Across the Pacific, island cultures are countering the tide of globalization with a cultural renaissance. In Samoa, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea, people are actively preserving languages, arts, and rituals that mark them out. Through sheer will, local people and leaders are standing off against foreign pressures – from English-language media to tourism and migration – and maintaining customs.
For example, UNESCO notes that Pacific nations have launched projects and workshops to safeguard living heritage, from music and dance to master artisans and ceremonies. In these islands, cultural festivals and community programs are not just tourism showcases but acts of heritage conservation. As one Samoan policy document explains, teaching the Samoan language in all school levels has been “a strong indicator for the push to preserve and exercise culture in Samoa”.
This reflects a wider trend: Pacific governments and NGOs are investing in culture so that young people learn their language and customs as “living heritage” for future generations.
Samoa: Weaving History into the Future
In Samoa, the rich brocade of traditional life – from fine mat weaving and dance to language and ceremony – is being consciously braided into contemporary society. The government even opened a new Samoa Cultural Centre in the capital city Apia to highlight crafts, dance and storytelling. The centre includes galleries of weaving, carving and tattooing exhibitions, and it holds workshops where people can practice weaving pandanus mats or learning siva Samoa (Samoan dance) movements.
The Ministry of Education notes that this centre “promotes the integration of cultural education into mainstream curricula, ensuring that Samoan heritage remains a cornerstone of national identity”. In practice, schools now teach Samoan language and customs alongside mathematics and science. A national policy reports that Samoan is included in programs from early childhood through tertiary education, so that each generation grows up fluent in the mother tongue.
Communities of women and elders play a central role. For centuries, Samoan women have gathered in fale Samoa (weaving houses) to create the finely woven ‘ie Samoa (fine mats) used in ceremonies. In recent decades this art was in danger of decline – the ancient techniques were fading and materials were changing. But thanks to the work of community groups like Women in Business Development Inc. and government agencies, the tradition has been revitalized.
UNESCO reports that “over the last 30 years, due to the significant work of WIBDI and [the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development], the art of weaving ‘ie Samoa has been revitalized”. Today, young Samoans – even men in some villages – are learning to weave again. Each year the country holds an Annual Exhibition of Fine Mats around Samoa’s National Day of Women, celebrating these revitalized skills. As one report notes, a Fine Mats Steering Committee (chaired by the Prime Minister) now ensures high-quality standards, and young artisans proudly display mats they have woven from pandanus strips.
Cultural festivals provide another living link to the past. Samoa’s Teuila Festival, held each September, brings together performers and visitors in a week of songs, dances, pageantry and sport. The Samoa Tourism Authority explains that this is not mere entertainment but a preservation effort – “the festival showcases the richness of Samoan traditions through music, dance, tattooing (tatau), fire knife dancing, and traditional ceremonies”.
It was established “in order to celebrate Samoan heritage [and] foster cultural preservation and unity”. Locals speak of 10-year-old kids being taught their village’s siva Samoa by grandparents, and families preparing traditional umu feasts collectively at festival celebrations. By uniting Samoans – including diaspora Samoans overseas – festivals such as Teuila preserve the language and traditions in daily life.
In short, Samoa’s cultural renaissance blends government programs, community workshops and joyful festivals. These efforts ensure that as Samoa modernizes, it does not lose the fa’a Samoa (the Samoan way) that is the heart of the nation.
Tonga: Empowering Traditions Through Community
Tonga’s cultural revival is similarly driven by grassroots energy, especially community groups and NGOs working hand-in-hand with officials. The Tongan language itself remains widely spoken, but leaders worry about Western influences and young people drifting from custom. One area of focus is traditional crafts and arts. In 2025 the long-established women’s organization Langafonua ‘a Fafine Tonga launched a national handicraft training program to boost cultural skills and incomes.
This “Empowering Women in Handicraft Production” initiative, co-funded by international partners, teaches young women and girls how to make tapa cloth, woven kiekie (ornamental girdles), and other crafts. Its goals are twofold: economic independence and cultural preservation. As the Australian High Commission put it, “We want all Tongans to thrive, assert their rights, earn income, and protect Tonga’s cultural heritage”.
The launch event in Nukuʻalofa (attended by Princess Sinaitakala) underscored broad community support. Young participants learn from older weavers how to harvest tapa bark and fashion it into intricate cloth, ensuring the craft is passed on.
Tonga also proudly displays its heritage through song and dance. The royal Lakalaka – a grand choral dance performed at ceremonies – was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage list in 2008. Many Tongan communities organize biannual langi and malo‘eiki ceremonies (feasts and title bestowals) where families practice choreographed dances and speaking arts. In churches and schools, teachers encourage students to learn the faiva (performing arts) of their ancestors.
