Fiji Day Reflection: ‘What Kind of Fiji Will We Build Next?’

by: Veima Bower, Business Development Lead, Sovereign Oceans

Caption: Fijians of all generations coming together on Fiji Day 2026 to celebrate national pride, unity and community spirit – a reminder of the values that connect us and the shared responsibility we have in shaping Fiji’s future.

Image source: Fiji Government.

Every Fiji Day, we are invited to look back at how far we have come.

Since independence in 1970, Fiji has undergone extraordinary change. We have built institutions, expanded infrastructure and access to education and health services, diversified our economy, developed new industries, strengthened our international presence, become internationally competitive in sports, produced exceptional athletes who have represented Fiji on the world stage, and emerged as a respected voice on issues extending from climate change and oceans to peacekeeping and regional leadership.

We have also endured political upheaval, economic shocks, disasters caused by natural hazards, a global pandemic and the increasing impacts of climate change.

Still, Fiji continues to move forward. Progress while uneven, still deserves to be celebrated.

Perhaps Fiji Day should also be an opportunity to ask a ‘Beyond Today’ question: ‘What does progress look like for the next generation of Fiji?’

Progress is more than what we build

We often understand national development through what can be counted: economic growth, jobs, roads, buildings, investment, infrastructure and access to services.

These things matter, but the quality of a nation is also shaped by intangible things that are much harder to measure:

• How do we treat one another?

• How much do we trust one another?

• Do we feel responsible for the communities and public spaces we share?

• Do women and girls feel respected in public spaces?

• Do we consider how our individual behaviour affects everyone around us?

  
  

These may appear to be trivial questions compared with the major economic and development priorities and challenges facing a country. However, they matter because development is ultimately experienced by people.

They also become increasingly important as we confront social challenges that affect everyday life in Fiji — from domestic and other forms of violence and drug-related harm, to littering and disregard for shared spaces, unkindness and disrespect to cyberbullying and harassment.

These are complex issues with many contributing factors, but together they invite us to look more closely at our social fabric and social cohesion. These are the values, relationships, behaviours, trust and sense of shared responsibility that help hold a society together.

A prosperous country where people increasingly distrust one another, feel unsafe, disrespect shared spaces or become disconnected from their communities would still have an important development ailment to address.

This thinking is also consistent with Fiji's broader development ambitions. The National Development Plan 2025–2029 and Vision 2050 places people at the centre of development and envision getting the basics right as essential to “A Prosperous, Inclusive and Sustainable Nation…aspiring to bring a better quality of life for all Fijians by 2050.”

Economic progress can improve our standard of living, but being courteous and considerate of our fellow citizens are basic fundamentals of strong social cohesion that help shape our quality of life.

Looking at the social fabric of Fiji

At Sovereign Oceans, we are committed to raising the quality of life of individuals, families, communities, teams, organisations and nations by inspiring, empowering and promoting High-Road Development through High-Road Leadership.

High-Road Development is the outcome of deliberate, sustained leadership choices that prioritise people, institutions and long-term value creation over short-term political or economic gains. Economies on a high-road pathway compete on value rather than cost. They invest heavily in education, skills innovation, and institutional capacity. They uphold labour standards, environmental protections and social contracts not as constraints but as foundations for long-term competitiveness whereby people, communities, relationships and the social fabric thrive. At the heart of high-road development - are its people.

It recognises that a nation's development is inseparable from the development of its people. This led us to begin looking more closely at something that receives comparatively little attention in conversations about development and is placed in the ‘too hard’ basket: our everyday social behaviours and the social norms that influence them.

We conducted desk research on social issues that were of national concern; we also examined public discourse, particularly online, and conducted a small exploratory survey to better understand how people perceive everyday behaviour, community values and social responsibility in Fiji.

While our survey involved fewer than 100 participants and cannot be considered representative of Fiji as a whole, the responses raised questions worth exploring.

One of the clearest findings was a perception that Fiji may have progressed in many areas, while some aspects of our everyday social behaviour have moved in the opposite direction. Among the respondents, 95.8 per cent felt everyday courtesy and consideration had declined compared with five years ago, while 87.5 per cent perceived a decline compared with ten years ago.

This perception was reflected elsewhere in the survey: 87.5 per cent identified respect as a value they felt was lacking in Fiji today, while 79 per cent identified civic pride.

