The police are the good guys. When they do bad things, they are the exception rather than the rule.

And that’s the kind of pervasive, insidious cultural bedrock that then lays the foundations for pouring one-fourth to one-third of city budgets into police budgets.

When people say “defund the police,” what they really mean is take money out of police budgets and put them into the things that actually matter. And Hollywood is a huge obstacle to the defund movement, because Hollywood continually portrays police as noble, as do-gooders. And so it sounds jarring, to those who buy into that narrative, to hear “defund the police.” And if we start to change the culture on it, we can start to change the policy on the ground.

JJ: One of the things about the book that I appreciate is the naming of names. So often corporate media, or just the broader culture, seem to come to an idea and swallow it whole, as though they created it. And, sadly, writers sometimes too, act as though things sprang full-grown from their heads.

That ignores and erases all of the people, all of the organizations that have been working on those ideas forever. And in your book, you name a lot of people, you name a lot of groups, and it’s not just about giving credit where credit is due, it’s also about contributing to our understanding of how social change happens.

If you don’t support the roots, the tree is going to blow over. So naming groups that have been doing this work, naming media organizations, naming social justice organizations, it just seems so important, and it’s one of the things that I assume you’re doing as a choice in the book.

SK: Absolutely. Look, I’ve been a broadcast journalist, before a print journalist, for a long time. And so the way I did journalism was providing a platform for other people to tell their stories, in a way that furthered my agenda, which is social justice—and our common agenda, because the people that I interview with, by and large, are social justice warriors—and so helping to offer them a platform, helping to shape the conversation, to best showcase the important work that they’re doing.

So writing a book based on two decades of interviewing folks, I absolutely wanted to name the names and showcase and quote from the people that have taught me about this work.

It was important for me at the very end of the book to have a list of resources, of organizations like FAIR that are doing narrative work, organizations whose work I grew from in writing the book, and who I hope will get all of the love that they deserve from readers, who can walk away thinking, OK, these are the organizations that I want to look to for understanding narrative work, and maybe participating in narrative work.

America’s Family (2023)

So that is absolutely important, and I’m sure I’ve left out several, but there are so many, and they’re growing in number, which is what I’m really, really excited about, is that there are more and more organizations that are growing in number that are doing narrative work, that are actively incorporating, into their day-to-day activism, how they can shape the culture.

It’s not enough anymore to just have a press person or a communications department. So, for example, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in LA made a film that showcases the work that they’re trying to do humanizing immigrants.

And I interviewed Angelica Salas on my show about that film, and I write about it. It’s called America’s Family. I write about it in the book, how organizations are incorporating narrative work into their actions so that they can change the culture, alongside the policy-shifting that they’re trying to achieve.

Yes! (Spring/15)

JJ: I want to talk about Yes! Magazine, which I’ve been reading for years. So much of the content of left or independent media is framed in conflict, and framed about the enemy: Here’s how the bad guy operates. We need to know this. Oh, here’s what the bad guy did today.

And it’s very important. It’s important to know. And at the same time, I so appreciate space given to talking about the people and the places that are day-to-day addressing and resolving the problems that plague us.

But what is sometimes called “solutions journalism” is considered soft or unserious somehow. And I’ve talked about this with my former colleague, Laura Flanders, whose show is about spotlighting people who are making things work, who are solving problems collectively.

And I just always think, what’s so funny about peace, love and understanding? I feel that more of media could be given to people who are making it work.

SK: Yeah, it’s one of the many reasons why I decided to join Yes! Magazine. It is very traumatizing, and feeding cynicism, to engage in crisis journalism, the disaster journalism.

It’s something that gets the attraction of people, which is why a lot of journalists do it. It’s easy to fuel fear and use fear-based journalism. And, indeed, there’s so much wrong in the world that you never run out of things to cover that are kind of depressing.

I found, as a journalist, I was experiencing sometimes secondary PTSD, because my job was to not look away. My job was to look at the injustices, examine them.

When I transitioned to Yes! Magazine a couple of years ago, it was with the intention of trying to focus on the things that people are doing that are very concrete and the challenges that they face, how they’re realizing the solutions to the problems of the world, because those solutions have always been there as well. They just haven’t gotten the attention they’re due, because they aren’t sexy, they don’t attract the right kind of attention.

Decolonizing Wealth Project

And beyond peace, love and understanding, they are very, very concrete solutions. So, for example, I just returned from a three-day trip to Atlanta, where Yes! Magazine partnered with the Decolonizing Wealth Project on a conference focused on reparations.

Twenty years ago, reparations for Black folks was seen as a pipe dream, as an idea too radical to be taken seriously.

Randall Robinson wrote about it, and then eventually Ta-Nehisi Coates, many years later, wrote about it, and they helped shift the culture to where the idea of reparations now is not so far-fetched, or not seen as so radical. There’s congressional legislation around it.

And Yes! Magazine was there, because we were covering all of the people that are helping make reparations a reality. We were talking to the members of the California Task Force on Reparations. We were talking to folks who are doing narrative work to make reparations possible.

And to me, that’s not just hopeful, it’s essential. If we don’t know what we’re fighting for, then what are we doing fighting against something, right?

It’s so important for us to know the end goal that we can realize.… X, Y and Z are trying it out on this side of the country; maybe this other organization can try a version of that, to see the models of what’s working, so that we can realize our just world. That’s essential. And so that’s why I love working at Yes!.

JJ: And then, also, just internationally, which is something that US media often ignore. We are one world, but corporate news media hide that fact like it’s their job. And the world kind of looks like the board in a game of Risk in news media.

But if we’re looking at other examples, and other things that we can look to, and people we can be in community with, an international focus is also part of that.

SK: Absolutely. Unfortunately, our corporate journalists have internalized the narrative of national security officials. They’ve internalized the narrative that it’s America versus the rest of the world, instead of people in the United States, and how they can be similar to or different from or engage with people in other countries, and distancing themselves from the national security considerations of government officials is very, very difficult for corporate media to do.

But, yeah, for independent media, for media outlets like Yes! Magazine, it’s essential, because there’s so much more that unites us than divides us. Climate change affects all of us. Racism affects all of us. Misogyny and patriarchy affect all of us. The rights of children are important to all of us.

And so, yeah, learning from one another is absolutely essential to undermine the injustices perpetrated by power structures. And so that bottom-up journalism, and the bottom-up activism, is where we really need to keep reminding ourselves to focus.

JJ: And then, finally, it’s so important to have spaces where you can have this kind of conversation, where you don’t have to agree with everything that’s said, but you have to preserve a space to have the conversation, as imperfect as that space may be.

So I guess I’ll just, finally, ask you to do whatever shout-out you have for independent media, and what you hope the book will do in terms of how it lands with folks.

Rising Up With Sonali

SK: Oh, thank you so much for that. Folks can check out my show, RisingUpWithSonali.com, where I do a weekly broadcast. If you go to RisingUpWithSonali.com, you can not only see the interviews I do every week, but also more information about the book, where you can get a copy of the book.

It’s really important. I really hope folks go out and support independent publishers and writers like myself. It’s a small, very readable book; it’s, I hope, quite inexpensive.

I’ll be doing a speaking tour throughout the country, with a book launch in Berkeley at the Berkeley Public Library on June 28, which I hope folks can come out to.

I have lots of events in Southern California, where I’m based, also some in Seattle and Houston coming up, and so I really hope people can come out, have a conversation with me, have a conversation with someone else, check out YesMagazine.org.

And I’m plugging FAIR. Check out FAIR’s work, please. It was such a resource for me, and it has been such a resource for me for 20 years. I rely on outlets like FAIR and, no, Janine did not pay me to say that.

So please do support your local, independent media as well, wherever you are, your local bookstores. It’s important that we do that.

JJ: We’re all in it together. We’ve been speaking with Sonali Kolhatkar, host and executive producer of the daily radio and TV program Rising Up With Sonali, and the racial justice and civil liberties editor at Yes! Magazine.

Her new book Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice is out this month from City Lights. Thank you so much, Sonali, for joining us this week on CountersSpin.

SK: Thank you.

The post ‘Intentional Storytelling Is a Way We Can Fight for a Better World’ appeared first on FAIR.

This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Janine Jackson.

Janine Jackson interviewed Rising Up‘s Sonali Kolhatkar about the power of narrative for the June 16, 2023, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript.

Janine Jackson: Most of us have a memory about a time someone judged us based on things they heard about people “like us.” They couldn’t, if only for a moment, see us as an individual, because that view was clouded by hundreds of tales they’d heard about people with our skin color, or clothing, or physical ability.

(City Lights, 2023)

And most of us can also recognize that our vision of people we don’t know has been shaped by stories we’ve been told. It’s not a giant leap to see how that can affect our political choices and possibilities.

Narrative is a tricky and significant thing, and the subject of a lot of important new work, including that of our guest today.

Sonali Kolhatkar is the host and executive producer of the daily radio and TV program Rising Up With Sonali, and the racial justice and civil liberties editor at Yes! Magazine. Her new book, Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice, will be published this month by City Lights, and she joins us now by phone. Welcome back to CounterSpin, Sonali Kolhatkar.

Sonali Kolhatkar: It’s such an honor to be with you, Janine. Thank you for having me.

JJ: It’s my pleasure. I’ve been hearing about the importance of narrative in social justice spaces for a few years now, and I want to ask you to clarify, because it sounds “soft”; it sounds like meta-phenomena. You can think, well, let’s change facts on the ground, and then we’ll talk about what stories we tell about them.