Local leaders often stress that even as young Tongans engage with the wider world (studying abroad or online), they carry Tongan identity with them. The success of programs like Langafonua reflects this pride: the women’s NGO itself was founded in 1953 and continues to revitalize traditional design and storytelling through handicrafts.
Language and media also play a role. Tongan-language radio and television (including community programs) promote proverbs and history, while efforts are underway to include Tongan history in school curricula. Thus, in Tonga the renaissance is not led only by politicians, but by families and civil society. Community workshops, dance clubs and craft groups keep elders and youth connected.
As one local organizer noted, empowering women to learn tapa and weaving “is essential to ending violence and building a safer future for all,” tying social uplift to cultural pride. In this way, Tonga’s people are reasserting that modernization does not have to mean loss of heritage; instead, culture and empowerment go hand in hand.
Papua New Guinea: Guardians of a Living Mosaic
It is both an asset and a complication in globalization. Most Papua New Guinean youth learn to speak a local language at home and Tok Pisin or English at school. But with so many languages, UNESCO and local organizations warn of accelerating language loss: approximately 40% of the world’s languages are endangered, and PNG’s are no different. To address this, PNG has started community-language programs and textbooks in several vernacular languages, though challenges remain in such a rugged and decentralized nation.
Beyond language, traditional arts and festivals are central to PNG’s cultural renaissance. The annual PNG Arts and Cultural Festival in Port Moresby, for example, was created “to preserve and promote the artistic and cultural heritage of Papua New Guinea”. Each November, hundreds of artists, singers, dancers and craftspeople from the Highlands, Sepik, island provinces and beyond converge on the capital. They display carved masks, woven bilum bags, wood sculptures and paintings.
The festival’s sing-sings – groups in colourful dress performing chants and war dances – are crowd favorites. As one report describes, the rhythmic drumming, chanting and elaborate costumes make the sing-sings “a celebration of the diverse cultural identity” of PNG. Village elders use these gatherings to teach youth their songs and dances, so the traditions live on. Tourists and younger city-dwellers alike attend with awe, witnessing customs that few will forget.
The government and UNESCO also support preservation. In 2024 PNG’s National Cultural Commission signed a UNESCO partnership to document the Toare Gulf Mask Festival, an indigenous celebration at risk of fading. The $10,000 initiative will “identify and formally document the cultural elements” of the Toaripi people’s mask traditions, and even establish a mini cultural center in the village to train the youth.
NCC Executive Director Steven Kilanda hailed this as a “landmark moment” of international help, saying “this partnership with UNESCO is a sign of progress… preserving our diverse cultural heritage for future generations”. Such projects are spreading: PNG has inventory efforts and emergency-safeguard plans across provinces, from Hela’s famous spirit dances (now held at the annual Hulunamule festival) to Sepik River carvings.
Perhaps the strongest story of PNG’s renaissance is the pride people feel. Even in small villages, elders often teach children the lore of their ancestors. In the remote highlands, 12-year-old Kena might learn from his grandfather how to carve a spirit house roof. In the islands, young Toloka girls practice singing with their mothers’ taro gardens as they work. A 2021 survey by the Linguistic Society of PNG found that many Papua New Guineans value their languages and hope they will endure.
It notes that PNG allows children to start school in their own language, reflecting a belief that local language education builds “cultural identity and self-esteem”. With 840 languages spoken in a country the size of California, even small community actions – like radio programs in Tok Ples (local languages) or church services in Narom – can have a big impact. The resurgence of PNG cultures is thus both broad and grassroots, rooted in daily life and also visible on big stages.
Looking Ahead: Global Voices for Local Heritage
These examples from Samoa, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea show a clear pattern: globalization may bring new ideas and challenges, but it also inspires people to reclaim and celebrate their heritage. Governments are not leaving culture to chance – they fund festivals, create cultural policies, and even ratify UNESCO conventions to get technical help.
Communities are not waiting idly by – they stage workshops, media campaigns and school programs so that young people can grow up literate in their indigenous songs and stories. Tourism generally assists by providing economic worth to cultural displays (e.g., Samoa’s Teuila Festival attracts foreign visitors hungry for authenticity).
The outcome is a renaissance of cultures: a daily renewal of languages and customs. Tapestry makers fill Samoa villages with weavers once more; Tongan ladies wear with pride tapa dresses they made themselves, woven; Papua New Guineans dance at village sing-sings and pass on their rights to grandchildren. As PNG’s cultural director remarks, the endeavors create “trust… to protect the tangible and intangible cultural heritages” of each country.
While there is a threat from globalization to small cultures, it can also provide ways – like cyber media to stream Pasifika music worldwide – to keep custom intact. Ultimately, Samoa, Tonga and PNG are demonstrating that heritage does not have to be lost in this 21st century. Instead, it can flourish as a source of pride, identity and strength for Pacific people.
Article by Shaloo Singh