Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu have been undergoing tremendous cultural and social change as they are swept by the currents of modernization. In both countries the cultural heritage has not been appropriately safeguarded and is endangered. Moreover, because research on these countries' cultural heritage has been carried out by Western scholars and experts, there are few local human resources. History education in particular has lagged since independence, and there is a need to both retrieve history and inform educators of it.
In 1996 SPF began supporting a pilot training project in Vanuatu. In 2001 a full-fledged cultural heritage training project was initiated in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. It focused on training for cultural heritage professionals and community educational activities, making use of radio, the press, the Internet, and other multimedia tools.
The activities in Papua New Guinea were on the islands of New Ireland, Manus, and Bougainville; those in Vanuatu took place on and around Malakula. Gaining understanding and official approval from central governments and local communities was the first order of business. Over the three years of the project a cumulative total of almost 200 people involved in the protection and management of cultural heritage took part in field studies. Information about the field studies and Melanesian prehistory was widely publicized using special programs on radio, feature articles in newspapers, and lecture meetings in local schools and communities. In the project's second year three Japanese specialists, one each from Sophia University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Hawaii, and a young researcher from Taiwan studying at Chiba University shared their expertise regarding scholarly research and ways in which the local community can contribute to the protection and management of cultural heritage.
This year, cultural heritage workshops were held on Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, and Vao Island, Vanuatu, and field training for archaeological excavations was provided. Among the activities in the area of community education, workshops were held in elementary, middle, and high schools, and educational materials were distributed and evaluated. These teaching aids were maps of the Pacific and a feature edition of Wave of Pacifika, a newsletter published by the Fund, on the ancient Lapita culture. Two publications were compiled as fruits of the project for the edification of schoolteachers and community residents: a comic book on archaeology and a book on Melanesian prehistory. They are to be published in English, French, Bislama, and Pidgin English editions. In addition, two outside experts, Professor Matthew Spriggs from the Australian National University and Dr. Jim Specht, a research fellow at the Australian Museum, conducted evaluations of the project. The texts of their reports and other information on the project results are being electronically distributed (www.yashinomi.to).