A Wallis and Futuna journalist Mirna Kilama says the 8th Pacific Summit 2026 provides an important opportunity to build stronger connections among Pacific journalists, share regional experiences and find better ways to engage young people on climate change.
Kilama says this is her first time participating in this kind of event as a journalist, and she has been pleased to meet journalists from across the Pacific.
Kilama says in Wallis and Futuna, she usually meets journalists from France and other French territories such as Tahiti and New Caledonia, making the opportunity to connect with Pacific journalists particularly meaningful.
She says she has realised that Pacific journalists share many things in common, including their cultural backgrounds, way of life and thinking.
Kilama says this is especially important when discussing climate change, which she describes as an “invisible war” for small island communities across the Pacific.
She says the experience has been both professionally and emotionally significant because Pacific islands are small communities surrounded by the vast ocean, and the challenges they face need to be better understood.
Kilama says one of her main expectations from the summit is to build a network among journalists in the Pacific and share experiences.
She says Wallis and Futuna’s position as a French territory also means journalists need to look at new ways of sharing and disseminating information across the Pacific.
Kilama says journalists also need to find better ways of communicating with young people who may not yet be closely engaged with issues such as climate change.
She says raising awareness among young people is one of the key things she hopes to see moving forward.
