Pacific Conference of Churches, Institute of Mission and Research at the Pacific Theological College, as well as the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies at the University of the South Pacific in Suva have come together to invite Pacific Islanders across the region to submit different forms of writing material as well as artwork for their “Reweaving the Ecological Mat Initiative.”
The REM initiative serves different purposes. In their flyer it states that they aim to “inform and influence regional development, a publications initiative is designed to develop a range of contextually relevant communication and educational/learning materials that will help reweave the Pacific ecological mat telling cultural stories of connectedness and holistic wellbeing.”
Another objective they want to achieve is to contribute to the growth of the REM movement by challenging a new batch of leading thinkers who will question development agendas while promoting and advocating the REM philosophy of contextual sustainability and resilience.
As mentioned before, different submissions ranging from academic writing, creative writing, poetry, photography, and images of art are welcomed. However, they must abide by the following themes and guidelines.
A participant of the REM Initiative may choose between three themes which are: “Custodianship and Resilience in a Time of Ecological Crisis: Indigenous Ideas from Oceania”, Stories of Ecological Relationships, Resilience and Resistance from Oceania, and “Heritage in Youth Hands: Pedagogy of Resistance and Inheritance.”
As for the guidelines, material must be original work and not published by another publication. It must also be typed in the following font formats: Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri with a word count of 3000 to 6000 along with references. Manuscripts including references and notes must be single spaced and it must follow the Chicago Manuel of Style online at: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html.
If a participant chose to submit photo’s then they must have a word document that details the following information: photo caption, photo credit and year, also it must include the title of the artwork. Additionally, photo’s must be of high resolution either in a jpeg or png format which must be sent through email or through https://wetransfer.com/. While artwork must also accompany a word document that details information such as the Artist Name, year, medium, dimensions, and photo credit. Deadline submissions are at the end of January and for information a future participant can refer to cresantia.koyavakauta@usp.ac.fj. (Telbakes Yano)