Papua New Guinea Sports Media Association is prepared to assist Solomon Islands with their Media & Communications Plan for the 2023 Pacific Games. PNG SMA President Peter Sevara Jr said the onus is on PNG to ensure the “Happy Isles” glean the best from their aspirations.
“Both countries continue to benefit from Government to Government relations over the years and it is no different this time around. “While Team PNG will also come to compete, the onus is on PNG to ensure their experiences of hosting big games will come in handy to assist Solomon Islands achieve a successful outcome,” Sevara said.
The President and PNG SMA Secretary Isaac Liri are both attending the Pacific Sports Media Dialogue in Honiara in conjunction with the 6th Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Media Summit in Honiara from the 26th to the 30th of this month.
The Pacific Sports Media dialogue hosted by the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) has been assisting PNG and four other Pacific Islands to set up its Sports Journalist Association over the past five years. “Collaboration throughout the Pacific region is what we need and I believe we have enough capacity to reach out to our brothers and sisters to offer them a hand in building their preparedness.
“We are only as good as those around us so in true Pacific fashion let’s support each other because we understand each other more,” Sevara added. Sevara said the current Melanesian Spearhead Group Prime Ministers Cup hosted in Vanuatu is an example of the region coming together to build awareness on our capacity and foster mutual relationships.
The meet was graced by Koroi Hawkins, a part Solomon Islander and Fijian who was employed by Radio New Zealand International straight out of Solomon Islands. Hawkins shared that news from our region has always been negative but said sports reporters in the pacific can change that.
He added that the opportunity to use their sport writing skills to change negative perceptions of our region lies on their shoulders because in world news, pacific sports news travels faster and further throughout the world than any other news genre