Cook Islands' Nanette Woonton is at the COP28 event in Dubai in her capacity as the Communications and Outreach Advisor for SPREP.

But she also has the special chance to be at one of the many COP events with her daughter Mareva Cameron who is at the event with Pasifika TV reporting on the COP28.

Both mother and daughter were at COP28 Dubai in different capacities.

Cameron, who is also a Cook Islands TV staff member, through a video interview with Pasifika TV said that hearing what COP was about for the past 10 years of her life and being at her first COP event felt great.

She said she was given an opportunity with Pasifika TV, who was recruiting Pacific media staff to attend the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Rarotonga, the Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands, and she was given the chance to be in Dubai for COP28.

“I was one of the three selected to report for the region as part of Pasifika TV.”

Woonton said she was excited and proud of her daughter being at the event.

“As a family we have to make a lot of sacrifices going out… I missed a lot of key milestones as a mother in this family which included not being for Mareva at key times which her father had to be,

“So it’s really nice for me to be able to see Mareva here and see what it is we had done all these years, and resulted because of those sacrifices, nice to be here to give that extra mile support.”

Woonton had also advised those who were attending the COP event for the first time to keep healthy, stay hydrated, get enough sleep, and have enough vegetables and vitamins.

“Because you cannot function well if you are not well.

“People do not realise that within the negotiation room, sometimes the negotiations can go on for days until a compromise is found.”