Pacific Media Rising opening speech

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SPEECH NOTES

Opening Speech by SOLOMON ISLANDS DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER HONORABLE
MANASSEH MAELANGA at the Pacific Media Rising: Shaping new futures for
media, voice and accountability

IFJ Regional Media Roundtable .
Wednesday 19th October, Iron Bottom Sound Hotel, Honiara, Solomon Islands


(salutations)

It is an honor and privilege to be invited to speak briefly to you
this morning as you settle down to start your discussions on the
important issue of Media for Democracy and Human Rights in the
Pacific.

First of all, On behalf of the Prime Minister and Government of
Solomon Islands, I would like to welcome you all to our shores after
you flew long distances from your countries to attend this important
regional gathering here in Honiara.

Secondly, I would like to thank your organizers and sponsors for
extending your invitation to the government of Solomon Islands to be
part of this important occasion.

The topics that you will discuss in the next four days are important
to democracy and good governance in the region. The Solomon Islands
Government has considered media as an important partner in development
and human rights.

It is with this consideration that we continue to uphold Media Freedom
and Freedom of Expression in this country in our national
constitution.

I believe that any violation on Media Freedom and Freedom of
Expression by governments, businesses and individuals is undemocratic
and that kind of attitude should be discouraged. Any actions and
decisions that infringe these fundamental democratic principles is a
violation of human rights.

However, freedom comes with responsibility and this is why it is
important that media practitioners around the region should keep in
mind that ethical journalism should be the cornerstone of your
watchdog role.

The media plays an important role to keep citizens informed and to
check on government and private institutions to see whether they carry
out their duties to its citizens.

The media also has the skills and duty to investigate, analyze and dig
deeper into events that often affect the pacific region such as global
financial challenges, climate change, sea level rise and organized
crime and explain it properly to our citizens.

I understand the challenges that many of our Pacific Newsrooms
including Government Information Services are facing. These challenges
can be addressed if we focus our attention more on journalism and
communication training and building networks around the region.
Collaborative efforts are found to be more helpful than individual and
isolated struggles.

The workshop that you are sitting in right now is a classic example of
networking and my government is pleased that you have selected Solomon
Islands as your host this year.

We believe that this workshop will encourage further partnership
between the Solomon Islands Media and their friends from around the
Pacific Region.

It is also encouraging to note that there will be a special session
that will provide insights and recommendations on expectations of the
news media as well as strategies for information sharing and right to
information.

I understand that this roundtable will also provide a parallel space
for media partners focused on governance and development outcomes in
media work and links between non-mainstream pacific networks who view
the media as stakeholders in their work.

The roundtable will also provide an opportunity for discourse on
topics of media rights monitoring and reporting, media freedom,
freedom of expression and freedom of information.

These are topics that are important to democratic governance in our region.

Ladies and Gentlemen, with those list of topics lined up for your
discussions in the next four days, I will not bore you further with
anymore words, but I wish you all the best in you deliberations
throughout the week.

Once again, thank you very much for attention and enjoy your stay in Honiara.

Tagio tumas!

HON. MANASSEH MAELANGA
Deputy Prime Minister

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via PIJO | Lisa Lahari Williams