21 September 2023, Nadi, Fiji – The Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) has fulfilled its promise to the region in terms of knowledge brokerage by convening the last of the sub-regional workshops for 2023 in Nadi, Fiji from 19 – 21 September 2023. This sub-regional workshop was targeted towards participants from the Micronesian sub-region, as well as interested individuals from around the region.
Knowledge Brokerage is a cross-cutting function of the PCCC in that it strives to connect the producers and users of climate change information, all while ensuring that relevant information reaches the end user in a timely manner and in user-friendly formats. The importance and relevance of knowledge brokerage is something that is all too familiar in the Pacific Islands region as a whole as we are already having to make time-sensitive, critical, and/or life-saving decisions relating to changes in weather and climate change.
The workshop aimed to further socialise the recently endorsed PCCC Partnership Framework for Knowledge Brokerage in the Pacific, provide an opportunity for feedback into the draft terms of reference for the PCCC Climate Knowledge Brokers Community of Practice (CoP), and create a space for best practices and lessons learned on this topic in the Micronesian sub-region.
The Manager of the PCCC, Ms ‘Ofa Ma’asi-Kaisamy, said: “Ensuring that the needs and priorities of the region are heard, acknowledged, and acted upon by providing a safe space for discussions is a priority, especially for the Micronesia region noting that their context(s) are very unique.”
Participants found common ground in terms of the size and capacities of their Governments to understand the value of and prioritise knowledge brokerage activities moving forward, as well as looking for opportunities to incorporate components from both the PCCC Partnership Framework for Knowledge Brokerage in the Pacific and the PCCC Climate Knowledge Brokers CoP into guidance documents that were already in place and/or under review.
One of the major outcomes for this workshop will be a report focused on a whole-Pacific approach to knowledge brokerage, identifying past, current, and future activities, gaps, needs, and opportunities for further development and capacity building not only with the PCCC, but between countries represented in the room too.
Participants for this workshop included sixteen (16) representatives from the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tokelau, and Tuvalu.
This workshop was made possible with funding support from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). For more information, please contact [email protected].
The Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) is the regional Centre of excellence for climate change information, research, capacity building, and innovation, hosted at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Apia, Samoa. As a Centre of excellence, the PCCC is mandated to provide practical information, support, and training to address the adaptation and mitigation priorities of Pacific Island communities.
The PCCC is underpinned by strong partnerships with Pacific Governments, applied research institutions, donors, civil society, and the private sector. The PCCC is a partnership between the Governments of Japan and Samoa. It is funded under grant aid through JICA for Samoa as the host country of SPREP. Additionally, the Centre receives generous funding and support from the Governments of New Zealand, Ireland, and Australia.