Pasifika Futures Forum Opens In Suva: Navigating A Bold Vision For The Blue Pacific
The broader Pasifika Futures Initiative aims to strengthen inquiry into how strategic foresight and Pacific wisdom can work together to build more equitable, resilient development partnerships.
13 May 2025
Suva, Fiji: The inaugural Pasifika Futures Forum officially opened today at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, bringing together over 150 Pacific Island leaders, policymakers, traditional knowledge holders, youth, disability advocates, and development partners from across the Pacific region.
Hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office in Fiji – with the generous support of the Government of Australia – the Forum will explore and shape long-term pathways for a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive Blue Pacific Continent.
The Forum follows the launch of the Pasifika Futures Report, a Pacific-led foresight publication that builds on the foundations laid by the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the groundbreaking work undertaken by the Pacific Community (SPC). Drawing from Pacific epistemologies and contemporary foresight tools, the report highlights 10 emerging themes – from ocean governance and climate security to technological change and intergenerational decision-making.
Baron Waqa, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, opened the event and said:
'Our Blue Pacific Continent is the ocean that connects us through our shared culture, diversity, common challenges, and unique vulnerabilities. We must be vigilant of the emerging trends and signals, as our role is to build a region that thrives in unity and resilience.'
Munkhtuya Altangerel, UNDP Resident Representative for the Pacific Office in Fiji, in her opening remarks, said that the forum comes on the back of decades of work across the Pacific community:
'We stand today on the shoulders of remarkable regional leadership: the foresight of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the pioneering tools of the Pacific Community, and the shared vision laid out in the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. The future therefore is not something we wait for; it is something we build together.'
Over the next two days, the Forum will host a series of talanoa centred on identity, agency, and adaptive leadership in the face of accelerating global change. Guided by the Pacific concept of wayfinding, the Forum will invite participants to explore how Pacific knowledge systems – grounded in interdependence and connection to place – can guide development thinking and practice in new directions.
The broader Pasifika Futures Initiative aims to strengthen inquiry into how strategic foresight and Pacific wisdom can work together to build more equitable, resilient development partnerships.
The Pasifika Futures Forum will be staged on 13 May at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and conclude on 14 May at the Grand Pacific Hotel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
44 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown urges Government to reconsider bed night levy to reboot city's struggling economy
Bridges urged the National Party-led Government to consider serious policy or fiscal stimulus across New Zealand, especially in major cities, to help 'get things going'. The bleak state of Auckland's economy was underscored by a Herald story this month showing a 6.6% drop in card spending in the central city between April and May 2024 and the same period in 2025. The picture was even starker on Karangahape Rd, where spending plunged by 22.5%. It had been the worst winter ever, said Helen McIntryre, who has owned a gift and furniture shop on K Rd for 34 years. Brown backed Bridges' call for the Government to take stronger action to support the economy during these challenging times, noting Auckland's 6.1% unemployment rate had implications for the rest of the country. He said introducing a bed night levy would deliver immediate stimulus by boosting tourism and attracting major events to Auckland. 'There's no reason the Government couldn't make a bed night levy an urgent priority and have it in place by next year,' Brown said. 'The sector supports it and so do most Aucklanders.' Brown has been calling on the Government to approve a bed night levy for some time, but Tourism Minister Louise Upston has ruled it out, saying there would be no new taxes. Today, Upston acknowledged Bridges' comments and noted the ongoing interest in a bed tax. However, she reiterated that 'a tax is not something I'm pursuing this term'. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Tourism Minister Louise Upston are not keen on a bed night levy at this stage. Photo / Dean Purcell 'The most pressing challenge for New Zealand tourism is that we simply don't have enough visitors, and I'm focused on growing those numbers. 'This Government is firmly committed to growing the economy, including Auckland's, and tourism remains a key part of that strategy,' the minister said. So far this term, the Government has hiked the international tourism levy for visitors to New Zealand by nearly 200% from $35 to $100, and announced international tourists would be charged $20 to $40 at four popular destinations – the Tongariro Crossing, Cathedral Cove, Milford Sound and Aoraki Mt Cook. Asked about Bridges' call for a stimulus package on RNZ on Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said progress would 'come through to the big cities eventually'. 'I know it's difficult – particularly in our big cities... we've got to keep doing everything we can, but open to more things and discussing more things, but I think at this stage it's keep doing what we are doing,' he said. Herald business editor-at-large Liam Dann backed Bridges' call for a stimulus package in a weekend column, arguing that Auckland's economy is 'broken' and urgently needed Government attention. Karangahape Rd shop owner Helen McIntyre says this winter has been the worst in 32 years. Photo / Jason Dorday Dann suggested the Government could allocate funding to revive three 'dead' buildings in the midtown area – St James Theatre, the vacant Smith & Caughey's building, and the Sky World indoor entertainment complex. He argued restoring these sites would breathe life back into the city and keep skilled workers employed while the broader economy recovers. Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage said Auckland had faced significant challenges in recent years, particularly across the hospitality, accommodation, tourism and events sectors. He supported the introduction of sustainable funding through a levy as soon as possible to create a dedicated and reliable revenue stream to promote tourism, attract major events and conferences, and stimulate spending across hotels, restaurants, retail and entertainment venues. However, rather than adopting an Auckland-only approach, Armitage said Hospitality NZ favoured a nationwide system applied fairly and consistently. A national framework would better support tourism-related activity, including the attraction and delivery of major and business events. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and Hospitality NZ want a bed night levy to attract more events, such as Kinky Boots at the Civic Theatre. Photo / Jason Oxenham Localised models risk creating unnecessary complexity and inconsistency, Armitage said. The mayor said that when Auckland did well, the country did well, saying NZ's underlying problem was a low-productivity economy that wasn't exporting enough to the world. His goal was for Auckland to lead the country on a path to prosperity, saying his 2025 manifesto identified key opportunities for growth in technology, housing and tourism. Recently, Brown launched the Auckland Innovation & Technology Alliance to attract investment and strengthen the city's position as a competitive hub for tech and innovation. He's also working with Housing Minister Chris Bishop to make use of land for faster and smarter growth. Employers and Manufacturers Association head of advocacy Alan McDonald told RNZ there were some signs of recovery led by the primary sector and in the regions, but in Auckland, which was more about manufacturing and services, hospitality, tourism and education were all down. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
13 hours ago
- Scoop
Pacific Foreign Ministers To Meet In Suva
Rt Hon Winston Peters Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters will attend the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Fiji this week to discuss key regional issues with counterparts. 'In an increasingly challenging world, it is more important than ever that the Pacific family comes together to talk about the things that matter to us,' Mr Peters says. 'New Zealand's membership of the Pacific Islands Forum, the region's leading political organisation, is a crucial part of our diplomacy. As a Pacific country, we remain dedicated to the Forum as the main platform for developing Pacific-owned and Pacific-led solutions to shared challenges.' Their meeting sets the stage for Forum Leaders' discussions in Honiara, Solomon Islands, in September. Mr Peters leaves New Zealand on Wednesday 13 August, returning on 14 August.
Scoop
18 hours ago
- Scoop
On Labour's Soft Support In The Polls
Currently, Labour is a receptacle for the widespread public dis-illusionment with the Luxon administration. However, this week's poll results– which would deliver a hung Parliament in which the centre-right and centre left blocs were tied on 61 seats – flatters to deceive Labour about its chances in Election 2026. Australia can offer an illuminating example of this popularity-by-default during the year before an election. Consider the fate of Peter Dutton's Liberal-led coalition. When voters were solely focussed on the many failings of the Albanese government, Dutton's fortunes rose, such that he looked like the prime minister in waiting. That mood lasted until January 2025, when the election year kicked off in earnest. Voters then began looking at their political options through a different lens. With Dutton, they began asking: is this really the guy, and is this the party, and are these the policies we want to elect ? And the answer was no, not now, not ever. Meaning: once the public begins to take a hard look at the options before them, some of Labour's preceding soft support will ebb away, since it is largely based on an anything-but -this attitude towards the incumbent. That situation will change, as Dutton found to his cost. Albanese managed to make this year's Australian election campaign all about Peter Dutton, and hardly at all about his own track record. Similarly, National will be trying to make next year's election campaign all about scaring the electorate out of its wits about the prospect of a Labour/Greens/TPM governing arrangement. Labour is giving every sign of walking straight into this trap. To date, it has made no effort to look like a confident alternative government in waiting. It seems happy to be a blank state. It has put forward no new policies, and has actively distanced itself from the policies being put forward by the Greens, the partner that Labour needs if it is to govern at all. On the left, we are seeing nothing like the collusion we have seen on the right, where National is willing to let ACT set the policy agenda, because ACT and National have the same goals in mind, and serve the same corporate interests. Quite a different story on the centre-left. It is unclear whether Labour agrees with the Greens about anything of substance, including the pace of change required on the policies that do overlap. Sure, they compete for centre left votes. But ultimately, they're supposed to be allies. Routinely however, Labour treats the Greens as a liability that it needs to keep in check, rather than as an electoral asset. No wonder this week then, that the Greens were talking up their role in driving a future