Ralph Regenvanu - Work in The Field of Culture

Work in The Field of Culture

Regenvanu studied anthropology, archeology and development studies at the Australian National University, obtaining a Honour's degree in development studies in 1991, before becoming curator of the National Museum of Vanuatu. Les Nouvelles calédoniennes describes him as "Vanuatu's first anthropologist".

In 1994, he was a founding member of the Pacific Islands Museums Association, and was a member of its inaugural Executive Board from 1997 to 2009.

From 1995 to 2006, he was the director of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, and was subsequently tasked with overseeing Vanuatu's ongoing "Year of the Traditional Economy" (2007 and 2008), in accordance with a government policy which aimed at preserving, maintaining and revitalizing elements of the or reviving traditional indigenous economics. In 1992, he helped formulate the Vanuatu Cultural Research Policy which became effective in 1993 and has been a prominent advocate for the protection of the country's biodiversity. He has advocated the use of customary law -as opposed to a legal system derived from British and French models- in the juvenile justice sector. He has stated that, although the Constitution recognises both "traditional Melanesian values" and Christianity as the bases of contemporary ni-Vanuatu society, the latter tends to overshadow the former. He has attempted to highlight the importance of indigenous customs and their present-day relevance. The Vanuatu Daily Post describes him as "a world authority on custom".

In 1996, he spearheaded the setting up of Fest'Napuan, an annual musical festival, described by the Vanuatu Tourism Office as "the premier cultural event of the year", and by the Vanuatu Daily Post as "one of the major music festivals in the South Pacific". In 2010, the festival lasted five days and attracted an audience of over 30,000 people. In the past, it has attracted musicians from New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, West Papua, Easter Island, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, and in 2004 it was broadcast live by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In 2010, Regenvanu remained active in organising the festival, presiding over the Fest’ Napuan Association, and announcing that that year's theme would be "Women in Music", to promote female musicians from around the Pacific and to combat gender bias in the music industry.

In 1998, he began working in collaboration with UNESCO as a delegate of Vanuatu and of the Pacific Islands more generally. Since then, he has represented Vanuatu in a number of international conferences. As of 2003, he was Secretary of the Executive Council of the Pacific Islands Museums Association (PIMA). As of 2007, he was a member of the Advisory Committee of Experts for the UNESCO World Report on Cultural Diversity. He has also been a jury member assessing potential items for UNESCO’s Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity list.

In 2004, Regenvanu initiated the process to have sites associated with Roy Mata inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the first in Vanuatu, which was accomplished in 2008. He had also been involved in unearthing another site, which contains "the oldest graves in the Pacific region" and the "only Lapita-era cemetery" found anywhere so far.

In 2005, the projects he was working on included a "project to strengthen the traditional economy and the use of traditional wealth items in Vanuatu"; a "project to revitalise sand drawings"; the Fest’Napuan; and "strengthening the Pacific Islands Museums Association", of which he was a board member.

In April 2005, when the Malvatumauri (National Council of Chiefs) imposed a ban on the custom of the bride price, he organised a meeting of chiefs aimed at finding "a realistic balance between tradition and modernity" in the customs of contemporary Vanuatu.

In June 2006, as director of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, he participated in a discussion on the ownership of cultural objects, organised by the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.

On 10 November 2006, he was awarded the title of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters) by the government of France, for his work in the field of culture, and more specifically for his years of work with the Vanuatu Cultural Centre. Seven days later, he was awarded the title Libehkamel Tah Tomat (Caretaker of the Sacred Nakamal (men’s house)) by Chief Matthias Batick of the Nende people of South West Bay, Malakula. The Vanuatu Cultural Centre explains that the title "comes with his attainment of the first grade in one of the traditional grade-taking systems" of the region. Regenvanu retired as Director of the Cultural Centre in December 2006, and subsequently entered politics. In December 2010, upon being appointed as a State Minister, he resigned as Director of the Vanuatu National Cultural Council. However, he continues to combine his interests in the cultural field with his political career.

In June 2009 at a meeting of several Melanesian community groups in Madang (Papua New Guinea) Ralph Reganvanu co-founded MILDA (the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance). He presided over a second MILDA meeting at Mele Village (Efate, Vanuatu) in June 2009. He remains active in the defence of customary land systems.

In January 2010, he attended the opening of a new building at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, as the official representative of "every museum in the Pacific". His invitation was due to his having been "heavily involved in the preparation for the Pacific Islands exhibition".