Pacific Disability Forum
Traditional skills, knowledge and practices have been part of indigenous communities for many years. However, the same skills and knowledge has not been fully utilized as it used to be by indigenous communities for various reasons not known. While our elders have lived with these traditions, the younger generations do not see it as what may called ‘being attractive and useful’ to their daily living.
It is for these reasons, the project aims to document how indigenous communities in the Pacific, particularly Marshall Islands and Tuvalu have continued to used their traditional skills and knowledge and particularly encouraging the younger generation to learn some of these ancient art and skills that their forefathers have used for their survival well before modernization and technology. Marshall Islands and Tuvalu are the two atoll countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change in terms of their survival. The project aims to capture also if these ancient skills are still useful and applicable as a way to help these indigenous communities adapt to the impact of climate change and how it could support them better.
The initiative achieved all its result in terms of:· Indigenous way of learning· Intergenerational knowledge transmission· Indigenous languages· Indigenous beliefs and spirituality.The appreciation of the traditional skills and knowledge and how important it is for their values.Beliefs and identities.
The Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) is a regional organisation of and for persons with disabilities, representing their voice for inclusion in compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). PDF strives to improve the situations of persons with disabilities in Pacific Island Countries and Territories by developing and strengthening the capacity of member disabled persons organisation through advocacy and collaboration with relevant stakeholders. PDF has membership in 19 Pacific Island countries and territories, including Australia and New Zealand. Persons with Disabilities represent a sizeable number in the Pacific, with an estimated 1.7million of almost the 10 million people in the region
