foe — jason brown

Set up in 2008, our mission as a regional network is to monitor Article 19 freedoms in the Pacific community, and advocate ethics. We believe free speech and free media make for free Pacific futures.

Our key outputs are media alerts, and calls to action. These have focused on governance, environment, and gender.

GOVERNANCE

PFF is already the most quoted source on media freedom and ethical issues across the vast Pacific Islands region.

Members have contributed to global forums on key occasions, and made dozens of statements on alerts raised by members in nearly all of the 22 island states, colonies and territories.

Behind-the-scenes, hundreds of thousands of dollars in volunteer time have been invested in raising, maintaining and defending the regional profiles of the 4th Estate, and all who seek her haven.

ENVIRONMENT

Increasingly heavy costs from the impact of severe weather events lends fresh pressure towards human rights to seek, access and share information, as key to the future cohesion of Pacific states, colonies and territories.

Like other disaster prevention and recovery approaches, mitigation and adaptation efforts are best realised when communities speak their minds, without fear or favour.

A strong and independent news media is the only means by which citizens can ensure their fundamental rights to free speech, especially during times of emergency, life and death.

GENDER

PFF is the only regional organisation to have both senior roles of co-chair filled by women.

PFF has joined other leading organisations in support of gender freedoms, equality and ethics, in media and beyond. Speaking out against bullying of women in newsrooms, PPF also made statements on media freedom issues such as a ban on a film about US gayrights activist Harvey Milk, a front page shot of a half naked 14 year old girl, and an uncensored photo of a transgender woman suicide.

GENDER LEADERSHIP

PFF previously had a gender balance, with a male chair and female co-chair.

After our first chair, Susuve Laumaea, retired, members agreed to the nomination of a second woman.

PFF Chair Titi Gabi is a veteran of Papua New Guinea and Pacific journalism, most recently as General Manager of PNG Loop, part of a new regional network of news site.

PFF Co-Chair Monica Miller is a former President of the region's oldest media organisation, the Pacific Islands News Association, now a private company. She is News Director for South Seas Broadcasting, based in American Samoa.

HUMAN RIGHTS

As an organisation, PFF has declared #westpapua as the leading #humanrights issue under #udhr #article19 and #foe, freedom of expression.

That's a big hashtag, but here it is anyway : #freedomofexpression

Also, a range of others as an intro to more ideas under #4thestate debate.

NOTES

Suggested cycles for action :

#realskill #realtime #realtech #realworld #realpeople #realitycheck #review #nextsteps #action #review etc

#thoughts ? #feedback ? #solutions ? #toolbox ?

#lowtech #policy #cohesion #innovacy #4thestate #citizenjournalism #web2

As well as our chairs, Pacific Freedom Forum volunteers have all reported on gender rights issues -

PFF Coordinator Netani Rika is also communications director for the Pacific Conference of Churches, a frequent critic of gender injustice. He is a former Editor of his homeland's oldest newspaper, Fiji Times.

Misa Vicky Lepou, Head of Journalism at National University of Samoa, and Chair of the regional Media Educators Project, supported by Auckland University of Technology.

Ricardo Morris, a recent fellow at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and long time Fiji media freedom leader.

PFF Editor Jason Brown, a former 'malestream' intern at the Pacific Women's Bureau of SPC, Secretariat for the Pacific Community.

MISSION BACKGROUND

Pacific futures are vast and varied, with the Pacific Islands covering the world's largest ocean, across 20 independent nations, five self-governing states, and seven territories, the inheritors of ten different colonial systems, hundreds of different languages, and thousands of years of traditional institutions.

PFF, the Pacific Freedom Forum is part of the IFEX, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange. A global media and freedom body with 104 members from more than 70 countries, states and territories.

The Pacific Freedom Forum started as an email network of Pacific journalists debating attacks on freedom of expression, and the need for a free and independent media advocate.

Our journey thus far has confirmed our founding beliefs:

FOUNDING BELIEFS

“We believe in the critical and basic link between the freedoms promised in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from which we take our XIX logo, and the vision of democratic and participatory governance pledged by our leaders in their endorsement of the Pacific Plan and other commitments to good governance.

“Our key focus to support that vision is monitoring threats to media freedom and calling for action on our concerns by regional and international partners, and citizens whose interests we serve.

“Our other main focus is raising ethical issues around media coverage of human rights, including the reporting of suicide, gender issues including LGBT, sex workers and other areas prone to sensationalism.

MISSION FUTURES

Self-regulation and accountability forms our main forward focus.

Towards this, UNESCO supported a major paper on self-regulation, promoting the concept of a Pacific Media Ombudsman, with PFF members giving regional support in 2013.

In terms of projects, our most urgent is supporting our colleagues in West Papua, who suffer extreme human rights abuses, media freedom repression and Freedom of Expression suppression, including among independence campaigners. A

SECRETARIAT

Moving our mission beyond volunteerism, the PFF board have given approval to start establishing a secretariat on a formal basis, to attract funding and other support.

We are also in the process of applying for further IFEX support to hold our first strategy planning session, so that potential partners can see where our project and programme proposals fit in.

Strategy planning will include where best PFF may base operations, while remaining registered in the Cook Islands.

. . .

NOTES

Awards: None Community support: all volunteer office holders Government recognition: The government of Samoa officially welcomed PFF-precursor to inaugural meeting. Partner recognition: UNESCO funded founding conference. IFEX: official partner

Website: As chief tech adviser for PFF I must bear responsibility for this mishap. Keen to avoid being an IT bully I made access to the site open to our key office holders. Settings were changed by those with less knowledge and key passwords lost. Widely spread over the world's largest feature (the Pacific Ocean) it proved impossible to track down reset requests and reclaim our site. I have however made contact with the spammer, who wants US$1,000 to get the site back.