Youth leader says literacy should start at home
Pressing for the preservation of culture and heritage of the Pacific islanders, Tinian High School outstanding student Carl King-Nabors underscored the need to initiate learning of the first language at home.
An active student leader, Mr. Nabors said parents should start prepping up their children the basics of their native language as early as possible.
Speaking before participants to the 19th annual Pacific Islands Bilingual Bicultural Association, Mr. Nabors stressed that the preservation of one’s own culture and heritage can be achieved only through a coherent community effort.
“Everyone has a role and we must realize that our culture, our heritage and language define us as Pacific Islanders,” said Mr. Nabors, who was keynote speaker to yesterday’s PIBBA general assembly.
The emergence of new and advanced technology is also posing as a challenge to ancient cultures indigenous peoples of the Pacific are so strongly protecting, according to the student.
This year’s PIBBA assembly revolves around the theme: “Our Languages and Cultures: The Challenge in the New Millennium.”
“Thanks to the Internet, media, movies, cell phones, and radios, we have the whole world at our finger tips. But with this new technology also comes the universal western culture, challenging our peoples to keep their cultures as sacred and untainted as it once was,” he added.
Mr. Nabors believes that any challenges with regard to keeping the Pacific Island’s identity as an indigenous region lies on education.
“Some cultures still cannot communicate through the universal language of English yet they are able to preserve their culture and their language to the different generations like myself,” he told PIBBA participants.
He urged education leaders to further reflect on their current language practices and strive to seek more knowledge to keep up with the changing times.
The 19th PIBBA conference concludes today at 6:00 p.m. with an evening of traditional entertainment hosted by the PIBBA CNMI Chapter.
Today’s final keynote speakers are CNMI elders Tan Antonia Seman and Tun Juan Pangelinan.
Topics up for discussion are the Making of Titiyas and Chicken Kelaguen, Lifestyle, reading aloud to children, Chamorro perspectives on colonialism and mental health, HIV prevention in the CNMI, and others.
The three-day conference focused on five main workshops by strand: Academic practices, environment, family, language, society, and traditional knowledge. (MM)
