Ulamila Kurai Wragg born 18 June 1968 is a Fijian journalist currently based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.[1]
Personal life
editWragg was born in Natewa, Fiji, and is the daughter of the late Fijian Chief Ratu Tevita Vakalalabure (the Vunivalu of Natewa) and Nooroa Edna Tupuna Strickland (of the Tearetoa and Strickland families of Aitutaki, Cook Islands).[2] She is the younger sister of former politician Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure. She was educated at Adi Cakobau School and Rotorua Girls High School (NZ) before pursuing higher education at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, University of Otago and University of Canterbury, both in New Zealand .[2] She moved to the Cook Islands after the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and married Dr Graham Wragg.[2] The couple have four children - Adi Tara Chloe-Ane, Henry, Jean and Ratu Tevita.[2] The family resides in Vaima'anga, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
Career
editWragg's career as a journalist in the Pacific region spans over twenty years as of 2008.[3] Her first job was as a writer with Rubine Public Relations Company, in Suva, Fiji.[3] She next took a position as a reporter for Communications Fiji, Ltd., which is Fiji's largest commercial radio company.[3]
Wragg was hired by publisher Floyd Takeuchi as a senior reporter for The Daily Post.[3] Following a stint at The Daily Post, Wragg took posts as a sub-editor at both the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun.[3] Additionally, Wragg led a team which developed the Fiji Sun's Sunday Magazine.[3]
Wragg relocated to the Cook Islands to take a position as a writer with the Pitt Media Group.[3] She also joined the Cook Islands News as a reporter.[3] Wragg was later promoted to deputy editor of the Cook Islands News, a position she held until her departure from the newspaper in May 2008.[3] Wragg has also worked as a correspondent for Radio Australia in the Cook Islands.[1]
On October 1, 2008, Floyd Takeuchi, the publisher of Pacific Magazine, appointed Wragg as the Managing Editor of Pacific Magazine. She replaced editor Giff Johnson, who had supervised Pacific Magazine's transition from a print publication to a strictly online magazine.[1] Takeuchi had previously hired Wragg as a reporter The Daily Post earlier in her career.[3] Wragg had also worked as Pacific Magazine's Cook Islands correspondent before her appointment as its editor.[1] Takeuchi praised Wragg, saying, "I’m extremely pleased that Ulamila Wragg is joining us as Managing Editor...she’s one of the finest journalists working in the region."
Pacific Magazine suspended its operations on January 1, 2009, citing the ongoing financial crisis of 2007–2010 and a decline in advertising revenue.
In December 2008, Wragg co-founded the Pacific NGO "WAVE" (Woman Advancing a Vision of Empowerment) with the Cook Islands-born journalist Lisa Williams. WAVE is a not-for-profit Pacific network with three thematic areas: climate change, HIV/Aids and Violence Against Women.[4]
Since 2009, Wragg has been part of the Cook Islands' delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Ulamila is new magazine editor". Fiji Sun. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d Vasiti Ritova (14 September 2009). "Creating waves for the Pacific". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Ulamila Kurai Wragg Named Managing Editor Of Pacific Magazine". Pacific Magazine (cache). 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2009-01-24.[dead link]
- ^ "Pacific journalist takes gender, climate advocacy to New York". Pacific Scoop. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "Delegate Profile: Ulamila Wragg, the Cook Islands". WeDo. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2020.