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Showing 9 of 385 news items in Culture & Community

Culture & CommunityApril 30, 2026

Plans to move residents off Cocos (Keeling) Islands walked back after backlash

Photo Credit and Excerpt from abc.net.au The federal government has walked back its plans to relocate Cocos (Keeling) Island residents after widespread community backlash, promising greater local input. The crescent-shaped coral atoll, located in the Indian Ocean some 2,500 kilometres off the mainland, is Australia's most remote territory. About 600 people live on Home and West islands, two of the 27 slashes of white sand and tropical greenery that make up Cocos. But climate change is threatening the viability of their homes, with an annual sea level rise of 4 millimetres since 1992.

Culture & CommunityApril 30, 2026

I gave up modern comfort to help preserve the Blasket Islands: 'The island is always with me'

Photo Credit and Excerpt from irishexaminer.com I am standing in Dunquin, in Co Kerry, at first light, with Lesley Bond, looking out from a cliff top at the curved spine and sleeping face of the Blasket Islands before the light wakes them, and it feels, wistfully, as if I could just reach out my hand and touch them. We had been planning a trip to the Great Island for the past month. Everything was in place. The storms that had been battering the coastline with a force that felt indifferent to our intentions had finally abated.

Culture & CommunityApril 15, 2026

A discovery in the Pacific redefines the relationship between culture and nature: what the island formed by mollusk remains is like

Excerpt from noticiasambientales.com Off the coast of Vanua Levu, in the Fiji archipelago, a group of scientists identified an island with an unusual origin. Consequently, the discovery provides new insights into the human interaction with the environment. At first glance, the islet seemed like just another piece of land within the coastal ecosystem. However, its composition revealed a different story. The soil is not made up of common sediments. Therefore, it is composed of 90% compacted mollusk shell fragments. A landscape built over 1,200 years The study published in Geoarchaeology indicates that this formation developed over approximately 1,200 years. In this sense, human communities used the site to process shellfish. Furthermore, it was not a permanent settlement. Therefore, it functioned as a specific space for coastal activity. According to the team led by Patrick D. Nunn, the accumulation was constant. Consequently, the waste transformed into a solid structure. Likewise, dating places the origin around the year 760. Thus, it is linked to Pacific cultures associated with the Lapita peoples.

Culture & CommunityApril 15, 2026

Art and a children’s book for coastal adaptation and resilience in Grenada

Excerpt from climatecentre.org The Grenada Red Cross is creatively supporting two local communities, Woburn and Telescope, in strengthening resilience through ecosystem-based adaptation and environmental education. A children’s book, Mangrove Heroes: Saving Our Shores!, has been rolled out at the communities’ respective primary schools, introducing young readers to the critical role or mangroves in coastal protection, biodiversity and climate resilience. It was developed by the IFRC in consultation with the Grenada Red Cross Society and the Jamaica Red Cross. Mangrove Heroes is part of a broader resilience-building framework under the Ecological Connectivity and Community Resilience project, funded by the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund and is being implemented in Grenada and Jamaica. ECCR achievements to date include an enhanced Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (eVCA) last April, a brief on community advocacy and policy, and a broader framework to guide ecosystem-based, community-led resilience.

Culture & CommunityApril 15, 2026

Islandness: The Case for a Place-Based Approach to Conservation

Excerpt and Photo Credit from earth.org Islands are more than just ecological laboratories; they are socio-cultural hubs that host over a quarter of the world’s human languages. To be effective, conservation must shift toward a “place-based” approach that respects the unique, inseparable bond between insular communities and the environments they steward. In ecology, islands have long been considered as perfect natural laboratories due to their distinctive features. Among them: their geographical isolation, their replicability, and, most interestingly, their disproportionate level of biodiversity. Indeed, whilst representing only 5.3% of Earth’s land area, islands host around 20% of its terrestrial species. But beyond their ecological features, islands are also socio-cultural laboratories, hosting 27% of human languages and a huge diversity of culture and practices.

