Vanuatu’s first English-language national history textbook has been launched as part of Vanuatu’s Silver Jubilee Independence celebrations.
While a subject on the history of Vanuatu has yet to be officially implemented within the national curriculum, this book has been produced to provide the Department of Education with a comprehensive history of Vanuatu that can be used as a resource and a basis upon which a core curriculum subject on the history of Vanuatu can be developed.
The Governor General of New Zealand, Dame Sylvia Cartwright, officially presented Vanuatu’s first national history textbook to First Lady Hanson Mataskelekele at a small ceremony at the National Museum in Port Vila on 29th July. The First Lady then officially launched the new textbook before officially handing them to the Minister of Education, Hon. Joe Natuman. The book launch was well attended by teachers, local historians, members of the public and contributors to the book.
The textbook, entitled “Histri blong yumi long Vanuatu: An educational resource”, is 726 pages long and, due to its length, has been published in four volumes, including a teacher’s guide. The Vanuatu Cultural Centre took the initiative to write the book in response to a general concern that children are not being taught enough about the history of Vanuatu in the nation’s schools today. While a subject on the history of Vanuatu has yet to be officially implemented within the national curriculum, this book has been produced to provide the Department of Education with a comprehensive history of Vanuatu that can be used as a resource and a basis upon which a core curriculum subject on the history of Vanuatu can be developed. The Teacher’s Guide produced as part of the text is intended to assist teachers to begin using the textbooks in their classes immediately, before the inclusion of a formal national history subject. The book can also be used more widely as a general resource by anyone interested in learning about our history. The Cultural Centre has been advocating for more local history and cultural content in the national curriculum for many years now.
The New Zealand Government provided complete funding for the Vanuatu Cultural Centre’s ‘National History Curriculum Project’ – the project to research and write the national history textbook – which ran from January 2003 to June 2005. Peace Corps Vanuatu was also a donor to the project, providing volunteer Sara Lightner for the first 2 years of the project, who co-authored the textbooks with Anna Naupa.
The textbooks will be translated into French over the coming months, following which all of Vanuatu’s schools will be provided with free copies of the textbooks.