So I want to ask you to just respond, how do we define narrative, and how do you situate that within what else needs to happen?

SK: Those are great questions, and it is a new front in organizing, and I’m really glad it is, because as a journalist for a few decades now, I have seen the power of how narrative shifts culture, and how culture then shifts policy.

We’d like to think, especially on the left, that if there is a wrong that needs to be righted, that all we have to do is make the case to the right people ardently enough, and it’ll happen. But unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that way. And we find ourselves, especially today, at a time when white supremacy is so resurgent, and so it really was important for me to explore this idea of how our narratives are shaped.

Sonali Kolhatkar: “I have seen the power of how narrative shifts culture, and how culture then shifts policy.” (photo: Amanda McIntosh)

And it’s kind of a simple thing, because it’s all around us. As human beings, it is extremely natural for us to have an idea of how our world works based on all of the things that we have been exposed to from childhood in storytelling, whether it’s through mass media, the TV shows we watch and the movies that we watch; whether it’s in the communities we live in, and so the people we interact with; classes we took in school, or the college courses we took—all of that shapes our view of the world.

And so narrative, this idea that intentional storytelling, which is how I define it, shapes our worldview, is a very important way in which we can fight for a better world.

And for journalists like me, that is where I am most comfortable, because I engage in narrative work every single day.

The mainstream media like to think that there’s this myth of objectivity, but what they’re doing is, they’re bringing in the narratives that they have internalized to every story that they write, instead of identifying the narrative, or even trying to change the narrative.

So we have had racist narratives, narratives promoting racist stereotypes, for so many years. In my book, I look through the history of Hollywood, I look at the right-wing shock jocks of the kind that FAIR has been analyzing for years, and how they perpetuated racist narratives, and kept the culture of the United States, a nation built on white supremacy, kept that ideology alive in the hearts of far too many Americans.

But our nation is changing demographically, and in order to fulfill the promise of democracy, people of color need to be seen as full human beings. And that’s where narrative work to upend racist narratives, and replace them with racial justice narratives, comes in.

So a lot of organizations are doing that work. A lot of storytellers are now doing that work.

I look at how independent media has offered a counterpoint to mainstream media for years, and changed narratives.

I look at how Hollywood is being infiltrated by new progressive, independent filmmakers of color, who are finally getting the space, albeit still not commensurate with population, to tell their own stories, and to tell the stories of people of color, so that we are seen as full, complex human beings.

I delve into critical race theory and college education, and upending narratives through storytelling in print, and even social media.

And finally, face-to-face conversations, how we can really come together as a country. And I don’t want to sound too idealistic. As someone who has been looking at social justice issues for many years, in fact, it’s been hard to not be too cynical.

But in doing the research and writing this book, I found myself really feeling more hopeful, because what’s happening is as the demographic shifts are happening in this country, people of color are finally starting to feel less marginalized by speaking up, speaking out and rising up—take a look at the title of the book!

So that’s what I think about as narrative, and I really hope your listeners, and Americans all around us, start to see narrative work as important work that is a critical part of social justice work.

JJ: It’s really just naming something that’s happening all the time. I think that it’s undeniable, how language and how framing can change opinions.

Years ago, when I was talking about affirmative action, there was research saying that when you talk to people about “affirmative action,” they’re for it. If you talk to people about “preferential treatment,” they’re against it.

On a very basic level, it’s about the words we use. It’s about the language we use to frame and set up situations that we’re talking about.

So if we can bring it up to the present day, when you talk to people—and you explore this in the book—about “diversity,” that’s one thing; when you talk about “equity”… It’s about what pictures those words call up in people’s brains, and the idea that that is actually important and worth paying attention to.

SK: Yeah, I mean, context matters so much, right?

Like, say, take the simple slogan “Black Lives Matter.” For the independent media, when we covered this movement when it first started 10 years ago, it was not something that our audiences were jarred by, because our audiences had already been conditioned to understand that Black lives have not mattered in American history. But to an audience that has been exposed only to Fox News, or, for that matter, even just CNN, “Black Lives Matter,” if they really didn’t want to accept that the country is white supremacist, sounded like Black folks asking for preferential treatment, as if that term meant Black lives matter more than everyone else’s.

So context matters, history matters, and that’s where the independent media comes in.

YouTube (10/28/15)

And words matter. So there was a campaign by ColorLines magazine, which I write about in the book, to pressure media outlets to stop using the word “illegal” when referring to undocumented immigrants.

In fact, so many outlets were, and some still do, refer to undocumented people as “illegals,” not even “illegal people,” but “illegals,” right, which is a dehumanizing term. And when you can dehumanize people, then it justifies treating them as second-class citizens, treating them as less than human.

And so changing that language, which at that time was not seen as a really important part of work, but that ColorLines pushed for, did help to change the narrative on seeing undocumented immigrants as people, as human beings.

And Associated Press changed their language, and you started to see that culture shifting. It doesn’t mean that we’ve won rights for undocumented folks, but it means that we are on our way to doing so, and we have to keep pushing.

So yeah, words matter, and I’m really glad you brought that up: the “I-word,” as it’s been called, right?

And there’s so many other words, you can look around, and one of the things I want to do with my book is help readers and listeners identify narrative around them.

When you are watching a movie, a Hollywood film, to be able to look at it with a critical mind and say, that’s a white supremacist narrative, that’s a white savior complex, a common trope. Wow, here’s a movie where the men have all the speaking parts, and women are props, or people of color are props.

And it’s telling the stories of white folks from white perspectives, because the writers are white, the executive producers are white, and people of color, women, who are marginalized in the stories are marginalized then in our culture as well. So we want people to be able to see those things more clearly for themselves, and then commit to changing them.

JJ: And to recognize that, as much as you might think words are words and reality is reality, there is a way that changing the conversation can actually change the facts on the ground.

It’s a dialectic, of course, but there is a back and forth between—if you’re comfortable calling people “illegals,” you’re going to have a certain kind of political conversation.

And just to remove that from the conversation does actually have a material effect. I think that’s important.

Independent (7/9/20)

SK: Absolutely. Content shapes culture and culture shapes content. They work hand in hand.

And one of the other things that I point out in my book, even though we may not think of it as a narrative around race, I have a whole chapter on it, because I feel so strongly about it. It’s called copaganda.

It’s not a phrase that I came up with, but it’s a phrase that racial justice activists have used for a long time, and that is: mass media narratives that portray police as the good guys. It’s something that we see in Hollywood all around us: The police are the good guys. When they do bad things, they are the exception rather than the rule.

And that’s the kind of pervasive, insidious cultural bedrock that then lays the foundations for pouring one-fourth to one-third of city budgets into police budgets.

When people say “defund the police,” what they really mean is take money out of police budgets and put them into the things that actually matter. And Hollywood is a huge obstacle to the defund movement, because Hollywood continually portrays police as noble, as do-gooders. And so it sounds jarring, to those who buy into that narrative, to hear “defund the police.” And if we start to change the culture on it, we can start to change the policy on the ground.

JJ: One of the things about the book that I appreciate is the naming of names. So often corporate media, or just the broader culture, seem to come to an idea and swallow it whole, as though they created it. And, sadly, writers sometimes too, act as though things sprang full-grown from their heads.

That ignores and erases all of the people, all of the organizations that have been working on those ideas forever. And in your book, you name a lot of people, you name a lot of groups, and it’s not just about giving credit where credit is due, it’s also about contributing to our understanding of how social change happens.

If you don’t support the roots, the tree is going to blow over. So naming groups that have been doing this work, naming media organizations, naming social justice organizations, it just seems so important, and it’s one of the things that I assume you’re doing as a choice in the book.

SK: Absolutely. Look, I’ve been a broadcast journalist, before a print journalist, for a long time. And so the way I did journalism was providing a platform for other people to tell their stories, in a way that furthered my agenda, which is social justice—and our common agenda, because the people that I interview with, by and large, are social justice warriors—and so helping to offer them a platform, helping to shape the conversation, to best showcase the important work that they’re doing.

So writing a book based on two decades of interviewing folks, I absolutely wanted to name the names and showcase and quote from the people that have taught me about this work.

It was important for me at the very end of the book to have a list of resources, of organizations like FAIR that are doing narrative work, organizations whose work I grew from in writing the book, and who I hope will get all of the love that they deserve from readers, who can walk away thinking, OK, these are the organizations that I want to look to for understanding narrative work, and maybe participating in narrative work.

America’s Family (2023)

So that is absolutely important, and I’m sure I’ve left out several, but there are so many, and they’re growing in number, which is what I’m really, really excited about, is that there are more and more organizations that are growing in number that are doing narrative work, that are actively incorporating, into their day-to-day activism, how they can shape the culture.

It’s not enough anymore to just have a press person or a communications department. So, for example, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in LA made a film that showcases the work that they’re trying to do humanizing immigrants.

And I interviewed Angelica Salas on my show about that film, and I write about it. It’s called America’s Family. I write about it in the book, how organizations are incorporating narrative work into their actions so that they can change the culture, alongside the policy-shifting that they’re trying to achieve.

Yes! (Spring/15)

JJ: I want to talk about Yes! Magazine, which I’ve been reading for years. So much of the content of left or independent media is framed in conflict, and framed about the enemy: Here’s how the bad guy operates. We need to know this. Oh, here’s what the bad guy did today.