Labour-led government. In doing so, it was mimicking ACT's role in the coalition government, and was also trying to draw Labour into acting like an alternative government that has joint solutions to offer for the public mood of discontent. By refusing to take any policy positions now, Labour makes it more likey that its belated revelations will become THE focus of next year's election campaign, rather than the coalition government's manifest failures. Running scared Some of Labour's current obfuscation borders on the ridiculous. Apparently, Labour has spent the past 18 months debating whether to adopt a capital gains tax – even though this was settled party policy eleven years ago, when David Cunliffe took it into the 2014 election. Since then we have had the Cullen Tax Working Group mull over its merits and endorse it, as have any number of economic experts, both here and overseas. What's been left to debate? With elephants, the gestation period is only 22 months. Currrenty, nearly six generations of elephants have been conceived and born since Labour first tried to convince the public to embrace a capital gains tax in an election year. Yet all outward appearances, Labour still hasn't quite made up its mind. Labour's skittish tendency to treat its core policies as hand grenades likely to blow up in its face at any moment, has also been evident with regard to the oil and gas exploration ban. When in government, Labour immediately enacted the ban (a) for climate change reasons and (b) in the knowledge that the ban was largely symbolic, since no untapped deposits appear to exist, and no multinational companies seem willing to go to the trouble and expense of conducting further searches in our waters. (That's why the Luxon government is currently offering Big Oil $200 million + in subsidies, to get them to try, try, try again.) Righto. So would Labour re-instate the ban, if re-elected? You'd think this would be a no-brainer. Yet despite her eloquent criticism of the Luxon government's rescinding of the ban, Labour's energy spokesperson Megan Woods twice declined in this interview to say whether Labour would re-instate it. A few days later, she told Carbon News that a new Labour government would re-instate the ban, but would also honour any exploration pernits issued in the interim. Why? If you truly want to deter fossil fuel exploration, let that risk be on their own heads. Taxpayers will have already paid them those huge subsidies to cover their risk. It really shouldn't be this hard to figure out where Labour stands on issues that should be a slam dunk for a centre-left party. It bodes badly for Labour's ability to emerge from its corner next year and (a) confidently promote its own policies, and (b) not run in fright from the policies of its partners. Just as well Michael Joseph Savage isn't trying to convince this lot to create a welfare safety net. Footnote: All the same, there has been hints aplenty dropped to prep the media for the news that Labour is likely to be taking a capital gains tax into the next election, and has rejected the wealth tax proposed earlier this year in the Greens alternative budget. If and when Labour do publicly commit to a capital gains tax, it would be good to know that they have prepped themselves on how to handle the question that tripped up David Cunliffe in the leaders debate in 2014. Would the tax apply, John Key asked, to family homes held in trusts? The answer that eluded Cunliffe on the night but which was later clarified by David Parker went like this: 'If it is a principal family home there's no capital gains tax payable," [Parker] told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme. "If it's not a principal family home then there will be, although if it's a holiday home and it's passed through the generations that doesn't attract a capital gains tax either." The capital gains tax policy is meant to have a symbolic value. Yet these wrinkles and exemptions suggest that a capital gains tax is not going to provide Labour with a clear and ringing expression of its core identity, heading into the next election. It is a policy devised by policy wonks, and will be mainly of interest to pundits and economists. Moreover, back in 2018 when such a tax was being seriously proposed (by the Cullen Tax Working Group) as a necessary corrective to an economy wedded to housing speculation, bank economists were claiming that such a tax would cut house prices by 10%. In today's depressed housing market, a CGT wouldn't have such a serious impact on house prices. But that won't stop National and ACT from painting it as a tax grab likely to reduce in value the main investment/retirement asset held dear by many New Zealanders. That's not a good reason to abandon the policy. For decades, this country has suffered from the extent to which our domestic economy has consisted of us buying and selling houses to each other, for the untaxed capital gains. At the same time, one can feel worried about Labour's ability to convince voters that if a capital gains tax does impose some pain, this pain will (a) be only fleeting (b) be shared equally and (c) will be outweighed by tangible benefits. So far, Labour has shown no such ability. Under Chris Hipkins, Labour was cringingly risk averse when in government, and it has carried that over into opposition. Big Thief Kills It (Again) Breakup songs are a dime a dozen, but post-breakup songs that deal with what kind of relationship (friendship?) is now possible - after time and distance have taken the edge off heartbreak - are much more rare. I'm guessing, but on this new Big Thief track, Adrianne Lenker seems to be re-addressing her former partner Indigo Sparks, two years or more after they went their separate ways. Earlier Lenker songs ('Zombie Girl' and 'Anything' in particular) were inspired by her raw feelings for Sparks. This new song is more ruefully optimistic: To measure the distance that's been travelled, here's how things were for Lenker back at the time, on 'Anything:'
