This short audio simply explains how I am trying to fathom ideas of how technology has turned the media industry into a platform that is now empowering almost everyone involved in the work of journalism.

Fern Napwatt from Vanuatu and Gina Kekea from Solomon Islands

Koroi Hawkins is new to online Journalism and learning it is both exciting and scary for him.

…Solomon Islands would be like a couple of decades behind in social media…

In the Solomon Islands the internet is a relatively new phenomena.

And if Australia is considered 2 or 3 years behind the UK and the US in terms of embracing the technology, Solomon Islands would be like a couple of decades behind.

So as an island journalist the concept of New Media is quite daunting for Koroi Hawkins.

Koroi Hawkins Solomon Islands Journalist

Hallo, Talofa, Bula, Malolelei and Welkam.

My name is Koroi Hawkins. I am a Journalist from the Solomon Islands. A tiny country in the South Pacific with just a little over 600,000 people.

I was fortunate enough to be selected to participate in an APJC Fellowship on Women Media and Economic Literacy in the Pacific.

There are 12 fellows from Papua New Guinea,  Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Tonga and all of them are women. Except for me, the token male. (two other male counterparts made were unable to make it at the last minute.)

Today we have just been learning to use online and social media for Journalism and from now on I will be blogging and tweeting daily about my experiences in Australia and the lessons learned in Leadership, Financial Reporting, Women’s Issues and Economic Literacy.

Renee Barnes, teaching online Journalism, Social Media and Blogging to APJC Fellows.

We are now in the second week of the Fellowship and already I have learned so much about myself and my craft, all insights I hope to share in the weeks ahead.

Melbourne Central on a cold winters night.

Also outside of the training room I have been exploring the wonderful City of Melbourne and have been blown away by the explosion of cultures, sights, sounds, smells and tastes that the City has to offer. I hope share some of these experiences as well.

APJC Fellows gather around the grave of William Barak a revered Aboriginal Leader of the Wurundjeri Tribe.

Yesterday, we had the honour and privilege of visiting Coranderrk Station where we met the inspirational current generation of Aboriginal Women in Brooke Collins and Jacqui Wandin who are part of the ongoing fight in Victoria and all around Australia for the recognition and preservation of the culture and history of First Australians and protecting the rights of their descendants in generations to come.

An Australian icon takes a power nap at the Healesville Sanctuary.

And finally you can’t say you have been to Australia if you haven’t met the real Australian icons the Kangaraoo, the wombat and of course the cute but surprisingly sleepy Koala.(Apparently the gum leaves are a mild narcotic.. dont try and chew them while driving!).

The APJC Fellowship is truly a fascinating and worthwhile program and it is about to get even better with a visit to Canberra coming up next week and meetings with influential Women Leaders including Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Julie Bishop, and Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls, Natasha Stott Despoja.

All that and more coming up next week and I would like to take the time here make special mention of my beloved wife, Margaret Kori Maealasia, for her sacrifice and commitment in looking after our four beautiful children, so that I could attend this fellowship.

And to Effie Hawkins, Happy Mothers Day Mom, thank you for all you taught me and all your sacrifices that made me the man I am today.

Happy Mothers Day weekend to all and have a safe and blessed weekend.

We spend so much time dwelling on issues and writing about other people’s lives or concerns that it can become a sort of refuge from ourselves.

A sort of safe haven not to confront or deal with our individual issues – whether it be professional or personal.

So, in the first days of this fellowship on women and economic literacy, I was uncomfortably surprised that we had evaluate many personal things. It was sooo difficult. Fellow Koroi Hawkins and I were paired on one of the most confronting exercises on values. Boy, did we struggle; finishing well after everyone else.

Koroi Hawkins maps out his values with Dolores, centre, and Barbara looking on

Self-awareness is a critical part of being a good leader, explained our leadership mentors Dolores Cummins and Barbara Baikie. The clarity it affords certainly enables you to be more decisive leaders.

In a nutshell, for most of us anyway, it was as if we were being reintroduced to our ‘deeper’ selves – if you catch my drift. It was clear by the end of the week that we had learnt a lot Thanks to Dolores and Barbara though, I don’t think we would have engaged as much without their expertise. We really miss those awesome women. We’ve been very privileged to have them as mentors.

Fellows with Dolores and Barbara on their last day with us. Dolores and Barbara are the authors of the awesome resource ‘Altitude’

Women & Leadership Seminar

From different countries and different background, these women have come to find strength and comfort through the APJC Fellowship on Women, media and economic literacy in the Pacific.

Hailed from 5 different countries in the Pacific, these women, have come to realize that despite the differences they have, there is a common understanding in the issues which women like them are faced with back in their own country.

‘Women in media need to persevere despite challenges’

With a juggle between work and family, issues and problems of these sort are not uncommon nor unsual for these women from the Pacific.

Through this Fellowship,  these women have found a common bond to bridge the differences they have in culture & nationality.

ENDS/////

The most important thing i have learnt as a young person, a young woman walking my way into leadership especially in the newsroom is to always find myself in every situation whether it is professional or personal. Building trust within yourself and with all connections around you. Its not just about you, its also about being able to build up good relationships with your surroundings.

APJC link gave me this chance to find myself as a leader by taking me on as a fellow in the Women, Media and Economic Literacy in the Pacific. Being a woman, and a young one too, I have realized while being a fellow on this program that women in my country link are still pinned down by our diverse cultures and traditions. This has slowed down gender equality in my country. While things are little bit slow in the country, it is very vital that women wake up, and rise up in preparations for crucial days coming.

Being a reporter, a journalist with the National newspaper in PNG link I have concluded very recently while in Melbourne that there is so much to achieve for the paper as a journalist in driving women empowerment in PNG. The media is a powerful tool in promoting women leadership and participation in development.

I have also concluded that the most important way for journalists to empower women in the country to be self reliant, and come out more and participate as equal development participants in PNG is to trust themselves as leaders to drive this empowerment. Empowerment will have to start in the newsrooms.

The PNG Media has a responsibility to empower women in the country to be equal participants in the development of PNG.

Who would ever thought that I would change my mind about social media after just a day with Renee Barnes. Even more exciting is the chance to engage more in other sources of social media to inform, engage various audiences on certain issues and perhaps to even start my own website specifically addressing women issues in the media industry. Awesome stuff. There are even sites that give the lazy reader a chance to stay informed and get just enough information to draw their attention. So what’s made this fabulous change that would shock my colleagues; being  a part of the Asia Pacific Journalism Centre fellowship program on Women, media and economic leadership in the Pacific.