And it’s very important. It’s important to know. And at the same time, I so appreciate space given to talking about the people and the places that are day-to-day addressing and resolving the problems that plague us.

But what is sometimes called “solutions journalism” is considered soft or unserious somehow. And I’ve talked about this with my former colleague, Laura Flanders, whose show is about spotlighting people who are making things work, who are solving problems collectively.

And I just always think, what’s so funny about peace, love and understanding? I feel that more of media could be given to people who are making it work.

SK: Yeah, it’s one of the many reasons why I decided to join Yes! Magazine. It is very traumatizing, and feeding cynicism, to engage in crisis journalism, the disaster journalism.

It’s something that gets the attraction of people, which is why a lot of journalists do it. It’s easy to fuel fear and use fear-based journalism. And, indeed, there’s so much wrong in the world that you never run out of things to cover that are kind of depressing.

I found, as a journalist, I was experiencing sometimes secondary PTSD, because my job was to not look away. My job was to look at the injustices, examine them.

When I transitioned to Yes! Magazine a couple of years ago, it was with the intention of trying to focus on the things that people are doing that are very concrete and the challenges that they face, how they’re realizing the solutions to the problems of the world, because those solutions have always been there as well. They just haven’t gotten the attention they’re due, because they aren’t sexy, they don’t attract the right kind of attention.

Decolonizing Wealth Project

And beyond peace, love and understanding, they are very, very concrete solutions. So, for example, I just returned from a three-day trip to Atlanta, where Yes! Magazine partnered with the Decolonizing Wealth Project on a conference focused on reparations.

Twenty years ago, reparations for Black folks was seen as a pipe dream, as an idea too radical to be taken seriously.

Randall Robinson wrote about it, and then eventually Ta-Nehisi Coates, many years later, wrote about it, and they helped shift the culture to where the idea of reparations now is not so far-fetched, or not seen as so radical. There’s congressional legislation around it.

And Yes! Magazine was there, because we were covering all of the people that are helping make reparations a reality. We were talking to the members of the California Task Force on Reparations. We were talking to folks who are doing narrative work to make reparations possible.

And to me, that’s not just hopeful, it’s essential. If we don’t know what we’re fighting for, then what are we doing fighting against something, right?

It’s so important for us to know the end goal that we can realize.… X, Y and Z are trying it out on this side of the country; maybe this other organization can try a version of that, to see the models of what’s working, so that we can realize our just world. That’s essential. And so that’s why I love working at Yes!.

JJ: And then, also, just internationally, which is something that US media often ignore. We are one world, but corporate news media hide that fact like it’s their job. And the world kind of looks like the board in a game of Risk in news media.

But if we’re looking at other examples, and other things that we can look to, and people we can be in community with, an international focus is also part of that.

SK: Absolutely. Unfortunately, our corporate journalists have internalized the narrative of national security officials. They’ve internalized the narrative that it’s America versus the rest of the world, instead of people in the United States, and how they can be similar to or different from or engage with people in other countries, and distancing themselves from the national security considerations of government officials is very, very difficult for corporate media to do.

But, yeah, for independent media, for media outlets like Yes! Magazine, it’s essential, because there’s so much more that unites us than divides us. Climate change affects all of us. Racism affects all of us. Misogyny and patriarchy affect all of us. The rights of children are important to all of us.

And so, yeah, learning from one another is absolutely essential to undermine the injustices perpetrated by power structures. And so that bottom-up journalism, and the bottom-up activism, is where we really need to keep reminding ourselves to focus.

JJ: And then, finally, it’s so important to have spaces where you can have this kind of conversation, where you don’t have to agree with everything that’s said, but you have to preserve a space to have the conversation, as imperfect as that space may be.

So I guess I’ll just, finally, ask you to do whatever shout-out you have for independent media, and what you hope the book will do in terms of how it lands with folks.

Rising Up With Sonali

SK: Oh, thank you so much for that. Folks can check out my show, RisingUpWithSonali.com, where I do a weekly broadcast. If you go to RisingUpWithSonali.com, you can not only see the interviews I do every week, but also more information about the book, where you can get a copy of the book.

It’s really important. I really hope folks go out and support independent publishers and writers like myself. It’s a small, very readable book; it’s, I hope, quite inexpensive.

I’ll be doing a speaking tour throughout the country, with a book launch in Berkeley at the Berkeley Public Library on June 28, which I hope folks can come out to.

I have lots of events in Southern California, where I’m based, also some in Seattle and Houston coming up, and so I really hope people can come out, have a conversation with me, have a conversation with someone else, check out YesMagazine.org.

And I’m plugging FAIR. Check out FAIR’s work, please. It was such a resource for me, and it has been such a resource for me for 20 years. I rely on outlets like FAIR and, no, Janine did not pay me to say that.

So please do support your local, independent media as well, wherever you are, your local bookstores. It’s important that we do that.

JJ: We’re all in it together. We’ve been speaking with Sonali Kolhatkar, host and executive producer of the daily radio and TV program Rising Up With Sonali, and the racial justice and civil liberties editor at Yes! Magazine.

Her new book Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice is out this month from City Lights. Thank you so much, Sonali, for joining us this week on CountersSpin.

SK: Thank you.

The post ‘Intentional Storytelling Is a Way We Can Fight for a Better World’ appeared first on FAIR.

This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by Janine Jackson.

Twenty five broadcasters from 13 Pacific countries touched down in Auckland recently for the Pacific Broadcasters conference.

A meet and greet filled with lots of talanoa, networking and healthy debate, the conference was a welcome change from a typical Zoom meeting.

Natasha Meleisea, chief executive of Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Ltd (PCBL), which operates Pasifika TV, says the conference was about uniting Pacific broadcasters.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific broadcasting reports

“I’ve kind of shared messages today around, it’s never a solo journey. There is strength in the collective and partnerships is really important,” Meleisea says.

“For a very long time we’ve had Pacific voices or Pacific stories being told by non-Pacific. There’s nothing wrong with that.

“However, it’s good to provide a platform where our own Pacific people can share those stories themselves and PCBL, Pasifika TV enables that.”

Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Cooperation (VBTC) chief executive Francis Herman says that after seeing Vanuatu stories in the hands of overseas productions, story sovereignty is an important point of discussion.

‘Misconstrued a lot of things’
“We’ve noticed that in previous years, people have just flown in, told our stories, misconstrued a lot of things,” says Herman.

“[They’ve] gone for the ratings, gone for the dollars and left us high and dry, and they really haven’t told the real stories. We are the experts in our own culture, our own island, or about our people.”

But Herman says the PCBL partnership has been a “faithful . . . and equal partnership.”

“We haven’t been seen as a very small island developing state or a very small broadcaster. They’ve treated us as equals.

“We tell our own stories. We know our audience better, we know our country better than they do.

“Let’s tell our stories. And I think Pasifika TV has given us that opportunity and that’s why we’ve continued that partnership.”

Story sovereignty major factor for Pacific broadcasters. Video: Tagata Pasifika

Part of that partnership includes training in camera production, operation of Live U units and journalism training, something which Kiri One TV chief executive Tiarite George Kwong deeply values.

“Kiri One just started five years ago . . . and so we are very new in this kind of industry,” Kwong says.

‘Upgrading our skills’
“The idea for the partnership with PCBL is to upgrade our skills so that the news that we produce is up to the standard that people want to listen and watch every day.

“Compared from day one that we started, we have seen the improvement.”

Broadcasters like Mai TV in Fiji have taken the PCBL training one step further, when they acquired the netball rights for the Oceania Netball Series in 2022, their first time to do so.

“We were thinking we cannot do this because you need all the different equipment and costs and things,” says director of Mai TV Stanley Simpson.

“But we spoke with PCBL and they found solutions for us. And through that we were able to take the Oceania Netball series to Tonga, to Samoa and the Cook Islands, which is the first time that we were able to distribute rights from Fiji.

“That empowerment has been really strong. And from the discussions and the inspiring conversations we’ve had with the team at PCBL, it made us look around and realise that we have the best stories in the world in the Pacific.”

Now that their Pacific counterparts are receiving the necessary training and equipment, Meleisea says there is an abundance of Pacific content being produced from their regional partners.

‘A phenomenal feat’
“We went to air in 2016, at that point in time we weren’t getting any content from the Pacific. Fast forward eight years down the track, we’re now getting eight to 10 hours a day from the Pacific, which is a phenomenal feat.

“In order to achieve that, it’s been a slow build. It’s been about providing equipment, providing training, and then providing the infrastructure and the connectivity to enable it.

“So without all of those three things, we wouldn’t have been able to get the content from the region.”

Funded as part of NZ’s Public Interest Journalism project. Republished from Tagata Pasifika with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

In a significant step toward preserving and commemorating Fiji’s rich history, efforts are underway to establish the country’s first living museum.

This unique institution will focus on capturing the era of the British colonial government’s indentured system in Fiji, shedding light on the arrival of Fijians of Indian descent to the Pacific Ocean.

The initiative aims to honour the contributions and struggles of the indentured labourers, known as Girmitiyas, who played a pivotal role in shaping Fiji’s economy.

• LISTEN TO RNZ PACIFIC WAVES: The Girmitiya museum
• READ MORE: Other Girmitiya reports

Behind the vision is the Global Girmit Institute, whose board of trustees chair Dr Ganesh Chand told RNZ Pacific the museum had great significance for Fiji.