Yet the same research revealed something equally important. When asked what Fiji remains strong in, community spirit emerged as one of the most highly valued attributes, identified by 75 per cent of respondents.

And 96 per cent of respondents supported greater public encouragement of kindness and consideration.

These suggest an important possibility: our values have not disappeared, but they may have weakened or not always reflected in how we behave. The challenge, then, is to encourage, promote and bring those values more consistently into our everyday actions and strengthen the social norms that reinforce them.

The Fiji spirit is still here

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Caption: Fijians coming together in support of our national rugby team, reflecting the strong sense of community, unity and national pride that brings us together.

Image sources: Sovereign Oceans and X.

We know Fiji has an extraordinary capacity and heart for community. We see it when communities rally around families experiencing hardship, after natural disasters and especially when Fiji takes the international sporting stage – hundreds of thousands of people become united as one.

Community and national pride are not values we need to introduce to Fiji. They are already part of who we are. We also extend this spirit to those who visit our shores, through the warmth and hospitality Fiji is known for. The opportunity is to ensure these same values are just as visible in how we treat one another in all aspects of our lives, every day.

The question is how do we encourage those values to appear more consistently in the ordinary moments of everyday life?

-       When we are driving.

-       When we are waiting in a queue.

-       When we use a shared public space.

-       When we interact with someone different from ourselves.

-       When we disagree.

-       When we post online.

-       When nobody is watching.

From values to action

These findings have led us at Sovereign Oceans to ask, ‘how do we strengthen the positive values already present in our communities and encourage them to become more visible in everyday life?’

From this question, we developed CONSIDER FIJI, a courtesy and consideration change model encouraging simple, everyday behaviours that, when repeated and reinforced, can help shape positive social norms, strengthen citizenship, community wellbeing and family values, and ultimately contribute to stronger social cohesion.

Encouragement is only part of the equation. Strong social norms also create social accountability — where we hold ourselves and one another to the standards we want to see in our communities. Government has an essential role in establishing laws and standards, but not every everyday behaviour can, or should, depend on regulation or enforcement.

The private sector also has an important role to play. Businesses are not separate from society, they employ our people, serve our families and communities, shape everyday experiences and have significant reach and influence over culture and social norms. While government provides the policy, regulatory and institutional foundations for national development, the private sector can help reinforce positive social norms by using its creativity, resources, platforms and everyday touchpoints to encourage positive behaviours.

This is central to the CONSIDER FIJI model: a private sector-led approach that harnesses the reach, resources, creativity and influence of businesses to make positive, respectful and considerate behaviours visible, engaging and exciting to practice— finding creative ways to encourage everyday action while working alongside government, communities and individuals to strengthen shared values and positive social norms.

Some dates mark an occasion. Others mark the future we want. 10 October 2026, is both. Today, on Fiji Day, Sovereign Oceans launches CONSIDER FIJI.

Sovereign Oceans is rallying all partners across all sectors, who share our vision for a better Fiji and believe that investing in CONSIDER FIJI is also investing in our nation’s future, to play a part in this shared responsibility. We are encouraging all Fijians to do the same.

Ultimately, strengthening social cohesion begins with everyone playing their part - we all have a role to play.

Leadership does not always come with a title

We often think of leaders as Prime Ministers, chief executives, community leaders, managers or people with formal authority.

Leadership can also be demonstrated through behaviour. When someone chooses patience over aggression, treats another person with dignity despite disagreement, takes responsibility for a shared space, disposes rubbish appropriately, they lead.

These actions may never make the news. But multiplied across families, households, workplaces and communities, they help determine what behaviours become normal and shape the Fiji we experience.

Positive social change does not only require leadership at the top. It requires each of us to recognise our capacity to lead through our everyday actions.

Our next chapter

Fifty-six years after independence, Fiji has much to be proud of. But every generation also inherits the responsibility of deciding what comes next.

Our early research gives us reason for optimism. Community is still here. Pride is still here. The desire for kindness and consideration is still here. Perhaps these values simply need to be encouraged more.

So, this Fiji Day, as we celebrate how far we have come, we should also ask, ‘What kind of Fiji do we want to build next, and what are we willing to invest, individually and collectively, to make that future possible?’

Nation-building is not only the responsibility of governments, institutions or those with titles. Every one of us can be a leader for positive social change and the small decisions we make every day can help shape the Fiji we leave to the next generation if not our own.