Pacific Vigil

23/08/2026

📸 An opportunity worth sharing across the Pacific!

CDRI is inviting photographers worldwide to capture Indigenous knowledge in action, showcasing traditional practices that strengthen resilient infrastructure and climate resilience.

The Pacific has so many powerful examples of this.

From traditional building techniques and coastal protection to water management, ecosystem-based approaches and knowledge passed through generations, our communities have long developed ways of living with climate and disaster risk.

📥 Entry:1 photograph + a brief description
🏆 1st Prize: US$1,000
🥈 2nd Prize:US$600
🥉 3rd Prize:US$400
📅 Deadline:9 October 2026, 23:59 IST

📝 Submit your entry:
https://projects.cdri.world/gallery/indigenous

📖 Competition details:
https://cdri.world/resources/

Our Indigenous knowledge is not only part of our heritage. It continues to provide practical solutions for building resilience today and into the future.

Let’s get the Pacific represented!

22/08/2026

Vasiti speaks with Amit about CDRI’s initiatives supporting climate and disaster-resilient infrastructure, including the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative and grant opportunities available to Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The conversation explores what Pacific Island countries and organizations should consider when developing proposals, especially as infrastructure across the region faces growing climate and disaster risks.

Amit also shares details about CDRI’s photography contest, an opportunity open to anyone interested in capturing stories of infrastructure, resilience, communities, and climate action through photography.

Watch the conversation to learn more about the opportunities available and how the Pacific can get involved.

Vasiti speaks with Amit about CDRI’s initiatives supporting climate...

22/08/2026

Vasiti speaks with Amit about CDRI’s initiatives supporting climate and disaster-resilient infrastructure, including the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative and grant opportunities available to Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The conversation explores what Pacific Island countries and organizations should consider when developing proposals, especially as infrastructure across the region faces growing climate and disaster risks.

Amit also shares details about CDRI’s photography contest, an opportunity open to anyone interested in capturing stories of infrastructure, resilience, communities, and climate action through photography.

https://projects.cdri.world/gallery/indigenous

Watch the conversation to learn more about the opportunities available and how the Pacific can get involved.

https://youtu.be/hirIKsK-7X0

A round mud house in the Kutch desert outlasts the reinforced-concrete building next door when the ground starts shaking. A bridge made of tree roots carries a village across a river in flood. Stepwells have been used for centuries to store water for a community during the dry season. A few decades....

17/08/2026

🎙️ Coming this Friday | The Debrief with Amit Prothi

What opportunities are available for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to strengthen the resilience of their infrastructure?

In this upcoming episode of The Debrief, I sit down with Amit Prothi, Director General of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

In this short snippet, Amit talks about CDRI’s Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative and the grant opportunities available to SIDS, including what countries and organizations should consider when developing proposals.

For Pacific Island countries, where infrastructure is on the frontline of climate change and disaster risk, these are important opportunities to understand and explore.

🎧 Listen in to this preview, and join us for the full conversation this Friday, Pacific Time.

16/08/2026

On World Humanitarian Day, we celebrate the people who continue to serve, lead and make a difference in some of the world’s most challenging environments. 🌍

In this episode of The Debrief, Dr. Helen Durham shares three qualities she believes every humanitarian needs:

Passion. Patience. Persistence.

Three simple words, but powerful lessons drawn from years of humanitarian leadership, negotiation and working across cultures and crises.

🎙️ This World Humanitarian Day, join us for this inspiring conversation with Dr. Helen Durham and hear her reflections on leadership, influence and what it really takes to be a humanitarian.

▶️ Watch the full episode of The Debrief.

https://lnkd.in/gmCpbxfW

13/08/2026

🎙In this episode of The Debrief, Vasiti Soko connects from California with Dr Helen Durham in Australia for a profound conversation about humanitarianism, international law, climate change and building a more resilient Pacific.

Dr Durham is an international lawyer, policy leader and academic with decades of experience in the humanitarian space. She currently serves as CEO of RedR Australia, Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Law School, and is one of five elected members of the Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

She also made history as the first woman and first Australian to serve as Director of International Law and Policy at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

From Australia to California, with the Pacific at the heart of the conversation.

Tune in to this inspiring episode of The Debrief.

In this episode of The Debrief, Vasiti Soko connects from Californi...

11/08/2026

Stay tuned!

We are excited to introduce our next guest on The Pacific Vigil’s The Debrief Podcast. 🎙️

Dr Helen Durham is an international lawyer, policy developer and academic with significant experience in multilateral negotiations and practice in the field. She is CEO of RedR Australia, Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Law School and one of the five elected members of the Standing Commission (the highest decision-making body of the Red Cross and Red Crecent Movement).

Dr Durham also sits on the Board of Geneva Call, is part of a high-level group of experts providing Human Rights advice to META and is widely published, in particular on the thematic of the protection of women during times of armed conflict. As a Senior Fellow for Westpoint Military Academy Lieber’s Institute, she highlights the need to factor the protection of civilians and the provision of humanitarian assistance into planning and implementation of military activities.

Previous to these roles, Dr Durham was the first woman and first Australian to be the Director of International Law and Policy for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 2014 to 2022 in Geneva. This role saw her lead the work of ICRC in multilateral negotiations to increase respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) in Geneva, New York, London and Brussels.

Overseeing a department of over 500 experts (international lawyers, former military officers, diplomats and researchers) she was also involved in field missions in the Middle East, Africa, and
the Asia Pacific region. She has 30 years’ experience in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement including various roles with Australian Red Cross such as the Director of International Law and Strategy and National Manager of International Humanitarian Law. She was Head of Office for ICRC in Australia.

Dr Durham has regularly addressed the Security Council on topics such as cyber warfare, counterterrorism, the protection of civilians in conflict, and is highly experienced in all areas of the media.

With strong knowledge in working in the Pacific region, Dr Durham has served as Legal Adviser to ICRC Pacific delegation, and Director of Research at the Asia Pacific Centre of Military Law at Melbourne Law School.

Dr Durham has a Law/Arts degree, a PhD in international law (Melbourne and New York University), as well as being admitted as a barrister and solicitor, she is well regarded and highly sought for her advice and opinion on pressing humanitarian topics.

Another story. Another journey. Another conversation worth hearing.

07/08/2026

We are excited to introduce our next guest on The Pacific Vigil’s The Debrief Podcast. 🎙️

Dr Helen Durham is an international lawyer, policy developer and academic with significant experience in multilateral negotiations and practice in the field. She is CEO of RedR Australia, Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Law School and one of the five elected members of the Standing Commission (the highest decision-making body of the Red Cross and Red Crecent Movement).

Dr Durham also sits on the Board of Geneva Call, is part of a high-level group of experts providing Human Rights advice to META and is widely published, in particular on the thematic of the protection of women during times of armed conflict. As a Senior Fellow for Westpoint Military Academy Lieber’s Institute, she highlights the need to factor the protection of civilians and the provision of humanitarian assistance into planning and implementation of military activities.

Previous to these roles, Dr Durham was the first woman and first Australian to be the Director of International Law and Policy for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 2014 to 2022 in Geneva. This role saw her lead the work of ICRC in multilateral negotiations to increase respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) in Geneva, New York, London and Brussels.

Overseeing a department of over 500 experts (international lawyers, former military officers, diplomats and researchers) she was also involved in field missions in the Middle East, Africa, and
the Asia Pacific region. She has 30 years’ experience in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement including various roles with Australian Red Cross such as the Director of International Law and Strategy and National Manager of International Humanitarian Law. She was Head of Office for ICRC in Australia.

Dr Durham has regularly addressed the Security Council on topics such as cyber warfare, counterterrorism, the protection of civilians in conflict, and is highly experienced in all areas of the media.

With strong knowledge in working in the Pacific region, Dr Durham has served as Legal Adviser to ICRC Pacific delegation, and Director of Research at the Asia Pacific Centre of Military Law at Melbourne Law School.

Dr Durham has a Law/Arts degree, a PhD in international law (Melbourne and New York University), as well as being admitted as a barrister and solicitor, she is well regarded and highly sought for her advice and opinion on pressing humanitarian topics.

Another story. Another journey. Another conversation worth hearing.

07/08/2026

🎦Episode 1 of The Debrief is out 🎙️

Podcast host Vasiti Soko is with Fiji’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Sakiasi Ditoka, for a conversation that goes beyond politics.

He reflects on his life before Parliament, his experience during the 2006 coup, his tenure as Minister for Disaster Management, and above all, his life as a father.

📌It is almost an hour of trials and tribulations, triumphs, expectations, and the experiences that shaped the man behind the public office.

05/08/2026

“Fiji is open for business, 24 hours…”

The first-ever episode of The Debrief Podcast by Pacific Vigil features Hon. Sakiasi Ditoka, Fiji’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, as he reflects on leadership, humanitarianism, and the experiences that shaped his journey.

The full episode premieres Friday, August 7 at 1:00 PM.