Dr Chand said that many Fijians were unaware of their country’s history and the way of life under British rule in Fiji, noting that Fiji-Indians were even unaware of their origins — the Girmitiyas.

Fijian-Indians make up about 37 percent of the country’s population.

“For Girmitiyas, there has been a total silence of material in our curriculum all the way up to now,” Dr Chand lamented.

“There is nothing in the texts, and students don’t learn their history.”

He said that if schools fail to teach local history, it could be detrimental to that nation as a whole.

“If they don’t learn in these in schools, then they grow up thinking that their house and day-to-day life is their entirety in the country.

“But that is not a very good state for nation-building. For nation-building, people need to know the history,” Dr Chand said.

The museum aims to rectify this by providing a “comprehensive and immersive experience” that educates visitors about the Girmit era.

The Global Girmit Institute living museum will be co-located within the GGI Library at its headquarters in Saweni, Lautoka, on the country’s main island.

Work has already begun, with the collection of artefacts intensifying in preparation for the anticipated opening of phase one next year.

Travellers who crossed two oceans
The gallery will feature a range of artefacts and recordings of the oral history of people from different linguistic backgrounds and cultures.

Objects relating to farming and the sugar industry, lifestyle, music, food, clothing and religious events will also be displayed, along with objects that record the impact of colonialism on the islands.

Dr Chand said visitors will have the opportunity to witness and understand first hand the living conditions and lifestyle of the Girmitiyas.

“The living museum will feature a fully furnished residence from the era, and our workers will live there and depict how life was in those days under British rule,” he said.

So, how did a group of South Asian people — the Girmitiyas — arrive in the Pacific Ocean?

It was the abolition of slave labour in the early 19th century that gave rise to the Indian indenture system.

This saw an influx of labourers transported from India to various European colonies, including Fiji, to work in plantations.

The system was established to address the labour shortage that followed, explained academic and linguist Dr Farzana Gounder, a direct Girmitiya descendant and a representative of Fiji on the UNESCO International Indentured Labour Route Project.

“The term ‘Girmit’ is derived from the word ‘agreement’ and was used to refer to the system of indentured labour that brought Indians to Fiji between 1879 and 1916,” she said.

“Under this system, Indian labourers were recruited from British India to work on sugar plantations in Fiji, which was then a British colony. During this period, more than 60,000 Indians were brought to Fiji under indenture and became known as Girmitiyas.”

The indenture was seen as an agreement between the workers and the British government, and over the next three decades Girmitiyas were shipped across two oceans to work the lands in Fiji, where a jarring reality awaited them, explained Dr Gounder.

“The Girmitiyas faced many challenges when they arrived in Fiji, including harsh working conditions, cultural and linguistic barriers, and discrimination from both European and indigenous Fijian populations.

“They worked long hours in difficult and often dangerous conditions on the sugar plantations and were paid very low wages.”

The Girmitiyas were instrumental in the development of Fiji’s sugar industry, and this museum aims to tell these stories.

Fiji’s Peace Village to host historical stories
The government of Fiji is also commissioning a living museum in the central province of Navilaca village in Rewa.

Assistant Women’s Minister Sashi Kiran announced that this gallery would pay homage to the relationship between the Girmitiyas and iTaukei people.

“Navilaca village is significant to the history of both the indigenous people and the Indo-Fijians,” she said.

Kiran recounts the heroic efforts of the indigenous people in 1884 who, in the absence of immediate assistance from the colonial authorities, led the rescue operations, saving many lives when a ship named Syria, carrying around 500 Girmitiyas, became wrecked on the Nasilai Reef.

This village thus served as an apt location for the museum, paying homage to the resilience and humanity displayed during that challenging time, she said.

“The village of Navilaca had done the rescue when the Syria was wrecked, and villages there had not only rescued the people but buried the dead in their chiefly ground. They had also looked after all the injured until they healed.

“The fisherfolk had been rescuing people, and the archives also say that there were only about 100 out of almost 500 passengers left by the time the colonials came, so most of the rescue was actually done by the indigenous people.”

The village has since been declared a place of peace with an offer extended to host teaching of each other’s rituals, ceremonies, and customs.

“It will be a space where both cultures can be taught through artefacts and storytelling,” she added.

It will also be open to tourists and the diaspora.

Both living museums promise to be vital cultural institutions, providing a platform to remember and honour Fiji’s history.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

SPECIAL REPORT: By ABC Backstory editor Natasha Johnson

When Tahlea Aualiitia talks about hosting the ABC’s new Pacific-focused news and current affairs TV programme, The Pacific, her voice breaks and she becomes emotional.

Personally, it’s a career milestone, anchoring her first TV show after a decade working mostly in radio, producing ABC local radio programmes and presenting Pacific Mornings on ABC Radio Australia. But it’s also much more than that.

Aualiitia grew up in Tasmania and is of Samoan (and Italian) heritage. She has strong connections to the country and the Pacific Islander community in Australia.

• SEE MORE: Follow The Pacific

What moves her so profoundly about The Pacific is that the 30-minute, weekly programme is being broadcast across the Pacific on ABC Australia, the ABC’s international TV channel, as well as in Australia (on the ABC News Channel and iview), and is produced by a team with a deep understanding of the region and features stories filed by local journalists based in Pacific nations.

“For me, it’s representation and I think that is really important,” she says.

“I’m probably going to cry because for so long I feel that in Australia and on mainstream TV, Pacific Islanders have been, at best, under-represented and, at worst, misrepresented.

“Given the geopolitical interest, there is more focus on the Pacific but my hope for this show is that it will highlight Pacific voices, really centre those voices as the people telling their stories and change the narrative.

‘The ABC cares’
“It shows the ABC cares, we are not just saying we decide what you watch, we’re involving you in what we’re doing, and I think that that makes a difference.”

Aualiitia’s father was born in Samoa and moved to New Zealand at the age of 12, then later to Australia. Her mother’s brother married a Samoan woman, so Samoan culture was celebrated in her immediate and extended family.

She recalls a childhood shaped by Samoan food, dance and song, and the importance of family, faith and rugby. But from her experience, “the narrative” about the Pacific in Australia has tended towards being negative or patronising.

“I think people tend to see the Pacific as a monolith and there are a lot of stereotypes about what a Pacific Islander is, especially in view of the climate change crisis — there’s this idea everyone’s a victim and they should all just move to Australia,” she says.

“There’s a lot of stuff you carry as a brown journalist. When I hear a story on the news about a Pacific Islander and a crime, I brace myself and think about what that might mean for my day, is it going to make my day at harder when I walk out onto the street, will it make my day at work harder?

“I’ve had people say to me when they learn I have an arts degree, ‘oh, your parents must be so proud of you because you’re the first person in your family who has gone to uni’. And that’s not true, my dad has a PhD in chemistry.

“It’s indicative of ideas that people have of what you’re capable of, what you can do, and that’s the power of the media to shape those narratives and change those narratives.

Facebook ‘reality’ check
“When I started presenting Pacific Mornings, I would interview people from across the Pacific and people would find me on Facebook, message me, saying, ‘I didn’t know any Pacific Islanders were working at the ABC’.

“I was just doing my job, but they said they were proud of me, of the visibility and that it was a good thing that it was happening. So, I hope this programme re-frames things a little bit by showing the rich diversity of the Pacific, its different cultures, resilience, and the joy of being Pacific.”

The Pacific is being produced by the ABC’s Asia Pacific Newsroom (APN), based in Melbourne, with funding from ABC International Broadcast and Digital Services.

While the scope of the ABC’s international services has fluctuated over the years, depending on federal government funding levels, an injection of $32 million over four years to ABC International Services allocated in the 2022 budget has enabled this first-of-its-kind programme to be made, among a suite of other initiatives under the Indo-Pacific Broadcast strategy.

“The APN has been a trusted content partner for the ABC’s International Services team for many years and already has deep Pacific expertise,” says Claire Gorman, head of international services.

“We have been working with the APN to produce our flagship programmes Pacific Beat and Wantok for ABC Radio Australia and have been wanting to produce a TV news programme for Pacific audiences for some time, but until now have not have the funding for it.

“The Pacific is the first of many exciting developments in the pipeline. We believe it is more important than ever before for Australians and Pacific audiences to have access to independent, trusted information about our region.”

Pacific-wide team
Joining Aualiitia on air is long-serving Pacific Beat reporter and executive producer Evan Wasuka and journalist Johnson Raela, who previously worked in New Zealand and the Cook Islands.

Correspondent Lice Movono, based in Suva, Fiji, and Chrisnrita Aumanu-Leong in Honiara, Solomon Islands, are contributing to the programme as part of a developing “Local Journalism Network”, also funded under the Indo-Pacific Broadcast strategy, to use the expertise of independent journalists located in the region.

Behind the scenes are APN supervising producer Sean Mantesso, producers Gabriella Marchant, Dinah Lewis Boucher, Nick Sas and APN managing editor Matt O’Sullivan.

“The ABC has covered the Pacific for decades but largely for the Pacific audience,” says O’Sullivan.

“In recent years, that’s mostly been via Pacific Beat and increasingly through digital and video storytelling. We’ve felt for some time that there’s growing interest in the Pacific within Australia and there’s also a massive Pacific diaspora in Australia with strong links to the region.

