PACIFIC WORLDS
A Web-Based Look at Island Communities

By Doug Herman and Kavita Rao

In Gef Pa’go, village activities go on as they did before the Japanese invaded these islands. A well-traveled pathway leads to communal structures, and beyond thatched roofs and palm fronds is clear blue ocean. The sign reads, “Håfa Adai! Welcome to Inarajan.”

To visit this reconstructed Chamorro village, all you need to do is select the Guam community homepage at the Pacific Worlds website (www.pacificworlds.com). And for teachers who need reliable information on indigenous cultures, Pacific Worlds may be the next best thing to being there. On each community homepage, photos, cultural icons, and descriptive commentary create a vivid sense of place. From there, visitors can select options that include exploring the land and ocean environs, learning history and geography, and visiting cultural sites. Quotes from inhabitants serve as a guide to local sights.

The objective of the Pacific Worlds project is to produce a network of community websites, each in a similar format, to allow for comparative study of different aspects of Pacific island life. In addition to the reconstructed village of Gef Pa’go in Guam, there is a website on Haena in Kauai (one of the five largest Hawaiian islands). Sites on Nuuanu, Oahu (also in Hawaii), and Airai, Palau, are currently in development. Funding for the project is provided in part by the PRELSTAR program at PREL.

Each completed community website is content-rich, with more than 70 separate pages of information. Most of the text derives from interviews with community members in order to present “local voices” rather than outside perspectives. Sites include an orientation and eight thematic sections. Each has a glossary that allows users to compare words and concepts across languages.

A teacher’s resource guide can be downloaded without charge from the Pacific Worlds homepage. The guide is divided into an introduction and eight thematic lessons, corresponding to the organization of the community website. Workshops to introduce teachers to the project, its websites and materials, are also available.

In addition to providing resources for teachers, the Pacific Worlds project plans to preserve and promote Pacific island ways of knowing and help build a Pacific island presence on the Internet. By providing locally derived information, the project offers a valuable resource for anyone wishing to better understand Pacific island cultures.