The Problem Faced

The Problem

The leaders of many indigenous communities are concerned that the younger generations have lost knowledge of the traditional stories in a cultural shift to more Western values. Phone use by young people and aspiration is attached to an American dream that leads many to neglect their own more integrated ecological cultures. These communities need resources to boost their own power to meet climate transitions over the decade and resources to strengthen the teaching and communication of their cultural forms. Parihaka in New Zealand is an excellent example of how this regeneration of culture can thrive over years and embrace potentials of digital culture.

Indigenous communities have knowledge to share with their own members, with other communities meeting the same problems, and with the wider world. However Facebook and social media does not create tangible value for these under-resourced communities and do not safeguard cultural ownership leading to continuing a pattern of cultural appropriation.

There is a clear need to encourage cultural sovereignty and understanding across cultural difference as part of meeting climate challenges and this sustainability challenge needs to be done in a way that fundamentally respects indigenous communities sovereignty, forms of production and modes of communicating. Perhaps this requires broadening the understanding of what "aid" is (see Press article on meeting the refugees from the island of Ambae)

MIT SOLVE have identified problems faced by the islands:

https://solve.mit.edu/challenges/coastal-communities

Potentials:

Education & Empowerment of Coastal Communities

Rich communication network and blockchain tech to empower cultural sovereignty, wealth and resilience. This is essentially empowering community through identity by connecting creative value with audiences and resources.

"What's interesting is how new internet solutions / blockchain technology could underpin a system for vital knowledge transmission, growth in skills, the visibility of local wisdom and culture, thriving identity and resilience to meet the transitions of the next decades that the Pacific Islands - and most communities - will go through.

The project is inspired by women's work and looks to enrich the lives of women and their work with water.

https://webfoundation.org/research/closing-gender-digital-divide-in-africa/

Knowledge Transmission

Knowledge transmission about the oceans and relationship with the waters, navigation and Pacific star lore, dreams and myth, sand painting and creative culture indigenous to the islands in a way that encourages sovereignty, creates value, whilst creating a virtual record which is not an archive of the islands but a living transmission system for creativity. If done well, this would be a valuable resource for those on the islands and off the islands.

Clean Water

Water filters for contaminated water (Shelley to input)

Creative Ownership

The destructive effects of colonialism on indigenous communities worldwide makes protection of the participants and their assets (and associated legal recognition) vital. Transactions will be recorded on the distributed blockchain ledger enabling secure and unique digital identity and ownership of what is shared, enabling those who want to learn about ni-Vanuatu culture to invest in tokens and creating value for the islanders. This system will be devised across the assembled networks involved who have worked with indigenous rights across their lifetime and finance and blockchain experts. The Cascade Network has arisen naturally through relationships, care and creativity and there is further work to do on how this will be manned, stewarded and relate to government infrastructures so that it can play a real role in navigating climate transitions. The idea is for the structure to grow real financial strength and develop decision making applications so that the public may clearly input into unfolding plans on how to meet the changing climate.

Hybridity

Culture is not fixed and the cascade network will be open to all forms of creativity from Vanuatu. There is a role here for the Arts organisations in agreeing the terms of submission and defining how value would be input to curate and produce specific content.

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