Visions and Voices Submission Guidelines

Summer 2025 Update: Visions & Voices is currently paused and we are not accepting submissions at this time.

The Pacific Islands Development Program’s quarterly publication Visions & Voices welcomes submissions of essays, articles, commentary, and concise pieces that pertain to the Pacific Islands region.

Relevance: Submissions should focus on Pacific Islands-related issues. The Pacific Islands means the places, peoples, and societies within what is understood today as the Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia sub-regions of Oceania. The subject matter should maintain its relevance for a minimum of six months after publication. To reference current priorities, issues, and concerns relevant to the Pacific Islands region, visit the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

Quality: Submissions should be original, balanced, thoughtful, and concise.

Tone: Constructive criticism and analysis of issues that takes into account all relevant viewpoints is welcomed. However, strong political bias, sarcasm, personal attacks, cultural insensitivity, and any form of disparagement is not acceptable.

Accessibility: Submissions should be written for a general audience to understand, not just for specialists.

Length: Submissions must be between 800 to 1,200 words, excluding citations and references.

Style: Spelling should follow the 11th edition of the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Style should follow the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style with two exceptions. The first exception is that languages other than English, especially Indigenous languages, do not need to be italicized. The second exception is that digital journalism and commentary submissions may instead follow the 56th edition of The Associated Press Stylebook.

Citations: Include citations where necessary. Citations should follow the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style unless there is a rational reason to use a different format, such as The Bluebook for legal writing or The Associated Press Stylebook for digital journalism and commentary pieces. Citation formatting should be consistent throughout the document.

AI Transparency: There is a growing consensus among scholarly organizations, including the Committee on Publication Ethics, that artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT or large language models do not fulfill the necessary criteria for authorship, as they lack the capacity to assume ethical and legal responsibility for the content they produce. Thus, as a matter of policy, submissions generated by AI or machine learning tools are not accepted for publication.

Submission: Submit work online via Submittable. Contributors can expect an email notification regarding acceptance or rejection within approximately four to six weeks following the applicable submission deadline. Submissions received after a submission deadline will be considered for the next submission deadline. Contributions focusing on an issue’s thematic focus—as emphasized in the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent—are especially encouraged, though submissions on other Pacific Islands topics are also welcome year-round. For questions or concerns, contact [email protected].

Editorial Rights: The Pacific Islands Development Program decides what gets published and might edit for length and clarity. No submissions are compensated.

Reprints: Previously published pieces are accepted for consideration. Contributors are responsible for providing verification of the required permissions.

Last updated: March 3, 2025

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