The first UK/Fiji Climate Symposium 2026 was delivered by Fiji Society in partnership with the Fiji High Commission UK, Chevening Scholars, Liverpool City Council and Nutkhut. The symposium brought together government, academia, civil society, tourism and sport to discuss Fiji’s climate leadership ahead of the pre-COP meeting Fiji will host in October.

 

For the Fiji Society (UK), this was a demonstration of what people-to-people diplomacy can achieve. We see our role as a bridge: carrying Fiji’s voice, knowledge and priorities into rooms and institutions across the UK, and carrying the relationships and momentum built here back home to Fiji.

The symposium was developed and presented as part of the Nations Championship Tier 1 fixtures, where each host city carried its own theme – trade and business in Cardiff, climate in Liverpool and veterans in Edinburgh.

The session was moderated and facilitated by Mr Ajay Chhabra, Chair of Fiji Society, who steered a range of conversations spanning government, academia, tourism and sport. Opening proceedings, H.E. Mr Jovilisi Suveinakama, High Commissioner of Fiji to the United Kingdom, set out just how much Fiji has already committed to on the world stage.

“Fiji has never waited to be told the sea is rising. We have been building our response for years, and days like today show us we do not build it alone.”

H.E. Mr Jovilisi Suveinakama, High Commissioner of Fiji to the United Kingdom

One thread stood out clearly through the day’s discussions: indigenous knowledge is not a symbolic add-on to climate policy, it is a genuine tool. Traditional Fijian practices around ocean stewardship, food security and community adaptation offer solutions the world urgently needs, and Fiji’s voice on this front is one the international community should be listening to closely. Mr Mxolisi Sibanda of the Commonwealth Secretariat put it simply.

“The answers to climate resilience are not only found in laboratories. They are found in the stories, the practices and the wisdom that Pacific communities have carried for generations. We simply need to listen.”

Mr Mxolisi Sibanda, Adviser on Climate Change, Commonwealth Secretariat

Dr Mark Charlton of De Montfort University picked up the same thread, reflecting on what the UK and Fiji stand to gain from learning in both directions.

“Real progress on climate happens when knowledge travels both ways. The UK has resources and research, Fiji has generations of lived experience – bringing those together, in rooms like this one, is where the real work begins.”

Dr Mark Charlton, UN Academic Impact SDG Chair Lead, De Montfort University

With Fiji rugby’s global profile, and the symposium taking place alongside the Nations Championship, there is real potential to turn Fiji’s rugby players into ambassadors for climate action, using the reach and credibility of the sport to carry the Pacific’s message to entirely new audiences who might never engage with a climate conference, but who will always watch Fiji play. Mr Koli Sewabu, Chief Executive Officer of Fiji Rugby Union, spoke to exactly that ambition.

“Fijian rugby has always carried our people with it, on and off the field. Now we want it to carry our environment too.”

Mr Koli Sewabu, Chief Executive Officer, Fiji Rugby Union

Mr Julian Vulakoro, Fiji’s Ambassador for Sport in France and Europe, put it simply.

“Our players are ambassadors. Every match is a chance to carry that message a little further.”

Mr Julian Vulakoro, Fiji’s Ambassador for Sport in France and Europe

Perhaps the most exciting opportunity to emerge from the day was the intersection of sport and climate advocacy. Jane West offered a perspective from the tourism sector.

“Travellers are no longer just asking what a destination offers, they’re asking what it protects. Fiji has an opportunity to lead on that, not follow, and tourism and sport combined have to be part of how we tell that story.”

Ms Jane West, Tourism Fiji

Mr Avaneesh Raman, Chevening Scholar 2025/26 and Programme Lead, spoke passionately about gender-inclusive leadership.

“If there’s one ambition I take from today, it’s this: we need more women at the forefront of climate security solutions in the Pacific, shaping the answers, not just responding to the problem.”

Mr Avaneesh Raman, Chevening Scholar 2025/26 and Programme Lead

Off the back of the day’s conversations, Fiji Society (UK) is keen to see Fiji Rugby explore next steps with key partners across tourism, academia and government, to turn this intersection of sport, sustainability and diplomacy into something lasting – not a one-off moment, but a genuine platform.

As Ajay reflected afterwards, it was the mix of people in the room that made the day what it was.

“It was never about the numbers in the room. It was about having the right people in the room, and the quality of the conversations that followed – a High Commissioner, an academic, a rugby chair, board member and chief executive, and an adviser to the Commonwealth, all speaking to each other. That is the strength of convening: policy expertise sitting alongside indigenous knowledge, as equals.”

Mr Ajay Chhabra, Chair, Fiji Society (UK)

We are enormously grateful to everyone who contributed to such a rich and wide-ranging conversation: H.E. Mr Jovilisi Suveinakama, Mr Mxolisi Sibanda,
Ms Jane West of Tourism Fiji, Dr Mark Charlton, Mr Koli Sewabu, Mr Julian Vulakoro and Mr Avaneesh Raman. A special thank you to Avaneesh, whose work behind the scenes as Programme Lead helped bring this whole event together.

 

This symposium is one moment in a much bigger year for the Pacific voice on the world stage. With Fiji’s pre-COP meeting in October, CHOGM in Antigua and Barbuda this November, and
COP31 and the Commonwealth Games on the horizon, momentum is building.

The Fiji Society (UK) will continue doing what we do best: connecting people, carrying Fiji’s message and building the relationships that turn conversations like today’s into lasting action.