Catholic communicators meet in Fiji

Sydney
8 June 2003

Catholic communicators meet in Fiji

Delegates from the 20 member countries of Signis Pacific during a break from their annual meeting in Nadi, Fiji

Jesuit Fr Jerry Martinson SJ, a television producer and presenter from Kuangchi Program Services in Taiwan, and Prof Augustine Loorthusamy, vice-president of Signis International, led workshops on issues such as the globalisation of media, television and video production and the spirituality of communication at the annual meeting of Signis Pacific, in Nadi, Fiji.

The meeting considered $230,000 of projects for recommendation for funding from the Signis International secretariat in Brussels.

Projects include production equipment purchases and production fees for radio and television programs, including the establishment of Catholic radio stations in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.

Delegates participated in the making of a video.

A short dramatic piece will be edited as a resource to assist members and others with the art of video editing.

Signis Pacific has a membership of 20 countries; all are involved in television, video and radio production.

The Australian representative at the meeting was Melbourne-based Peter Thomas, secretary-treasurer of Signis Pacific, who has been asked by Signis International to co-ordinate an international television and video production and distribution inquiry to establish the needs of members around the world.

The world president of SIGNIS is Australian Fr Peter Malone MSC, a frequent film reviewer for The Catholic Weekly.