People over power: Human security in the Pacific

Join us to hear from regional experts as they unpack the most pressing threats facing the Pacific today — threats too often overshadowed by discussion of great-power competition. For Pacific communities, security starts close to home, with challenges including limited access to education, rising drug use and trafficking, the mounting toll of El Niño-driven drought and extreme weather, and the spread of HIV.

The panel will put human security at the centre of its conversation, weigh it against geopolitical rivalry, and ask how Australia should work with its Pacific partners to respond.

The conversation will be moderated by Oliver Nobetau, Director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute, and will feature Serena Sasingian, the outgoing FDC Pacific Research Fellow; Dr Nick Thomson, a public health and human rights-trained epidemiologist; and Dr Anna Naupa, Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat.