WEBC is one of 10 councils under the Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF) and will celebrate its 10th anniversary dinner as a wrap up to the exciting two days of the WIN Convention where delegates can expect to gain a lot of learning, dialogue, and networking opportunities.
The WIN Convention is scheduled for Friday March 24 and on Saturday 25, 2023 at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva. With an expectation of 200 delegates for the WIN Convention, space is filling up fast with more than 150 registrations received.
Those that have to register need to do so before the closing date on March 1.
Here are more speakers who we have featured and will speak at the 2023 WIN Convention.
Lice Movono
Movono is of Gonedau origin from the Yavusa Kama in Buca, Natea and Yavusa Ai Sokula i Rabe of Lovonivonu Cakaudrove and the Rara o Nakelo in Naimalavau, Tailevu. Being a Labasa kid of civil servants, she grew up on Vanua Levu, a privilege she holds dear.
The Suva-based journalist was until November 2022, an independent media content consultant while also being Fiji correspondent for Radio New Zealand, Australian Broadcasting Corporation and The Guardian.
She was for four years producing photographic, print, radio and television content across several other international media such as Agence France Presse, Al Jazeera, The London Times Radio, Getty Images, CNN, BBC, Stuff New, Newshub, Pacific Media Network, Channel 10 Australia and China Central Television. She now is the first ABC staff member serving from Fiji as its correspondent, in a brand new entity called the ABC Pacific Network, a team of five Pacific Island journalists telling Pacific stories from home here in the Pacific directly into the far reaching network of the ABC.
In her early career, Movono was trained at The Fiji Times, a newsroom she still considers her home. She has also worked for The Fiji Sun, The Daily Post, MaiTV and Teivovo Magazine. She took a 10 year break from mainstream in 2005 to work in public relations and communications while raising her family. She believes communities are made stronger when the gap that exists from gender inequality becomes the everyday priority of leaders to address.
She uses her platforms and voice to shine a light on the fact that in the area of media and economic participation, Pacific women rank far below the men when it comes to pay equity or leadership opportunities.
She was a moderator at the 2022 WIN Convention and share her experience, adding “The 2022 WIN inspired me to use my voice, something I don’t always have the courage to do, to make the world a better place. I am grateful to WEBC and FCEF for creating such a positive and fun space for women leaders to share and transfer experiences to other women. “Forums that capture the hopes and dreams of women while providing them with resource persons who are generous, is rare and far in between. So I hope WIN can always be around to give Fijian women that inspiration they need to be part of efforts invigorate our nation — especially for a time such as this.”
Meliki Tuinamuana
Ms Tuinamuana is a partner at KPMG. She has 29 years of experience in the chartered accounting and commercial sectors. Her commercial experience includes being the chief financial officer then the chief operating officer of the Wakaya Group of Companies overseeing the group’s operational and financial aspects in Fiji.
She was head of external affairs at the British American Tobacco for five years where she was responsible for providing strategic leadership to the company’s corporate and regulatory functions to drive sustainability, and to shape, protect and secure the business.
She also serves on a number of business and civil society boards, including Tourism Fiji, the BPO Council, and the Fiji Red Cross Society. She has also served on various committees of the Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants.
She is a current board member of Save the Children, Fiji.
James Sowane
Mr Sowane is the managing director of TEWAKA, a 100 per cent Fijian owned and operated tourism transport and destination management services company. He has 22 years of experience in the tourism industry with a name familiar to most, Pacific Destinations.
However, 2022 saw the renewed energy and vision to spring forth and restore, re-grow with the re-launch of their business with a new Fijian brand that would take them into the “living with COVID-19 era”.
Mr Sowane and his TEWAKA team were recently awarded the 2022 ANZ Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards inbound and transport award in recognition of for his utmost contribution to the tourism industry particularly in the transportation sector.
Michael Mausio
Michael Mausio is a young entrepreneur with a name that is popular in the Fijian Fashion Industry.
A fashion designer at heart with an engineering background, Mr Mausio established the House of Mausio in 2018 who specialises in tailor-made garments as well as corporate uniforms, and this would be one of his four entrepreneurship ventures.
He is also the owner and founder of WABS Engineering, an engineering firm that specialises in working in the oil and petroleum industry primarily with building oil tanks, pipelines as well as other civil works such as building and construction.
Pacific Voyagers is a travel agency that specializes in travelrelated services and primarily focuses on private charters and special packages in both the education and medical sector. This fourth entrepreneurial venture is High Garden and Fortune Acres which is two commercial farms that specialize in growing crops on a commercial scale primarily ginger and vegetables.He runs, owns, and manages all four companies with a team of highly motivated staff and network.He values customer satisfaction and relationships above all else.
He was in the first cohort of MSMEs that participated in the FCEF Business Accelerator Program in 2019 and was also a recipient of the Asian Development Bank 30 under 30 Faces of Fiji.
He is also a member of the Young Entrepreneur Business Council, Fiji Fashion Council, Chairperson of the Fashion Designers Council of Fiji and Trustee of the Fijian Fashion Foundation.
As we look forward to the upcoming Women Invigorating the Nation (WIN) Convention we will feature more speakers. The excitement on the 2nd WIN Convention with the theme “Sustainable Solutions for Success” is building up as now 98 per cent of speakers have confirmed.