Building National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace in the Solomon Islands: The Missing Link

Vella, Louise; Maebuta, Jack

doi:10.1007/978-981-10-6800-3_4

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In talanoa, safe relational space is constructed (Fairbairn-Dunlop, 2014) so that information can be freely shared or exchanged. Similarly, the term tok stori invokes a space of safety for revelation by storying (Sanga & Reynolds, 2019;Vella & Maebuta, 2018) in which narrative intersections produce a joint account of the world. As a methodological consideration, we pay attention to the contributions of individuals to the keynote-as-storied-discussion, but also to the weaving of meaning between individual stories and, through the structure created as a consequence of analytical processes, the shaping provided by listeners.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The keynote-as-storied-discussion: a Pacific departure

Sanga¹,

Johansson-Fua²,

Nabobo-Baba³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is a rare event when senior scholars and actors in a field come together; more so when that takes place in the company of new and emerging scholars. Even rarer are such occasions in the Oceania region, where distance can mediate against key players coming together in time and space. When the stars align, the opportunity must be seized. This article portrays aspects of an event when, due to otherwise unfortunate circumstances, three senior Pacific educators, scholars, and leaders offered glimpses of their experiential learning and leadership by presenting a storied discussion of leadership. The account given here discusses ideas derived from that storying. It is an examination of the form used to enact the educators’ pedagogical purpose; keynote-as-storied-discussion. This innovative way of delivering a keynote leverages the intersectional value of the tone-setting intent of a keynote, the emotional and experiential layering of storying, the pedagogical potential of woven narrative strands, and the discursive exchange of ideas.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The keynote-as-storied-discussion: a Pacific departure

Sanga¹,

Johansson-Fua²,

Nabobo-Baba³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Tok stori is a Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea pidgin) or Pijin (Solomon Islands pidgin) or Bislama (Vanuatu pidgin) word for an everyday activity in Melanesia, a form of discursive group communication, a negotiated conversation, and a way to negotiate with the social world in which relationality, information, and time come together to form a distinct way of being. Tok stori has been described as a way Melanesian people share what is known (Vella & Maebuta, 2018), a Melanesian discussion mode legitimised by its longevity (Brigg et al, 2015), and a problem-solving method with traditional parameters centred on reflective oral activity (Evans et al, 2010). In a tok stori , people construct a reality, both speakers and listeners.…”

Section: Tok Storimentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing research back home: exploring Indigenous Melanesian tok stori as ontology

Sanga

Reynolds

2021

AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Indigenous knowledge is generally understood to be knowledge developed by a particular group in their specific environment over an extended period of time. In academia generally, bodies of knowledge of differing origins are not often understood. This article employs ontology as a ground for developing relational clarity in the academy by considering two oral traditions—talanoa (a Polynesian conversational form) as represented in research and Melanesian tok stori (a Melanesian form of discursive group communication) understood through an Indigenous Solomon Islands ontology. The discussion of tok stori offers a window into the complex ontological thinking required of the academy when seeking to learn from the knowledge of Mala’ita Solomon Islands specifically, and from Indigenous groups generally. The value to the wider research community suggests that bringing research back home through approaches constructed on the way people act can capitalise on the logic of aligning ontology and practice in research.

show abstract

“…In the literature, some attempt has been made to clarify tok stori as a cultural form. Tok stori has variously been described as an accepted Melanesian way of sharing what is known (Vella & Maebuta, 2018), an inter-generationally legitimized Melanesian discussion mode (Brigg, Chadwick, Griggers, Murdock, & Vienings, 2015) and a traditional dialogic problem-solving method based on reflective oral activity (Evans, Guy, Honan, Paraide, & Muspratt, 2010). These descriptions are linked by evoking an oral activity focused on purposeful sharing and which has a long heritage.…”

Section: Tok Storimentioning

confidence: 99%

Melanesian tok stori in leadership development: Ontological and relational implications for donor-funded programmes in the Western Pacific

Sanga

Reynolds

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

© 2018, Flinders University. Donor-funded programmes in areas such as leadership development take place in every continent. In the Western Pacific, Melanesia has been host to such programmes based on non-Melanesian thought and practice over the years. However, a review of donor-funded leadership programmes in the region reveals a history of concern regarding effectiveness but no significant change in programme orientation. This article provides a counter-story of a donor-funded leadership programme which utilizes a readily available cultural model of thought and practice of Indigenous origin: tok stori. Tok stori is a form of discursive group communication which is an everyday occurrence in Melanesia. The experiences of leadership mentors operating in a tok stori-centred leadership development programme located in the Solomon Islands provide an opportunity to explore and evaluate what cultural wisdom can contribute as the core of a leadership development programme. The benefits are many: leaders benefit when complex contextual matters can be introduced into leadership development by the openness of tok stori; depth of engagement is supported by the development of mentor-leader relationality as an integral part of the tok stori process; and mentors gain increased expertise in using a cultural form with which they are already familiar in new pedagogical contexts. Ultimately, this is a story of the value of honouring important aspects of culture for those who inhabit the ontology which gives them significance. Re-negotiating the way the cultures of donors and recipients are regarded by programme developers is an important factor in the centring of Indigenous thinking and practices such as tok stori in leadership and other person-centred programmes. The lesson of this article is that there are gains available to all where this occurs.

show abstract

Building National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace in the Solomon Islands: The Missing Link

Cited by 6 publications

References 9 publications

The keynote-as-storied-discussion: a Pacific departure

The keynote-as-storied-discussion: a Pacific departure

Bringing research back home: exploring Indigenous Melanesian tok stori as ontology

Melanesian tok stori in leadership development: Ontological and relational implications for donor-funded programmes in the Western Pacific

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About