Back from the Field: 2025 Grantees

Global Grants 2025: Summaries

“I am looking forward to applying what I have been able to learn from this trip into my workplace, sharing my ideas and techniques learned to train my colleagues helping to create a more modern working environment where we can enjoy our work and deliver quality content to our viewers.”

Daren Julie completed a two-week professional attachment at the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) through the Global Grant programme. His visit coincided with Namibia’s Independence Day and the inauguration of the first female president, offering a unique learning environment. Working with the Outside Broadcast (OB) team, he contributed to setting up live productions and shared his expertise during challenging weather. In the second week, he focused on studio operations, gaining insights into booking systems, set design, and production techniques to apply at the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). The experience supported skills exchange and international collaboration, contributing to innovation and professional development.

“Overall, my visit to Rti was a highly rewarding experience that has left a lasting impact on my career and our organisations. It has inspired me to bring back these insights and apply them to our work at SWI, ensuring we continue to engage and resonate with our diverse audience.”

During the visit to Radio Taiwan International (Rti), Akiko explored ways to strengthen digital journalism in multiple languages. Rti was selected for its strong focus on serving a multicultural audience across 20 languages, aligning closely with the objectives at SWI Swissinfo.ch (SWI). Through meetings with editorial teams, the news department, audience research, and management, Akiko gained valuable insights into how Rti tailor content to diverse cultural groups and uses audience feedback to refine its output. It was especially instructive to observe Rti’s commitment to accurate fact-checked reporting amid challenges posed by disinformation. This experience underscored the complexities of maintaining reliable information in today’s fast-paced media landscape. The visit proved enriching and motivating. Learning from Taiwan’s multilingual public media approach inspired new ideas for innovative storytelling and strategies to enhance audience engagement at SWI. 

“One of the challenges that the team and I had to face was the weather. There was a lot of heavy rain and flash floods making our working schedule hectic causing us to work late into the night just to get things done.  I loved the energy of the team; they were all willing to learn from me as much as I was learning from them.” 

Mark visited the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to explore their operational strategies, innovations, and challenges in public broadcasting. His objectives were to understand SABC’s digital content distribution, community engagement efforts, and TV licensing systems. During his visit, Mark engaged with several departments, including TV-OB, Radio, IT, Contribution & Distribution (SENTECH), Engineering, Planning and Execution, Governance, Risk & Compliance, and Digital Media. He was impressed by SABC’s use of OTT platforms, multilingual broadcasting, and impactful CSR initiatives. SABC’s proposals to adopt a levy-based licensing model stood out. Mark believes these insights can help enhance GBC’s services and recommends PMA advocate clearer monetisation policies with major tech platforms.

“The visit exceeded my expectations, offering firsthand insight into the operations, values, and evolving strategies of Taiwan’s public media—especially in the areas of news and documentary production and distribution. I engaged with key journalists, producers, and public media executives at PTS and TaiwanPlus.” 

Jeerapa visited PTS in Taiwan and its English-language platform, TaiwanPlus, to explore their operational strategies and editorial approaches, which closely mirror Thai PBS World. Her objectives were to understand how PTS attracts younger audiences, applies agenda-setting strategies, and engages viewers across platforms.  

During her visit, Jeerapa examined their storytelling techniques, especially how they adapt and repackage content for different formats and audience preferences. She was particularly impressed by PTS’s success in producing impactful documentaries and presenting long-form content in accessible ways. Jeerapa believes these insights will help strengthen her news reporting and enhance the production quality of her upcoming documentary series for Thai PBS World.

“One of the most memorable experiences was being invited for a live studio interview by a Samoan announcer. This opportunity allowed me to share insights about my role as a Radio Journalist in Fiji and to speak more broadly about the mission and operations of the Fijian Broadcasting Corporation.” 

Tokasa Rainima, Multimedia Journalist – Itaukei at the Fijian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), undertook a professional attachment at the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) in Sydney, Australia. The visit provided insight into SBS’s editorial standards, multicultural programming, and ethical journalism practices. Highlights included SBS Code of Practice training, a live studio interview, and audience participation in the programme Insight. Tokasa’s experience fostered knowledge exchange, strengthened regional media collaboration, and will support professional development and newsroom innovation at FBC. 

“The most rewarding aspect of my visit to RTM was gaining a comprehensive understanding of how digital transformation can be effectively planned, managed, and implemented within a public service broadcaster. Observing RTM’s integration of the IDEAL system – particularly their structured workflow, stakeholder engagement, and commitment to capacity building were deeply insightful.” 

During a professional development visit to Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), Amdad explored their award-winning IDEAL system – an advanced digital archiving solution. RTM was chosen for its leadership in digital transformation, offering valuable lessons for Bangladesh Betar (BB). Engaging with RTM’s technical teams and IDEAL Project Director, he gained insights into workflow automation, content digitisation, and centralised archiving. The visit bridged academic learning with real-world innovation and strengthened Amdad’s confidence to lead digital change at BB, inspiring new strategies and professional connections to support public broadcasting reform in Bangladesh.

“This visit not only gave me valuable benchmarking and knowledge transfer, but also new ideas for how RTM might approach archive monetisation and preservation with more creativity and collaboration. I also appreciated NHK’s openness, and our exchange of practices was mutually enriching.” 

