
ISR to host research meetings with representatives of Fiji government
October 15, 2024
Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected])
ANN ARBOR — Social scientists at the Institute for Social Research will meet with representatives of the Fiji Ministry of iTaukei Affairs this week to discuss crucial census data utilized by the Fijian government.
The iTaukei (Indigenous Fijian) Village Household Census collected data on the iTaukei population in 2019 and 2023 and is to date the most comprehensive examination of iTaukei life, health, and socioeconomic status. Through a series of meetings this week, ISR researchers led by Sela Panapasa, Ph.D., herself a native of Fiji, will work with the iTaukei Affairs oversight committee to explore ways the data can be used to develop a better understanding of iTaukei lives.
Representative data on Pacific island nations is sparse; the iTaukei Village Household census is the first robust data set from any Pacific Island nation with measures on demographic, social, cultural, economic, health, housing, food security, and environmental factors. However, it represents a step toward better collaboration and evidence-based researchers between ISR and the Fijian government and its policy makers.
“The research collaboration aligns with Fiji’s national development plan in support of robust research directly applicable to policy implementation,” said Panapasa. “The meetings also reflect ISR’s long-term mission of international engagement and the promotion of social science in the public interest, in addition to helping us expand our international relationships into new regions of the world.”
These meetings represent the first major cultural and data exchange between ISR and the Fiji government, which will be represented by several key figures, including Ratu Viliame Seruvakula, Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, Permanent Secretary Pita Tagicakirewa, and Sefton Motufaga, data analytics manager for the iTaukei Affairs Board. Meetings began during ISR’s 75th anniversary symposium and will continue through Friday, October 18.