“So, we’ve felt a need to share our content more broadly. The Pacific programme will cover the breadth of Pacific life beyond palm trees and tourism, from politics to jobs and the economy, climate change, culture and sport.”

Lice Movono has been working as a journalist in Fiji for 16 years and has previously filed for the ABC. She believes elevating the work of regional journalists across the ABC programs and platforms, through the Local Journalism initiative, will help provide more informed coverage of Pacific affairs.

“I believe it’s critical for journalists from within the Pacific to be at the centre of storytelling about the Pacific,” she says.

“A few years ago, while working in a local media organisation, I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Europe and it shocked and saddened me to find that there are people on the other side of the world who have little or no understanding of what it means to live with the reality of climate change here in the region.

“So, it means everything for me to work with the ABC, which has one of the widest, if not the widest reach in the Pacific region and to have access to a platform that tells stories about the Pacific and Fiji, in particular, to the rest of the world, to tell authentic stories through the lens of a Pacific Islander, and an Indigenous one at that, about the realities of what Pacific people face.”

While the covid pandemic and various lockdowns curbed a lot of international news gathering, it provided an opportunity to showcase the work of locally based reporters on ABC domestic channels.

“We’ve often used stringers in the region, but covid showed us the value journalists in country can offer,” says O’Sullivan.

“Because we couldn’t fly Australian-based crews into the region during the pandemic, we relied more on journalists in the Pacific telling their stories, for example during the 2021 riots in Solomon Islands.

“We are now building on that foundation of local expertise and knowledge by establishing the Local Journalism Network of independent journalists to report for the ABC.

“We’ve had producers doing training with them, teaching them how to shoot good TV pictures and we’ve provided mobile journalism kits that enable them to quickly do a TV cross.

“In filing for the ABC, they can tell stories local media often can’t but the challenge for us is protecting them.”

Support and protection from the ABC has been welcomed by Movono. Renowned for her tough questioning, she has endured personal threats and harassment over the course of her career, but the country is now moving into a new era of openness with the newly-elected Rabuka government repealing the controversial Media Industry Development Act that was introduced under military law in 2010 and has been regarded as a restraint on media freedom.

In an international scoop, Movono landed an interview with the new Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, for the first episode of The Pacific.

“When I knew that there was going to be a segment of The Pacific where we could Talanoa with leaders of the Pacific, it was important for me to position the ABC as the one international organisation that Rabuka would do an interview with,” she says.

“I knew, with the new government only weeks into power, it was going to be a challenge. The government is dealing with a failing economy, a divided country, high inflation, high levels of poverty, the ongoing recovery from covid and trying to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

“But he has made progress as a Pacific leader, as the leader of a country just coming out of a military dictatorship, and he’s done some significant work in the region. So, it was a very significant interview, probably one of the most important assignments of my career.”

In addition to new content and engagement of local journalists, ABC International Services is also expanding the FM footprint for ABC Radio Australia and enhancing media training across the region.

As she prepared for the first episode of The Pacific to go to air, Tahlea Aualiitia was keen to hear the feedback from the audience and — with some trepidation– from family and friends in Samoa.

“I think that’s the part that I’m most nervous about,” she says.

“I know that they will lovingly make fun of my struggling to pronounce Samoan words properly, given I grew up in Australia, but I know they’re already proud of me because of the work I’m doing here.

“Having said that, my brother is a doctor, so I don’t think I’ll ever reach that level of family pride but I’m getting closer!”

The Pacific premiered on ABC Australia last Thursday. This article is republished with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

A group of “pink shoes” women in Aotearoa New Zealand campaigning for gender equality in the Catholic Church took their message with a display of well-worn shoes to St Patrick’s Cathedral plaza in Auckland today on International Women’s Day.

It was part of a national and global “Pink Shoes into the Vatican” campaign.

“Women from all over the country have sent their worn out shoes with their stories of service to the Catholic Church, only to find that the doors to full equality in all areas of the ministry and leadership remain firmly closed,” said an explanatory flyer handed out by supporters.

• READ MORE: Pink Shoes into the Vatican installation at Parliament
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“A vibrant church requires a synodal structure in which all members share full equality by right of their baptism.”

The organisers, Be The Change, say: “We are interested in your story. You are invited to email or write to us telling of your experience with the church. You do not have to be a practising Catholic to participate.”

• Email: Be The Change

‘Pink Shoes into the Vatican’ campaign stories.  Video: Be The Change

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

I always tell people in the beginning, I’m a storyteller and not a painter or a sculptor. Well, I’m all these things, but a storyteller first, so narrative is very important to me in the sense that it guides everything. I don’t know who to attribute this quote to, but there’s a Russian saying to always control the narrative. And we see it play out every day in media—people wanting to own and control the narrative because let’s just say this, the version of history that we’ve been going on is just another narrative. So, I’ve taken the narrative that I was taught and found the malleable points to insert an entirely different narrative that’s totally harmonious and runs in sync with the current narrative, but it’s a different way of looking at the world, a different perspective. I don’t try to change history so much and I don’t think there’s much benefit in changing the narrative because what happened already happened but there were a lot more characters in this show so you just widen the perspective. You don’t change things, but you add some spiritual, fictional accounts.

Humans, we’re very strange creatures. I don’t even think we’re from this planet, to be honest, because we are the only creatures that behave incongruously to the nature of this planet. We’re the only people who truly destroy without giving anything back. Even cockroaches, they still eat litter, but we just destroy things and fuck it up. Totally change some shit to where it can’t even be changed back.

The narrative that we have is based on the history that is already written by the victors. So, the victors of this time would be European or descendants of Europeans. That’s just a moment in time. It wasn’t always thus. Everybody’s had their shot at being the head honcho, and this is just one of those iterations that we just happen to be living through. That’s the way I like to think about it. It takes the bite off of things. Because history is so fluid, and if you think about the entirety of history, power always changes hands. Some group always seizes power. Some groups stay a little bit longer. Some people make really nice recommendations and then they go the way of the dodo.

from Umar Rashid, Battle of Malibu (In Three Parts) 179; Courtesy Plum & Poe

So, the narrative that I did, was more to inform the world that it wasn’t just white people or Europeans conquering the world just willy-nilly and everybody else is just sitting there clutching their pearls or milling some fucking wheat. Especially in the colonial period, the period in which I’m working, which roughly starts in 1658 with the death of Oliver Cromwell, and ends in 1880 with the Portuguese abolition of slavery, and the Berlin Conference and all that stuff. I’m basically talking about building a world where everybody exists. I’m not omitting anything. Yes, there’s slavery. There’s raiding, war, pillaging, raping, and all this stuff left pretty much intact. But I just augmented the narrative by combining France and England together, to Frengland. So, it’s this major superpower. So, because it doesn’t matter, France or England, whatever, it’s just human beings. It shifts things, but you still get a Napoleonic character and you still get a Toussaint Louverture. We actually follow a certain script. Self destruction and worldwide destruction are the name of the game. And we see it played out in the news narrative now, what’s happening in Ethiopia, Ukraine, or anywhere in the world. I try to give an expanded view and combine the modern world with that—the narrative moves with the way the world is going. So, not only am I writing this story about the past, but I’m also talking about the now. And then around 2015, I started adding more future narratives—talking about space, cosmos, and spirituality. Sometimes it’s a little bit prescient because I’m so in tune with these three worlds, past, present, future. I’m not saying I got fucking special powers or anything, but when you do connect yourself to these realms, you gain an ability to predict what’s going to happen, because there’s not very many options. I mean, you can be surprised sometimes, but I’m rarely surprised by anything. So, now, after about 20 years of developing this body of work it’s almost like a fully fleshed out being because of all the stories that exist within it.

History often repeats itself so it can be depressing to think about the future if you reflect on the past. Is there optimism in examining an expanded historical narrative while pushing forward?

Optimism or pessimism are just two different sides of whatever they are balanced upon so I’m always that third stream guy. It’s just my nature to always be in the middle of things. Whenever you choose a position, there’s always going to be an opposite position. No matter what you do, it always dichotomizes. It always breaks down, boom, boom, boom, boom. I vacillate between optimism and pessimism, but I usually find myself in that bottom swing of the cradle, in that middle part, because that’s where you learn. You don’t learn on either of the extremes, but you have to go through the extremes so you can understand. You just can’t stay there.

You have such an encyclopedic mind bursting with historical details. Is history personal for you and what do you gain from it?

It definitely started off personally because I was trying to find myself. That’s this particular conundrum that Black Americans have. Because when we arrived in the United States, we were stripped of knowledge of our ancestral lands, of our religions and culture. And when we got here, we had to create a culture from scratch. So, it’s not to say that Black Americans are bereft of culture, it’s just a hodgepodge of a lot of different things that we had to create in order to exist here on our own terms. So, that’s where it started but then I wanted to know more about my ancient lineage. Like, you are the son of blah, blah, blah, the great king of, but that never worked out. So, that’s how it started off, this search for who I was.

And then, because it’s a global narrative, I was researching the cultures of other people. It started off with trying to find different Native American polities and how they responded to being completely decimated. And then moving over to the Caribbean and thinking about the Taíno culture, or the Carib culture, the Arawak culture. And then going into South America and the Quechua culture. All over the world you’ll find these people who’ve been historically marginalized. And so, you see how people cope. The Hmong people in Vietnam make these wonderful story cloths. They’re not Vietnamese, they’re not Chinese but they have their own cultural identity because it was a tapestry of all the experiences. So, once you expand, it’s not about you. You have to have a degree of selflessness and allow yourself to be obliterated and remade in the image of all of the things that you can possibly conceive. And so, that’s what I did. I had to obliterate myself to really absorb everything else. And so, now I have this cosmic perspective. I think the best thing is to obliterate yourself—to let that ego go, suffer ego death.