Culture & CommunityApril 8, 2026

Henning Larsen Proposes a "Learning Village" to Expand the Glyvra School in the Faroe Islands

Excerpt from archdaily.com Danish architecture studio Henning Larsen has been selected to redesign and expand Glyvra School in the Faroe Islands, proposing a landscape-driven educational campus that responds directly to the region's topography and climate. Conceived as a "learning village," the project rethinks the role of the school in a small coastal community, positioning architecture and outdoor space as integral parts of everyday learning. Commissioned by Runavík Municipality and developed in collaboration with engineering firm Ramboll, the project will be delivered in multiple phases to ensure the school remains fully operational throughout construction, with new facilities completed and occupied before existing structures are renovated or removed.

Culture & CommunityApril 1, 2026

Palau Retirees Push ‘Community Bridge’ to Bolster Elder Care Without Uprooting Traditions

Excerpt from islandtimes.org KOROR, Palau (March 17,2026) — “Caring for elders at home is deeply rooted in Palauan culture and family responsibility,” said Madelsar, an organizer with the retirees association. Community programs can supercharge this by delivering caregiver training, medical gear, clinic rides, and health worker visits, she said, helping families tap Social Security, pensions, and resources to keep elders safe at home. These initiatives also keep retirees vibrant through storytelling, volunteering, and mentoring youth. “These efforts also keep retirees active in their communities through knowledge sharing, volunteerism, and intergenerational engagement, reinforcing the cultural value that elders remain respected contributors to society,” Madelsar said. For outer islands, mobile clinics, local leader partnerships, and retiree registries are key. “Support for elders in the outer states can be improved through mobile services, stronger coordination with local leaders, and community registries of retirees,” she explained. “Practical measures include periodic medical outreach teams, transportation assistance for clinic visits, telehealth services, and better coordination between state governments and national agencies.”

Culture & CommunityApril 1, 2026

Indonesian communities push to reclaim lands following company permit revocations

Excerpt from news.mongabay.com MEDAN, Indonesia — Sahala Pasaribu, 35, walks on customary land his family has not been able to manage for more than three decades since PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL), a pulpwood company, took control of it. Now, after the government decided to revoke the company’s permit in January, he hopes it’s possible. “We feel free to manage our own land without the intimidation we often faced,” said Sahala, head of Natinggir village in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province. He succeeded his father, Tomu Pasaribu, who died in 2024. He has already begun replanting the land with secondary crops, such as corn and vegetables. His family also plans to restore a customary forest, which they say is sacred. But whether he, and others from dozens of Indigenous communities whose lands were held by the company, can legally reclaim their customary lands remains unclear. At the start of 2026, the government decided to revoke PT TPL’s forest utilization permit, along with those of 27 other companies, over violating environmental and forestry regulations it said contributed to deadly floods and landslides in November 2025. But according to officials, lands under these permits will be managed by state-owned companies under the sovereign investment agency Danantara. Some companies have also indicated they will appeal the revocations of their permits. Pressure from communities on the government for clarity about whether they can take back lands has so far gone unanswered.

Culture & CommunityMarch 25, 2026

Greening quality learning: how climate education is driving curriculum reform in Madagascar

Excerpt from unesco.org As part of ongoing efforts supported by UNESCO to strengthen climate education, educators and communities are confronting these challenges through learning that connects environmental protection with livelihoods and local realities. For educators in the region, these realities raise an urgent question: how can schools help young people understand, protect and sustain the environment, and the livelihoods, they depend on? Strengthening curriculum responses to climate challenges Education plays a critical role in building long-term resilience. Through the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative, UNESCO is supporting Madagascar’s curriculum reform by leading the integration of climate change education across curricula, teaching and teacher professional development. This work is carried out in collaboration with Save the Children and the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), with support from the Global Partnership for Education.