Pacific parliaments prioritize digital transformation

The first online meeting of the re-launched Pacific Regional Hub took place on 19 June 2025.

The one-hour session, which was hosted by the Parliament of Fiji, brought together parliamentary staff from across the Pacific region, marking an important milestone for the Hub. The meeting was facilitated by Mr. Abele Sakulu, Deputy Secretary General of the Parliament of Fiji, and by Mr. Maika Lakeba, ICT Manager at the Parliament of Fiji and Hub Coordinator. The session, which focused on establishing the Hub’s operational framework and identifying priority areas for future collaboration, was attended by representatives from the parliaments of Kiribati, Palau, Solomon Islands and Tonga, as well as from the state legislatures of the Federated States of Micronesia. 

Participants identified digital transformation as the most pressing issue facing Pacific parliaments.

In a separate poll, Hub members ranked the following among the top digital transformation challenges facing Pacific parliaments:

• Low digital literacy among MPs and staff (61.5%)
• Budget constraints and insufficient funding (53.8%)
• Insufficient IT staffing and technical expertise (38.5%)

In the same poll, absence of leadership commitment, poor connectivity and infrastructure, and limited digital public engagement were also seen as significant factors affecting Pacific parliaments.

These results mirror the challenges identified during the Pacific Parliamentary Knowledge Exchange on Digital Transformation, held in Suva, Fiji, in March 2025. Jointly organized by the IPU and the United Nations Development Programme, this earlier event had brought together clerks and IT managers from 13 Pacific parliaments. 

Participants in the Hub’s inaugural meeting also discussed areas they wished to see covered in future bimonthly knowledge-exchange webinars for IT managers, clerks, deputies and information management staff of participating parliaments:

• Infrastructure and security, with a strong emphasis on establishing parliamentary autonomy separate from government systems
• Cybersecurity frameworks, with a recognition that parliaments represent primary targets for cyber threats
• Technical priorities including migrating on-premise systems to cloud-based alternatives, and developing comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plans
• Digital governance, encompassing content management policies for digital communications including websites, and intranet development using SharePoint and other platforms

Participants expressed a particular interest in exploring AI applications within the Pacific parliamentary context, recognizing the need for foundational and robust information management and data policies before implementation.

Strategic planning discussions focused on developing comprehensive IT road maps that translate digital strategies into actionable implementation plans, while incorporating staff training programmes as part of effective change management to ensure successful digital transformation across the region.

This inaugural meeting successfully established a foundation for ongoing regional knowledge exchange and collaboration, addressing the unique digital transformation needs of Pacific parliaments. The new Hub will build on the outcomes of this session to foster knowledge-sharing and capacity-building across the region. The Hub coordination team will work with members to co-develop a calendar of webinars, which will launch in September 2025