FIJI has taken a major step to improve how government information is shared, bringing together communicators from across ministries, agencies, and statutory bodies.
Minister for Information Lynda Tabuya said the inaugural communications conference was aimed at strengthening coordination and enhancing the skills of media liaison officers.
She explained that, for the first time, Fiji was convening such a conference to teach participants the tools needed to communicate effectively across ministries.
“For the first time ever, Fiji is convening a communications conference… to really learn the tools of how to communicate effectively across ministries,” she said.
Ms Tabuya said the training focused on lifting standards across Government, including tackling misinformation and improving response times.
“Our vision and our mission are for a well-informed Fiji. “And that includes also countering disinformation and misinformation.”
She said officers were also being trained to identify false or manipulated content, including deepfakes.
“We need to be able to have the skills…to identify when a particular source of information is truthful or it’s deepfake or it is manufactured.”
The minister acknowledged the media often breaks stories before official channels and said Government must improve.
“A lot of times it comes out in the media before it comes out in the government channels… that is a challenge for us.”
She said future conferences could include journalists, stressing the need for closer collaboration.
“We need to be able to support each other in putting out truthful and efficient information to the public.”
