As part of its civic engagement programme, PiPP is pioneering a new initiative – MP Face to Face – as a way of bridging the gap between politicians and voters.

MP Face to Face is an opportunity for the electorate to meet their elected MPs in a special forum being held on Tanna on July 15. For the first time, all 8 MPs from Tafea province will come together for a public forum to discuss better ways of co-ordinating local, provincial and national governance. Across Melanesia, letters-to-the-editor pages are full every day with voters complaining they only see their elected MPs in the run up to elections. At the same time, are voters expecting too much of their MPs who are often caught up with demands to address local issues when they should be concentrating on national issues? What are the roles of elected officials at local, provincial and national level?

With elections looming in PNG and Vanuatu next year, PiPP aims to highlight civic awareness with a gathering of MPs and communities at the provincial level to better inform and invigorate the democracy process, manage voter expectations and bring more accountability to the role played by MPs.

The first forum will be held at the Nikolaten Lenakel on Friday July 15 from 10am to 2pm, welcome to all. Radio Vanuatu will broadcast the event live and film it for a later tv screening.