So, post obliteration, in your new formation, what energizes you to do the work you do, and where does it get hard for you?

Just dedication to the craft, to the work, to the narrative itself. I started this story, and I don’t believe in starting something and not finishing it. Every good story deserves an ending or for you to take it as far as you can. It’s important to me to tell these stories. There are so many characters and a lot of these stories are based on friends. So, I’m invested not only in the story, but I’m invested in the characters. I know how the story begins, I know the middle, and I know how it ends. As far as I want to take it within this corporeal lifetime, I probably still won’t finish it. It’s so much. It’s such a rich history. I’ve been stuck in the 1790s for 15 years. So, I got 300 years of history to finish. Somebody else is going to have to take up the mantle at some point. So, I will appoint a squire to come and assist me and learn.

There’s also selling the work, which is necessary for me to continue to keep making it. I have to sell it. So, sometimes instead of going for a straight narrative thing, I have to make some stylistic choices and I have to really use my brain to condense everything into smaller moments. And it can’t be this wide sprawling thing, which in and of itself is a good thing, because that facilitates me moving to the next chapter a lot easier. So the more exhibitions I do, regardless if they make money or not, the better off I am in moving the story forward.

from Umar Rashid, Battle of Malibu (In Three Parts) 179; Courtesy Plum & Poe

Is the story in the art the most important thing, and the selling of the work secondary for you?

Yes, the art is the most fulfilling because it’s the only thing that matters. Because without that, the other could not exist. And how fickle the art industry is. I sat and languished for the better part of two decades, and then after the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor murders, and with the water rights in the Lakota country there was a wide echo about decolonization. They were like, “Oh, hey, this guy. Looks like he’s been doing this a while.” I was like, “Yeah. No one was interested in decolonization.” I’m not saying I kicked off the whole movement, but when people started to learn about it, they just gravitated towards my work because it spoke to everything that people were talking about. But I’ve been doing it for a very long time, so I’m happy that I got discovered.

For those late comers there was already a rich narrative unfolding. So now, having decimated your ego and pulled it back together, and being a parent and all the things you’ve gone through in life, do you see power in longevity?

Being responsible for someone else’s well being—I mean, even if you don’t have children or a partner, you still have relatives or friends. You have to have somebody to serve. I think it’s necessary to serve. The most important thing to do is to serve something greater than yourself. Not greater in a sense like, “Oh, exalted one,” but just serve something else. And then the longevity, how that works out is that you just have more ways to tell different stories. You learn. You keep your ears and your eyes open. Having my kids and my partner with me has been magic. Regardless of financial or critical success, I wanted to give them something that they could be proud of to say, “My dad did this.” So, I did it. This 20 year journey, I achieved everything that I set out to do.

So, now, I’m just following the narrative until a new path presents itself. I’m just letting life teach me now but not pandering. I’m trying to listen to what’s being said. Because now you have these conversations about gender. You have these meta conversations about race. You have this cacophony of things that people are talking about because of the widespread availability of information, owing to the internet. The spread of ideas is very fast. But I caution people to stay in that space too long because it actually makes things less important. When you have too many things going on in your head, you’re just moving on to the next thing. It’s like, “All right, we conquered this. We solved it with a media campaign and moved on.”

I think in a lot of ways I see that becoming an instrument of widespread fascism at some point, or acceptable fascism. “We had a media campaign, we talked about it. We canceled some people, and now everything’s okay.” But it’s not, because you were talking to people who already agree with you.

There’s always going to be a balance. Duality is the nature of humanity. And that’s what brought me to what I’m focusing on now, which is harmony, taking two different things and equalizing. Back to that whole analogy of the swing. You get to that point but you can’t stay there, but that’s the glue that holds everything together. So, you have to remember, we’re not going to be able to change everybody. And I know, I don’t expect to…Because if I did want to change everybody, that would be acceptable fascism in this current place and time. So, stop trying to change everybody. Live your life, but always practice harmonics.

When you’re deep at work in the studio, what do you feel?

Well, anxiety because usually I’ve started the project so late. I wait until the last minute. I work from a philosophy of, store up potential energy and make it kinetic. But store up a lot of potential energy, like a massive wave. So, every show that I do is almost like a tsunami. It’s got that much force. There’s the research, the thinking of ideas, the crafting, telling the story, the flushing out of the characters. And so, you make this wall and you hold it up. But then a lot of times what happens is that I’ve built up so much that when I break the dam it’s like drowning in the ocean. I’m pretty sure in one of my past lives I probably did. But it’s that vision, drowning in the ocean—very tumultuous, waves crashing, it’s a chaotic landscape. And once you’re below the waves, it just settles. And you’re there and the waves are there. Now, at this point, you could actually die, or you could live, it doesn’t matter. Then once I get into that groove and I know that I can swim back up, again.

All that stuff that builds up, will always build up, so that energy has to be released often. So, I guess when I do a show, I feel very excited to do the show most of the time, because I get a chance to tell another part of this story I’ve been working on for half of my life. So, when I get there I’ve got to surrender to the wave, let it overtake me, and then continue on and let it be done. And that’s a great feeling.

But there’s also a postpartum depression when you create a project and it just overwhelms. It can overcome you. That happens a lot so I try to stay as busy as humanly possible, so I never have to feel that feeling. But ultimately, I feel it sometimes. Then there’s that sadness because as you’re giving away your ideas and things that are precious to you, you’re giving away a preciousness that you will not be able to recreate 100% because of the malleability of existence and all these things. And so, it becomes something else.

Umar Rashid, Storm King; Courtesy Blum & Poe

Were these things that you had to learn on your own, or did you have mentors to help guide you? And how do you share your experience in order to encourage others?

I do like to share, unsolicited, my opinion on a great many things. But I just tell people, I’m not trying to sway you to think any different way. I see where people are making mistakes, and if I can help you correct those mistakes, because that’s what humans do. That’s the reason why we have children. So we can create a better world. We’re leaving better versions of ourselves here. Well, that should be the goal. Unfortunately, it’s not always the case. But that’s how societies evolve. You produce the better version of yourself to leave behind for the rest of the people. And then they have to figure out their stuff.

But there’s artists, like Henry Taylor, who would come to every one of my shows when I started out. And nobody would be there but Henry would come and he was like, “Hey, you should do this different.” My friend Ricardo and my brother-in-law taught me all these things about how to paint. And Augustine Kofie taught me some techniques. And I just learned from the community, especially in a time when you and I were ripping and running before children and partners and everything. When we were running around, Los Angeles was a gold mine. There were so many people, so much influence. And it wasn’t so centered on movies or Hollywood. It was a whole organic scene. I don’t know, maybe it still exists. I haven’t really seen it, because I don’t go out. But I remember I was just astounded by how much was going on and how much was made. So, in that way, Los Angeles, the city itself, the geography, the people, the culture, this hybridized Anglo, Latino, African, Asian thing, raised me too. So, you can be mentored by the physical space in and of itself, and then break it down to individuals. But yeah, what I do try to tell people ultimately, my best advice is just be you and try not to be like everybody else.

What’s your ideal creative space?

The ideal creative space will be a lush temple dedicated to Artemis with multiple waterfalls and cakes of all different kinds, ambrosia, and fountains of champagne and other delicious intoxicating drinks. No, I mean, a harmonious, clean space that’s wide enough so I can flesh things out with decent lighting. Actually, I’m like a cat. I like small spaces. I like crannies, crooks. I don’t like to be totally exposed because there’s a time for that. That’s my more performative nature. But when I’m creating, that’s very internal. I like it to remain hidden, the Al-Ghaib. I like it to be hidden and then reveal. It’s like a magician’s trick. It’s transforming thoughts to image. It’s a form of alchemy. It’s magic, so the place has to suit that.

Now I’m not saying that if anybody were to offer me a giant warehouse studio that looked like a Google office with a personal trainer and a massage… I mean is that a possible future? My A.P.F., all possible futures.

So, harmony is the future?

Yeah. The harmony. When I become just a note, and it was like, Umar has transcended into a note.

But it’s in Dubai and he has his personal roller skating rink.

And it costs $100 million to come and see him. He’s in a crystal box.

This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by Mark Frosty McNeill.

By John Pulu of Tagata Pasifika

A trip down memory lane for Tagata Pasifika’s first host, Foufou Susana Hukui as she watches a video clip of an interview she did with former Prime Minister of Samoa, Tupua Tamasese Efi.

“It was just the most exciting journey that we were going to take,” Hukui says.

“Because I have watched the white man, white people, other people but never us telling our own stories. When they were told, they were told from a white man’s perspective.”

• READ MORE: Tagata Pasifika — the Pacific voice on NZ television since 1987

The weekly show first aired on the 4 April 1987, as a pan-Pacific voice on New Zealand television.

“When I got on our first programme, I made sure that we were different. I didn’t deliberately do it — that’s just the way I was,” Hukui says.

“Coloured clothes, summer right through the whole year and flowers in my ear. I just wanted people to know who I was, this is me and this is going to be our people’s programme.”

