LocationsPacific Fellows Reimagined Public Finance in EU-backed Leadership Event
July 25, 2025
Participants of the Regional Adaptive Leadership Event on Accountable Public Finance for Sustainable Development in Port Vila.
Port Vila, Vanuatu - Amid shifting global conditions, Pacific nations have proven they are uniquely positioned to lead the way in reimagining governance—drawing on deep traditions of resilience, growing regional cooperation, and increasing global support for inclusive, adaptive public finance.
As countries move to implement the Sevilla Compromiso and accelerate pathways under the European Union's Global Gateway and UNDP’s Sustainable Finance agenda, the Pacific continues to offer a vital space for pioneering solutions that respond to complexity with courage, collaboration, and innovation.
Recognising this, the Vaka Pasifika Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP Pacific, hosted a Regional Adaptive Leadership Event on Accountable Public Finance for Sustainable Development in Port Vila, Vanuatu from 21 to 23 July 2025.
The regional gathering brought together public finance fellows, Members of Parliament, senior government officials, private sector leaders, auditors general, civil society actors community representatives, and research partners from Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Tonga. Over three days, participants engaged in practical learning space to equip leaders with the tools and mindsets required to lead complex public finance reform.
It also featured insights from La Trobe University’s action research on the real-world accountability ecosystems that underpin governance across the Pacific.
The group from Solomon Islands presenting during the workshop.
The group from Tonga presenting during the workshop.
UNDP Vaka Pasifika Project Manager, Marine Destrez leading a session during the workshop.
Building on national-level fellowships piloted under the Vaka Pasifika Project from 2023–2024, the regional gathering highlighted both the fragility and transformative potential of Pacific accountability systems. Through shared learning, coalition-building, and adaptive leadership approaches, the event aimed to cultivate a new generation of Pacific public leaders that can manage ambiguity, challenge entrenched interests, and co-create meaningful change.
More importantly, the event created space for actors often sidelined by technical budgetary processes, including women’s groups, faith-based organisations, and traditional leadership systems, to engage in shaping the regulatory frameworks, allocation processes, and auditing of public investments.
In closing, Shaleshni Prasad, Programme Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to the Pacific, reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to strengthening governance ecosystems for sustainable, long-term benefits for people in the region.
The event was co-designed with Pacific fellows and implemented in partnership with Adapsys Consulting, which led immersive leadership training, and La Trobe University, which contributed in-depth research on both formal and informal accountability practices across the region.
Key outcomes included:
• Strengthened national strategies that integrate adaptive governance practices for the cohorts of Tuvalu, Tonga and Solomon Islands.
• Enhanced regional knowledge exchange on fiscal transparency and reform.
• The launch of La Trobe University's Vanuatu Ecosystem Analysis Report to a wide audience of strategic Vanuatu leaders.
As the region faces complex challenges, this event showed the power of local leadership and shared learning, and initiatives such as Vaka Pasifika underscoring the value of context-driven leadership and regional solidarity.
With support from the European Union and a strong network of partners, the momentum built through this event will continue to inform public finance reform, strengthen accountability systems, and inspire adaptive governance across the region.
For more information contact:
Sofaia Koroitanoa, Vaka Pasifika Communications Specialist, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, sofaia.koroitanoa@undp.org
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