Port-Vila, Vanuatu – 27 July 2022: On Wednesday 27 July 2022, the National University of Vanuatu (NUV), the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre officially launched the publication Proceedings of the international Symposium in Vanuatu on Education, Identity and Cultures.
In May 2021, the NUV, the MoET in collaboration with the Vanuatu Cultural Centre jointly organized a symposium on the issues of education and culture, which intertwine custom and academia in a perspective of recognition of the identity of Vanuatu. Following the symposium, the discussions were documented. The content of those fruitful discussions can now be shared with a wider audience through the publication Proceedings of the international Symposium in Vanuatu on Education, Identity and Cultures. The printed copies are available for sale at the NUV and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre (VKS). Online readers can also access the publication free of charge on the link: https://www.univ.edu.vu/attachments/article/218/LBL_NUV-identite%CC%81-BOOK-PRINT-V2- April2022.pdf.
These questions, which take into account the difficulty of not sacrificing parts of culture by striving to integrate them into the educational process, are regularly addressed by the Vanuatu Cultural Center, which believes that there is an urgent need to document/preserve/value traditional knowledge and practices that sometimes tend to disappear. As Pacific nations continue to develop, it is imperative that traditional knowledge and cultural heritage be taught in schools as a means to adapt to the natural and social environment. How can we ensure that education includes traditional knowledge? How can the cultural richness of Vanuatu be used to promote success in school and enable more young Vanuatu people to go on to university? These are the main lines of approach to understand these notions which cover several disciplinary fields, such as anthropology, history, archaeology, educational sciences but also language sciences.
The Vice-Chancellor and President of the NUV, Mr. Jean-Pierre Nirua, said “It is with great pleasure that I present to you the first scientific work published by our young university, the result of a collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Vanuatu Kaljural Senta. The publication Proceedings of the international Symposium in Vanuatu on Education, Identity and Cultures is just a start!”.
“In order to develop the university, the National University of Vanuatu (NUV) continues to develop its course offers. Also, the NUV's digital research portal will allow students and researchers to access many scientific resources relating to Vanuatu. With more than 1,500 publications already inventoried, this digital portal will soon be accessible to the public. The NUV has chosen to be represented by a tree; it will grow and its seeds that we have been sowing since 2020 will germinate over the next few years with the support of our partners.”
“In order to develop the university, the National University of Vanuatu (NUV) continues to develop its course offers. Also, the NUV's digital research portal will allow students and researchers to access many scientific resources relating to Vanuatu. With more than 1,500 publications already inventoried, this digital portal will soon be accessible to the public. The NUV has chosen to be represented by a tree; it will grow and its seeds that we have been sowing since 2020 will germinate over the next few years with the support of our partners.”
The development of the NUV is aligned with Vanuatu People’s Plan and the Vanuatu Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan. The focus of education and training under the NUV and associated institutions are based on the priorities of the country’s National Human Resource Development Plan 2020-2030 (NHRDP).
