Specifically, we worked through Thinkpacific to help bolster Fiji’s Covid vaccination efforts on behalf of the charity Childbenefit. In normal times this non-profit focuses on providing educational services to children in Fiji, however because of the Fijian government’s “no vax no job” policy, parent unemployment has become a major obstacle for children’s access to education. Misinformation spread both online and through word of mouth had meant that people feared the vaccine, and would rather forgo employment to save their health

Week 1-2 was spent learning about the rich tapestry of Fijian culture, basic Fijian phrases, its history and some of the obstacles facing public health in the country.

In weeks 3-5 we produced numerous materials that targeted specific misinformation and conspiracy theories such as that “the vaccine has a microchip inside it”, “the vaccine goes against christian teaching” and “the vaccine causes one to become magnetic. We produced infographics and short videos that Childbenefit could then use on their social media pages. In order to ensure the project’s efficacy, we made sure that the materials we used were culturally sensitive, and were in close contact with both ThinkPacific and Childbenefit personnel who live in Fiji.

In week 4 I had the opportunity to be project leader, during which I had to organise meetings, delegate tasks and act as liaison with the charity. I enjoyed the role very much, not least because it confronted me with the challenges brought about by remote collaboration. It encouraged me to communicate with each team member as individuals with particular strengths, circumstances and weaknesses.

We used smart goals throughout the project, such as:

Specific targets - to increase vaccination in order to allow parents to work and promote child health

Measurable progress - in number of social media users reached with materials

Achievable goals - created a timeline of when to create infographics by, delegating tasks to make them more manageable

Relevant to the local community - all materials produced were vetted by our Fijian liaison to make sure they were inoffensive, cultural appropriate and effective

Time sensitive - having a rolling change of team leader each week meant that we had a fresh leading perspective constantly allowing us to use our time more effectively

The project challenged me emotionally, especially when receiving personal testimony from people's experiences with covid with many of the informants having lost loved ones. However, it was also a technical challenge producing media using programmes i had previously never used. It was also challenging coordinating meetings with people who were on the other side of the world, which encouraged us to judiciously forward plan and change our working habits to align with theirs.

Overall, ThinkPacific was a rewarding, enjoyable experience enhanced by the hardworking team I was working with both in the UK and in Fiji. I feel both my ability to work alone and as part of a team improved throughout and provides vital experience should I wish to work in the 3rd sector in future, but also gave me transferable skills to be u

tilised across jobs.