Amirah’s project focused on modernising media archive management by leveraging AI and exploring sustainable monetisation strategies tailored for public broadcasters. In her role overseeing video and audio archives, she aims to transform legacy workflows into future-ready systems. Amirah chose NHK in Japan because it stands as a global benchmark in media innovation, cultural preservation, and cutting-edge archiving solutions.  

The visit to NHK was an exceptional experience – welcoming, engaging and intellectually enriching. Day one centred around NHK’s sophisticated archiving infrastructure and AI-driven automation, while day two explored their monetisation framework, including the “NHK on Demand” service. Amirah was grateful to witness NHK’s disciplined and creative work culture. She found their in-house research team develop proprietary tools – such as an AI colouring system and on-premises machine learning models – customised to their operational needs. 

Amirah found the experience deeply inspiring, professionally empowering and mutually beneficial. The visit has strengthened her vision for archiving transformation, and she hopes to return one day to explore meaningful collaboration with NHK. 

“In terms of professional development, I thoroughly enjoyed my tour. I feel inspired by RTM’s professionalism and dedication to work.  I will try to incorporate ideas such as the use of a software and reporter appointment process in my project titled: Social Media Strategic Program Development. My interaction with officials of RTM was very cordial. I could connect with their subjects and mode of operations as the two countries share similarities in people’s choice and culture.” 

Syeda’s project, titled ‘Social Media Strategic Program Development,’ aims to create a media policy with clear guidelines for content creation and dissemination across social media platforms. She visited Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) due to its effective integration of social media alongside traditional broadcasting. RTM maintains a strong presence on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram Reels, supported by dedicated staff and technical resources.  

As Bangladesh Betar plans to develop their focus on social media, Syeda’s visit to RTM was intended to observe and learn from their best practices. Malaysia’s proximity to Bangladesh also made the visit more feasible.  

The three-day visit proved highly informative. RTM officials were supportive, assigning a guide to assist Syeda throughout. She observed how RTM repurposes traditional content for digital platforms and uses content management software, which was new and insightful for her. Discussions with both senior and mid-level staff provided valuable understanding of their operations. 

“Throughout these engagements, I actively worked on presenting our National Indigenous Strategy and contributing to collaborative workshops alongside the host organisation ‘s Indigenous Strategies team, SR Sámi Rádio, and CBC/Radio–Canada colleagues. Key takeaways included a profound understanding of the host organisation’s nuanced Indigenous engagement approach, innovative digital storytelling through youth podcasting, and the political-cultural dynamics within the Sámi community.” 

Lenard’s recent project aimed to explore Indigenous youth engagement and to enhance CBC/Radio-Canada’s National Indigenous Strategy, to foster a reciprocal knowledge exchange and lay groundwork for a future Indigenous Youth Exchange among PMA members, amplifying Indigenous voices globally. Day 1 featured presentations on Indigenous broadcasting strategies from Swedish Radio (SR) Sámi Rádio and CBC/Radio-Canada, including Lenard’s own on engaging Indigenous youth. They explored innovative youth podcasts and concluded with a workshop. Day 2 included visits to the Sámi Parliament, Sámi Theatre, a meeting with a reindeer herder, and the LKAB underground mine. 

Lenard collaborated with Indigenous strategy leads, community representatives, and presenters Thomas Sarri (SR) and Robert Doane (CBC/Radio-Canada). This offered profound insights into the host’s Indigenous engagement, programming, and innovative digital storytelling. The cross-cultural dialogues reinforced the global interconnectedness of Indigenous voices. For Lenard, this exchange deepened his commitment to amplifying Indigenous narratives and fostering inclusive media practices, providing new tools and perspectives for future advocacy. 

Trainer Grants 2025: Summaries

Indigenous Archive Knowledge Exchange: Tasha James from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) visited CBC/Radio-Canada to train and collaborate on Indigenous archiving and language revitalisation. She shared ABC’s approaches to metadata governance, ethical cataloguing, and community-led access through workshops and presentations. The exchange inspired several initiatives in Canada and will inform future ABC training and programme development. Ongoing collaboration between the organisations is planned to support continued knowledge sharing and cross-cultural learning.

Strengthening Broadcasting Skills in the Cayman Islands: Radio Cayman staff participated in a bespoke virtual training programme led by experienced BBC broadcaster Andrew Edwards. The sessions focused on enhancing key broadcasting skills including pace, clarity, storytelling, and writing for radio, all tailored to staffexperience levels. One-to-one coaching supported both new recruits and internal capacity-building through HR. The training has already led to improved on-air performance and reinforced Radio Cayman’s commitment to high-quality, audience-centred broadcasting, with ongoing communication established to support further development.

Responsible AI for Public Media in the Pacific: PMA partnered with the South African-based AI consultancy, Develop AI, to deliver a three-part online workshop series tailored to the needs of Pacificpublic media organisations. Led by journalist Paul McNally, with guest input from ABC Australia, the training explored ethical AI use, disinformation, audience engagement, and the cultural impacts of AI. Participants from 11 regional broadcasters engaged in interactive modules, with constructive feedback and calls for ongoing dialogue. The initiative laid the groundwork for future collaboration, internal training, and the co-creation of adaptable AI guidelines for Pacific media.