Hukui switched from working in radio to pioneer storytelling from a Pasifika lens on national television covering a myriad of stories and events.

‘Flooded the market with colour’
“We did suddenly flood the market on the media with colour that we are used to with flowers, with headgear, with cooking, the puaka, hair cutting ceremonies, weddings; and this, you know, even though it’s our culture, we love to see it on TV.

“In those days we didn’t have social media so we were, at the time, just right because that was the strongest medium at the time,” Hukui says.

From the very start, Tagata Pasifika was a news and information show for the community.

Radio broadcasters like the Reverend Maligi Evile played a key role as the first news reader.

“The programme was more or less bifocal in the sense that I was telling our people what is happening out there at home in your country and your home and I was also telling the NZ public, the NZ community that this is what is happening out there in our homes in the Pacific,” Reverend Evile says.

As our people continued to come to Aotearoa, the half hour show played an important role in helping them settle in and feel like they belonged here.

“I was really appreciative to think that, considering the number of Pacific people who were living in NZ at the time, I think it’s about time that we have some small window on the screen on TVNZ,” he says.

‘Transforming a window’
“When this opportunity came along, I thought this was the window that we were waiting for and I was hoping that this window will transform into a door and perhaps into a room and even a big house for bigger things to come for the Pacific people.”

And over the years Tagata Pasifika has moved through different time slots and faces have come and gone, but through it all viewers have remained loyal.

Former researcher and reporter Iulia Leilua says there was a demand for Pacific voices and faces to be seen and heard in the media following major events like the Dawn Raids which happened in the previous decade.

“I thank TVNZ for their foresight, I thank even more so the people who lobbied for this programme. TVNZ really had no option but to showcase the Māori and Pacific voice and faces at that time,” Leilua says.

In 2014, TVNZ announced that the show will no longer be made in-house and the following year production company Sunpix Limited started producing the show.

“Tagata Pasifika is reflective of our Pacific peoples and it’s been there on that journey for many people and their lives. People come to the show to see stories that they are not hearing or seeing elsewhere so the legacy is kind of this, you know, this trusted source of story telling about our people and an important place that documents our people’s lives and history,” Leilua says.

Playing a role online
Now, 35 years on, with a wide variety of media to choose from Tagata Pasifika continues to play a role not just on our television screens but also online where more content is available. But there has always been a dream for more time on air.

“We started off with half an hour, perhaps give us another 15 mins on air or perhaps give us an extra half hour you know we need a bit more frequency on air and we need more support,” Reverend Evile says.

Hukui acknowledges the changing media landscape but adds that it is even more important than ever to have a trusted source of information.

“No matter what, no matter if you have Instagram, your TikTok, whatever, Facebook, the people of our Pacific always go to what’s Tagata Pasifika to see the real, to get the real story.”

John Pulu — “JP” — is a Tagata Pasifika reporter/director/presenter and a Pacific community broadcaster.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

It happened so quickly and so suddenly that we were completely unprepared.

We were going about our Saturday chores when I heard one grandchild from the beach crying out:

“Nana! There’s a wave coming all the way to our wild hibiscus tree!

“It’s coming, Nana! It’s here!”

At first you’re confused but you quickly snap out of it and yell, “Run! Come, let’s run!”

• READ MORE: Other witness accounts of the volcano eruption and tsunami at Ordinary Tongan Lives
• Other Tonga volcano eruption reports

We gathered all the grandkids and ran to higher ground with my children. Some of their parents are overseas for fruitpicking while I care for them.

My husband was still inside the house when we ran. He later came looking for us.

Talaiasi Seni’s house was our first place of refuge as it’s on elevated ground. Many other mothers and children from the village joined us there.

When the first explosion sounded, we had already seen big waves crashing in the middle of the village, taking our houses with it.

Heading to the bush
We decided to run further to even higher ground. That meant heading to the bush. I tell you, the cries and echoes of prayers from mothers and children were heard throughout.

“Jesus, please save us. Oh Jesus, let us live.”

That was repeatedly called out that evening into the night. Even I could no longer be quiet as I cried out in prayer.

When everyone settled on higher ground in the midst of a manioke plantation, I asked if we could all say a prayer.

I said, “We have nowhere else to run now. If it’s God’s will that we die, we will do so gratefully. But let us call on Him first.”

And so we sat down in the midst of the bush. Some held onto trees and some hid in the bushes. But every single one of us uttered our most sincere prayers to God for our lives.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

PART 2: WS storytelling in more detail

In part one of my article on White Supremacy (WS), I articulated some of the features of the WS network in Aotearoa and positioned this framework along a spectrum. I attempted to introduce readers to a WS spectrum so people could better understand and then respond to the phenomenon of supremacy in Aotearoa.

In the first article, I argued that one of the features of the emergent WS framework in Aotearoa involved the development of narratives. This second article seeks to explore the question of WS storytelling in more detail.

Moreover, this article seeks to situate WS narratives within a storytelling framework to enable different communities to read supremacist messages as stories, contextualise them, and respond to them — from within the various standing places different communities occupy in time and space in Aotearoa.

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• Other reports on covid disinformation

White Supremacists (WS) have been very effective in articulating their narratives in a variety of ways during the covid-19 lockdown period. WS narratives are being disseminated across a range of media simultaneously.

The stories have been deployed in alternative media broadcasts; emails; Facebook comments, links, memes, posts, stories, video of live events; internet sites; political party press statements, political party policy documents, and even non-mainstream television shows to disseminate their stories on a wide array of issues.

Whether short or long, serious, or humorous, visual, or written, WS advocates are telling their stories and teaching their “lessons”. Such stories are being affirmed and disseminated in freedom marches and anti-vax protests — as videos of such gatherings attest.

WS messaging is occurring across multiple platforms as tracked by Hannah, Hattotuwa, and Taylor of The Disinformation Project.

Disseminating narratives
WS individuals, groups, and organisations are disseminating narratives to push their agendas. These stories include ones that illuminate:

• contempt for Te Tiriti;
• rejection of power sharing between Pakeha and Māori as articulated in Te Tiriti;
• antagonism towards Māori communities historical experience of colonialism;
• privileging of a mythology of peaceful and just race relations between Māori and Pakeha- thereby simultaneously erasing the racism experienced by Asians, Africans, Pacific peoples, and others in this land;
• desire by political parties in policies to end “race”-based privileges for Māori in health, law, or at the United Nations;
• vilification of the NZ Labour Party as “socialistic”;
• attacks on Māori activist, community, political, and scholarly leaders — and attempts to separate leaders from their peoples;
• attacks on the United Nations and governments as “cabals of evil”;
• contempt for migrants and migrant rights;
• lauding of former US President Donald Trump, Republicans, or QAnon leader, “Q”; and
• Intolerance and bigotry expressed towards Māori, Jews, Muslims, and other communities.

I have identified only 11 narratives that privilege WS in the list above. There are many other stories contributing to what is a diverse WS movement.

I cannot articulate a framework illuminating how WS advocates are using video, meme, comments, or policy documents aesthetics to tell their stories because I do not have the space or time here. But what I can offer is an analysis of WS storytelling to empower communities to “close read” the stories WS supporters are telling in their deployment of different media.

We need to develop frameworks to intercept, assess, and respond to these narratives, so communities have the means of defending their lives, mana, and the sanctity of their communal stories in the face of a barrage of WS storytelling.

African, Arab, Asian, Jewish, Māori, Pacific, Palestinian, and Pakeha communities are grounded in (1) rich cultures; (2) values; (3) community spirit; (4) interpretive traditions; (5) reading traditions; (6) oral and communal storytelling traditions; and (7) wisdom and insight.

Deploy learning
I invite readers from different cultures to deploy their learning when considering the following issues concerning WS.

The first narrative I identified regarding WS frameworks above is the story of the contempt for Te Tiriti. We could ask:

• is the story of contempt for Te Tiriti based upon fact?
• is this story true?
• what beliefs about Māori and Te Tiriti must people hold to accept this story as “true?”
• who are the authors of the story of contempt for Te Tiriti?
• where do the stories come from?
• has this story been told in Aotearoa before covid 19-lockdowns in 2021?
• where is this story circulating?
• is this story being used to organise opposition to Māori communities?
• does this story uphold the mana of Māori communities?
• what values underpin this story?
• is this story connected to WS narratives coming from the US, Europe, Australia, or other foreign countries?
• is this story connected to other WS narratives circulating in contemporary Aotearoa today?
• is this story one being used to attack Māori community rights?
• what is the plot of the story of contempt for Te Tiriti?
• are there variations to the plot of this story?
• who are the key characters of this story?
• who are the heroes and who the villains in this story?
• what lessons does the story teach us?
• does this story resonate with the community beliefs, cultures, and values of many different Aotearoa communities?
• does this story attempt to erase the narratives of Māori communities?
• does this story attempt to distort the experience of Māori communities?
• does this story prevent the emergence of Māori community narratives?
• does this story foster better relationships between Māori and other communities in Aotearoa? and
• is this story good for communities, Aotearoa, and the Pacific?

I hope different communities will develop their own reading strategies in response to these problems. Similarly, it is to be hoped that communities will also develop their own questions in response to WS narratives — and the “truths” embedded these stories.

