South-West Pacific Cultural Heritage Training Program

SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC CULTURAL HERITAGE TRAINING PROGRAM 2001-2003

Dr Glenn R. Summerhayes and Stuart Bedford Australian National University

PLANNING PAPER ON DISTANCE EDUCATION IN CULTURAL HERITAGE TRAINING Distance Education will play an important role in setting up and implementing cultural heritage training programs. As noted in the proposal, the objectives of this program are to train nationals of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu in the following areas of cultural heritage management:

1) Identification and recording of cultural and archaeological sites; 2) Archaeological assessment and excavation techniques; 3) Heightening public awareness of cultural and archaeological sites; 4) Production and distribution of reports throughout the community; 5) Development of cultural heritage management policy. 6) Development of cultural heritage data base

The success in preserving the cultural heritage for island nations lies in education and information. This project covers three areas listed in the SPINF guidelines:

1. Projects to enhance the quality of existing distance education programs 2. Projects aimed at newly developing education programs 3. Projects aimed at promoting understanding of widely defined distance education activities

Firstly, this project will take the existing managers of cultural heritage from their respective cultural institutions in Port Moresby and Port Vila, and update their skills and knowledge base in heritage management, and build upon their interaction with education providers such as secondary school systems and provincial centres of continuing education. This will be done by a series of workshops and fieldwork training, including the development of a heritage web page. This will be balanced with research into the heritage of their respective nations through archaeological excavations.

Secondly, this project will incorporate the existing structures outlined above to develop a new education program on cultural heritage management incorporating cultural officers from each province of Papua New Guinea, and cultural field workers in Vanuatu. Also involved with be members of the local area government and provincial government representatives. Participants will be brought together in their respective countries for a series of workshops and fieldwork programs in cultural heritage management. Within Papua New Guinea this will take place in New Ireland Province, while in Vanuatu it will he held initially on Malekula. Apart from introducing the participants to archaeological research, cultural heritage concepts and values, a major aim here is getting the results of cultural heritage back to the community. This involves training the trainees in presenting results to schools, the local community, and using the mediums of radio and newspapers. Within New Ireland Province, the following High Schools have agreed to participate in our program: Utu, Mangaai, Medina, Mongup and Namatanai. Radio New Ireland and the local newspaper representatives will also participate. Within Vanuatu, the Cultural Centre will be arranging for the participation of local schools and media outlets. An outcome of this training is not only an awareness of cultural heritage issues but also an implementation of a management plan that incorporates community involvement through these cultural officers. I am personally keen to see the trainees involved in radio programs, such as a weekly radio program on Provincial and National cultural heritage issues. This is a form of distance education in getting pertinent information to local communities and teachers in the remote areas of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. The trainees will also be trained in the internet in order to liaise not only with their cultural institutions, but also with centres of excellence in heritage training, such as the Australian National University. Internet training in New Guinea will be provided in New Ireland through the Office of Tourism and Culture, Kavieng, and in Vanuatu through the Culture Centre. The New Ireland National High School in Namatanai has a computer lab, and this will also be utilised in our training. I have been in consultation with the Centre for Continuing Education from Kavieng in respect of broadening our focus by including their centre in heritage training. The centres, which are spread across PNG, focus on providing distance education to schoolteachers across their provinces. They mainly communicate through the postal services as many of their clients teach in remote schools. Yet, we can provide updates to these Centres, using the internet. From there they can send the information to the hundred of schools using the radio or post.

Thirdly, this project aims to provide a linkage between not only the centres of excellence in heritage management and the Cultural Institutions of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, but also with the cultural officers within the far flung provinces of Papua New Guinea, or island of Vanuatu, and the education sector of these island nations. It is our intention to promote heritage matters to the secondary and continuing education sector though participation in our workshops and fieldwork session, and providing updates on the internet not only to the schools that have access to the net, but also centres of continuing education that provide information to the more remote areas of community teaching. To facilitate these linkages it is intended to construct a Heritage web page in conjunction with the National Museum and Art Gallery of Papua New Guinea. Within the Australian National University we have facilities for setting up internet sites from remote areas such as a satellite computer link/telephone and the experience from the 'fieldscreen' project in the development of digital compression technology for sending photo's and other large files over the internet. A web page already exists for the Vanuatu Culture Centre, and this has been maintained by the Australian National University. It is intended to provide the required expertise to transfer the maintenance and management of this to the culture centre. This allows these cultural institutions to be independent in constructing and maintaining their linkages with distance education providers in the region.

