On this episode of GovComms, contentgroup CEO David Pembroke and Jordie Kilby discuss the Pacific Region – a dynamic and diverse region that includes countries like Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Somoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.
Jordie is a communications consultant based in Fiji, but working across the entire Pacific region. Jordie began his career at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation working first in Local Radio in Canberra before a stint as a presenter and senior producer for Triple J. More recently, Jordie was a Communications Team Leader at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Fiji.
Jordie discusses how the Pacific has handled COVID-19, the challenges associated with government communication in many pacific countries and what mediums work best in countries like Fiji. Jordie and David discuss the Pacific’s under-reported measles outbreak in 2019, and how it might have assisted their preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jordie also discusses what he thinks are the similarities and differences between the Pacific and Australia, whilst also revealing how the Pacific views Australia from a diplomatic perspective.
Jordie explains what Pacific nations like Fiji could teach his home country of Australia, the biggest and most influential country in the region. Jordie makes the point that the biggest lesson in communication that Australia could learn from the Pacific is the power of storytelling and listening.
Discussed in this episode:
- What it is like to be a government communicator in the Pacific region.
- What people in the Pacific understand about listening that Australians do not.
- The importance of storytelling to communications in the Pacific.
- How many Pacific countries handled COVID-19, and how some managed to remain COVID-free.