Remembering Said’s words
The words of the Palestinian-American activist, commentator, scholar, and writer Edward Said are apt here. The late Professor Said once wrote in his famed essay, “Permission to Narrate” on paragraph 19, that, “Facts do not at all speak for themselves, but require a socially acceptable narrative to absorb, sustain and circulate them. Such a narrative has to have a beginning and end…

We should remember Said’s words as we defend the narratives of Māori and all other communities against the stories of WS.

Covid-19 lockdowns have brought hardship to the door of many folks in Aotearoa. Nonetheless, stories of community service, kindness, unselfishness, and care abound in Aotearoa today.

Narratives of community concern, fellowship, generosity, service, respect, and tolerance underpin the labour of many — particularly those working in the health sector. These narratives are being written by all the peoples of Aotearoa together.

Māori narratives of community service have been particularly inspiring during this difficult lockdown period. People should reflect upon whether the WS narratives uphold the dignity of Kiwis of all cultures — or whether these narratives uphold the most antagonistic features of settler colonialism in Aotearoa.

In conclusion, I have ancestry from different parts of the Moana (Pacific) as well as ancestors from Europe. I am as proud of my Highland Clan Stewart heritage today as I am of my other ancestors.

I did not know my Pakeha family well and felt ashamed and antagonistic towards this ancestry when I was younger. These feelings changed when I spent time with Pakeha family in the South Island.

I admire the staunch pride of my Scottish ancestors, especially those clan members who fought against English invaders. I believe there is much to respect in Pakeha culture.

I also believe Pakeha can be proud of their ancestors and still live beyond the ideology that says their culture is superior and should rule over Tangata Whenua in this land. Pakeha culture need not be white supremacist culture.

Pakeha and Māori can respect one another and move forwards as partners under Te Tiriti. This is a narrative worth supporting moving into the future.

Tony Fala wishes to acknowledge the lives and work of Amiri Baraka, Bantu Stephen Biko, Frantz Fanon, and Edward Said as the inspiration for this article. Finally, Fala wishes to acknowledge his good friend Emeritus Professor Roger Horrocks. Horrocks was a superlative anti-Vietnam War student protest leader, scholar, and teacher. He taught Fala, alongside generations of other students, how to close read works of culture, film, history, media, literature, and television with commitment, dedication, and alofa. Horrocks is also one of the humblest people the author knows. Fala holds a PhD from the University of Auckland in Media, Film and Television.

• Yesterday: Part 1: Divide and rule with Māori and Pacific communities

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

New Zealand reported a record 129 new community cases of covid-19 today — the day after reaching triple digit figures for the first time.

Nine of today’s new cases are in Waikato, with the rest in Auckland.

Auckland remains at step 1 of alert level 3, and this will be reviewed on November 1, while parts of Waikato are also at alert level 3, to be reviewed on October 27.

• READ MORE: NZ government unveals its ‘traffic light’ covid-19 protection framework

A total of 102 community cases was reported yesterday.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the covid-19 Protection Framework plan to help New Zealanders stay safe in the future.

“The delta variant has made it very hard for New Zealand to maintain its elimination strategy — and now we need people to be vaccinated to save lives,” reports the Ministry of Pacific Peoples.

“If you’re still weighing up whether to get vaccinated, check out our Let’s Talanoa video series.”

Open conversations
Aimed at Pacific people under 30, this video series promotes having open conversations about the covid-19 vaccine and why it is safe and important to get vaccinated.

The series is hosted by Dr Lesina Nakhid-Schuster and Rocky Lavea.

This week’s episode is “Know your Vax”, which you can view on our digital channels Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Visit here for a list of walk-in and drive-through vaccination locations.

Based on the advice of Professor David Skegg and the Public Health Advisory group, New Zealand’s goal is to minimise and protect.

Like the current alert level system, there will be three settings — green, orange and red — and it is designed to manage outbreaks and cases.

Visit here to learn about the new framework.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

How could I do justice to all of it?

Do I write about the history? Do I write about the stories people are telling about him? Do I write about his band of brothers who helped him in the early years?

Sir Michael was, himself,  a storyteller.

Narratives woven into relationships
He didn’t just tell stories with words.  The narratives were woven into his existence and in the relationships he built throughout his life.  From them, came  the stories that have been given new life with his passing.

I went to speak to Sir Pita Lus, his closest friend and the man who, in Papua New Guinean terms, carried the spear ahead of the Chief.  He encouraged Michael Somare to run for office.

He told me about the old days about how he had told his very reluctant friend that he would be Prime Minister.  In Drekikir,  Sir Pita Lus told his constituents that his friend Michael Somare would run for East Sepik Regional.

Sir Pita Lus and his relationship with Sir Michael is a chapter that hasn’t yet been written.  It needs to be written.  It is up to some young proud Papua New Guinean to write about this colorful old fella.

A chief builds alliances. But what are alliances? They are relationships. How are they transmitted? Through stories.  Sir Michael built alliances from which stories were told.

When I went to the  provincial haus krai in Wewak, there were  huge piles of food. I have never seen so much food in my life.  Island communities of Mushu, Kadowar and Wewak brought bananas, saksak and pigs in honor of the grand chief.  They also have their stories to tell about Sir Michael.

The Mapriks came. Ambunti-Drekikir brought huge yams, pigs and two large crocodiles.  The Morobeans, the Manus, the Tolais, West Sepik, the Centrals.

In Port Moresby, people came from the 22 provinces …  From  Bougainville, the Highlands, West Sepik and West Papua.

In Fiji, Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama sent his condolences as he read a eulogy. In Vanuatu, Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) members held a special service in honour of Sir Michael.  In Australia, parliamentarians stood in honour of Sir Michael Somare.

Followed to his resting place
Our people followed the Grand Chief to his resting place. The Madangs came on a boat. Others walked for days just to get to Wewak in time for the burial.

How did one man do that?  How did he unite 800 nations?  Because that is what we are. Each with our own language and our own system of government that existed for 60,000 years.

Here was a man who said, “this is how we should go now and we need to unite and move forward”.

In generations past, what have our people looked for? How is one deemed worthy of a chieftaincy?

I said to someone today that the value of a chief lies in his ability to fight for his people, to maintain peace and to unite everyone. In many of our cultures, a chief has to demonstrate a set of skills above and beyond the rest.

He must be willing to sacrifice his life and dedicate himself to that  calling of leadership. He must have patience and the ability to forgive.

The value of the chief is seen both during his life and upon his passing when people come from all over to pay tribute.

For me, Sir Michael Somare, leaves wisdom and guidance – A part of it written into the Constitution and the National Goals and Directive Principles. For the other part, he showed us where to look.  It is found in our languages and in the wisdom of our ancestors held by our elders.

Asia Pacific Report republishes articles from Lae-based Papua New Guinean television journalist Scott Waide’s blog, My Land, My Country, with permission.

A former archaeologist and journalist, Julia Kumari Drapkin has explored many careers (she’s also a 2019 Grist 50 Fixer). But a common theme runs through her CV: using storytelling to shine a light on climate change. Now she is a founder and CEO, and her company, ISeeChange, provides a platform for anyone to upload text or images about the climate-related changes they are seeing in their own communities. Recent posts include eerie images of smoky skies in the West and flooded roads in the Gulf. The potential impact goes far beyond just kvetching on social media, says Drapkin. “Small talk about the weather really is critical,” she says. When collated in one place, as with ISeeChange, “it can be used to inform real-world solutions.” Drapkin spoke to Fix about why she started the company, how people can document their own climate-crisis experiences, and how data connects the dots between information and action.

Her remarks have been edited for length and clarity.

Saying the words nobody said

I grew up on a barrier island off the coast of Florida, and we experienced flooding on a regular basis when I was a kid, so my whole world has revolved around issues of climate change for a long time. I studied anthropology in college, and one of the first things I learned is that the environment creates the people who then create the culture. And when the environment changes, the culture changes. So that’s the lens through which I perceive the world.

After college, I went into journalism, and I landed squarely in environmental and climate-science reporting. I helped cover Hurricane Katrina for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. But it was very frustrating being a reporter and seeing how our coverage was completely disassociated from root causes.

If I went to a climate scientist and asked them if this drought here made tomatoes fail over there, causing a tomato shortage, the scientist would likely hedge and say, “Maaaaybe?” I couldn’t get anyone to say, “Yep, that’s it, it’s climate change, and you should care.” That was where the narrative always stopped. It didn’t feel right that we weren’t completing the loop. Data is key to designing solutions — so why weren’t using the data in this way?

Giving the people a platform

I started ISeeChange to help people tell stories of how they are personally impacted by climate change. The idea was to create a system in which anyone, anywhere, could make observations about what’s changing in their environment, and then ask questions about those changes. We have used community stories about flooding, urban heat islands, even air quality, to inform infrastructure design, emergency preparedness, resilience, and adaptation for cities like New Orleans, Miami, and Boston. We currently have users across 118 countries. Soon we will launch our first European ISeeChange infrastructure and development project.

The people who are most impacted by climate change are the least represented in civic engagement. But they are ones experiencing the pain of flooding or urban heat. Or they can’t get to work because of flooding. They can use ISeeChange to tell when and where and how they are impacted.

We are co-creating a community climate record. Just one story can let us know that something’s wrong and help point design in the right direction. So every story counts. And by telling us how your daily life is being impacted by the weather and climate around you, you can make a difference. When we understand our relationship with our changing environment, we understand how to plan for our future. (To submit your own observations, visit ISeeChange to register and get started tracking environmental change in your community.)