In conclusion, the success of this project lies in training and education incorporating cultural institutions, local level governments, the education sector, and media outlets. Distance education is crucial in this projects success.

Find a timetable for fieldwork in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu at Appendix A and B respectively. The timetables are slightly different due to the different needs of the two countries. ADDITIONAL FUNDS REQUIRED FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION:

Additional funds of AUS$10,000 per annum are requested for the hire of PC’s for both the National Museum and Art Gallery of Papua New Guinea and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre. All training will be provided by Dr Glenn Summerhayes and Stuart Bedford.

Dr Glenn R. Summerhayes Department of Archaeology and Anthropology The Faculties Australian National University Canberra ACT AUSTRALIA APPENDIX A Training Schedule, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea

WEEK 1 Arrive Kavieng Kavieng Introduction to Kavieng, the cultural centre, research committee and the administration, the local University Centre for continuing education, Heritage and the internet Leave Kavieng and arrive Tabar Tabar Introduction to Tabar, discussions with local government about local cultural heritage, workshop sessions on PNG heritage legislation, what is heritage, managing heritage and custom. The role of the local level government and heritage legislation. WEEK 2 Tabar Excavating archaeological sites – teaching archaeological technique.

WEEK 3 Tabar Finish excavating and start the cultural heritage surveying exercise

WEEK 4 Tabar Return to Kavieng, workshop on the internet. Leave Tabar and arrive Heritage and the provincial government; Heritage and the National Kavieng Government Kavieng Heritage and the media; Heritage and the school curriculum

Continuing Moresby Developing the heritage web page at the National Museum

NEW IRELAND

A. Kavieng

One and a half weeks is allocated to cover the following topics: i. Heritage and the media ii. Heritage and the school curriculum iii. Heritage and the National and Provincial Governments responsibilities iv. Community liaison and negotiation v. Heritage and the internet

Another two days were allocated for Kavieng: one each for arriving and leaving the province, the rest for training.

BEFORE EXCAVATIONS AND SURVEY Day One: Introduction to Kavieng, the cultural centre the research committee, and the government. As applications for research must be examined and meet the approval of the research committee and the Provincial Secretary, arrangements will be made for the trainees to meet the Governor, the Provincial Secretary, and the Research Committee. Informal talks on the processes involved for research and the provincial perspective on cultural heritage matters will be undertaken at the Provincial Culture Centre. Day Two: A guided tour of the Kavieng district and its cultural heritage. The Cultural Centre/ Dept of Fisheries have offered use of their vehicle and boat. Places to examine include: a) archaeological sites of the Kavieng area, including Lapita deposits at the nearby Bagail cemetery, and recent eroded burials on nearby Nusa Island, b) local cultural heritage and tourism areas, c) Historic heritage from Kavieng: Bulominski’s grave (a famous German administrator at the turn of the century), the cultural remains kept at Kavieng of the Marquis de Ray’s failed attempt at colonisation, the fortifications of Kavieng built during the last war, and the local cemetery. d) An introduction to the internet will be given, with a demonstration of web pages from Australia and Vanuatu. Hands on demonstration will be encouraged.

Topics such as Heritage and the National and Provincial Governments responsibilities plus Community liaison and negotiation will be presented and outlined in these talks and discussions.

AFTER EXCAVATIONS AND SURVEY Heritage and the media. The morning will be spent at the Provincial radio station. After a guided tour, a seminar on the role of the radio media will be undertaken, followed by the recording of a “real” radio cultural program outlining the role of archaeology, the objectives of the training program, and the results of the excavations and survey. The afternoon will be spent with the local “print” media representative. It is intended to spend the afternoon writing a press release for the national newspapers.

Heritage and the school curriculum. The trainees will participate in the presentation of the field school results to the students and teachers. Experience over five years in New Ireland has demonstrated that half a day at each school is sufficient. These schools are starved of up to date information on the archaeology of the country. Visiting these schools is a continuation of a program that I set up in 1995.

Morning: Utu High school, Afternoon: Mangaai High School Morning: Mongup High School Afternoon: Medina High school

Heritage and the internet. Although an introduction to the internet was given at the beginning of the training, this will be followed up with the University Centre and a full day given to training. The National Museum Staff will play an important role here, outlining their information needs for a web page. b. Tabar Fieldwork Three weeks is allotted to achieve three objectives: i. Identifying and recording cultural sites of significance ii. Archaeological survey techniques iii. Archaeological excavation methods A fourth objective, Community liaison and negotiation would be achieved as a flow on through community meetings held on the first day on the island, and as part of the surveying exercise.

Tatau Island (part of the Tabar Island group) was selected for this exercise. Permission has been obtained from all the community leaders, and three Lapita archaeological sites have already been identified. Only one of these will be excavated – a 2 m X 2 m excavation. Two weeks – 12 working days have been allocated to achieve this task. Ten days excavating, two days drawing photographing and writing the final notes, and one day each arriving and leaving the island. Experience and local knowledge of the geomorphology of the site indicates that the deposit will probably reach no more than 120 cm. As this is a training exercise on an important archaeological site, based on twenty-five years of excavating experience, ten days is adequate for excavation and individual training. Two teams will operate the site – one team will excavate – the other will clean and sort the finds. One week was allocated to survey technique, and the identification and recording of cultural sites of significance. APPENDIX B Training Schedule, Malakula, Vanuatu 2001

Week 1 Arrive Lakatoro (North East Meetings with North East Malakula community leaders, Malakula Malakula) Cultural Centre fieldworkers, and Malakula Museum staff. Lakatoro Survey of sites related to cultural heritage in North East area, Lakatoro to Wala Island. Presentation at Norsup High School. Lakatoro Identify potential archaeological sites and demonstrate testing techniques. Limited excavation. Week 2 Tenmaru and coastal region Survey of coastal sites south of Tenmaru. Further demonstration and south, North West Malakula. explanation of archaeological sites and excavation techniques. Workshops relating to cultural heritage issues to be held with community leaders. Week 3 South Malakula Lamap and South West Bay Meetings with community leaders to discuss work in the south for the following years program. Presentation to Rensari High School. Survey in South West Bay Area Weeks 4 and 5 Port Vila, Efate Summary of program and goals to be presented on Radio Vanuatu. A series of articles to be arranged with Vanuatu newspapers. Planning for the production of booklet discussing cultural heritage issues. Presentation to Port Vila High Schools. Finalise plans with Cultural Centre Director regarding information and format of information to be broadcast on Vanuatu Cultural Centre Web site

Malakula - Fieldwork As set out in the document sent to you previously, four to five weeks have been allotted to achieve a number of objectives: i. Identifying and recording cultural sites of significance ii. Cultural and archaeological survey techniques iii. Archaeological excavation methods iv. Raise community awareness through liaison, education, negotiation and dissemination of information

The proposed location of Lakatoro for the commencement the project has been chosen for several reasons. The Malakula Cultural Centre is located here and Numa Fred the Director is already familiar with some aspects of the program. The Lakatoro area is also under increasing pressure from development. A number of sites have already been identified as being ideal in demonstrating archaeological survey and excavation techniques. Accommodation and transport to and from Lakatoro can be easily organised. The survey area is a broad one, ie. from Lakatoro to Wala but it is these areas that are the most heavily populated and are coming under increasing pressure. The Regional High School is located nearby at Norsup. VCHSS staff with be running training workshops relating to the recording of cultural sites of significance. The same staff along with VCC fieldworkers will be further trained in the identification and recording of archaeological sites.

Similar survey and workshops are to be held on the North West coast of Malakula following on from the work on the North East. This area has been targeted as a region with different site types and terrain and therefore requires different strategies for their long-term preservation. The VCC fieldworker for this area, Jimmy Sanambath, also has some experience with aspects of this program which will be vital when liaising with the local community.

A visit to the south (Lamap and South West Bay) of Malakula is seen as essential during this first season of the program to outline its objectives to the local communities. It is envisaged that in 2002 more detailed surveys and workshops will carried out in the South. The fieldwork in 2001 is seen as largely preliminary in all areas, but particularly in the south, and is designed to further identify community needs which can be further addressed as the program progresses.

The key to the success of this whole program is the dissemination of information. The later part of the 2001 program is devoted to media liaison principally in Port Vila. This will include Radio interviews and a series of articles in the local newspapers. The booklet which is to be produced at the end of the program will begin to be planned. This requires close liaison and guidance form the Vanuatu Cultural Centre. Their web page will also be regularly updated with the progress reports related to the South-West Pacific Cultural Heritage Training Program. It is also intended for trainees to meet and discuss their experiences with local schools in both Malakula and Port Vila.

Naturally the above proposed timetable for 2001 may vary due to unforeseen circumstances but it will be followed as closely as possible. Bedford will be in Vanuatu in December (at his own expense) to further finalise details with staff from the Vanuatu Cultural Centre