Over 70 international participants from 14 Pacific Island countries, including leaders, grassroots organisations, governments, regional entities, and farmers from Rarotonga and the Pa Enua, gathered at the National Auditorium in Rarotonga yesterday to kick off the Grassroots Partnerships for Pacific Solutions event.

The event, which is hosted by Pacific Farmer Organisations and Te Tango Enua, is a week-long series of workshops, panel discussions, and presentations that aims to foster cross-border collaboration, knowledge sharing, and transformative connections aimed at driving positive change throughout the Pacific.

Kyle Stice, of Pacific Farmer Organisations, said that the event is an opportunity to highlight the importance of grassroots organisations for development in the Pacific.

“We have representatives from grassroots organisations in 14 Pacific Islands, and they come to talk about their challenges and share solutions,” Stice said.

“We strongly believe that local people and local solutions have an important role to play in our development, and that is what this conference is about: to speak to government and development partners and share among each other what are these solutions and how we can work together as a region and most importantly as a network of local organisations to address some of these big challenges.”

The main theme of the event is climate change, food security, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which are all interrelated.

Stice said that the event also provides an opportunity to acknowledge the traditional institutions that exist in the Pacific and the important role that they play in mobilising communities to address these challenges.

The outcome of the discussions at the event will feed into the discussions of government representatives at the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Rarotonga.

Stice said that the goal is not to just rely on government and outside development partners, but to bring solutions to the table and to actually dive into traditional knowledge, talk to local people, and see the solutions they have that are suited to their context. These solutions can then be shared with government, development partners, and others so that everyone can work together to address the challenges facing the Pacific.

The event continues today at The Edgewater Resort and Spa conference centre from 9am.