When Papua New Guinean fashion designer Yaku Ninich wanted to use tapa designs inspired by those of her grandmother, in her work, she first had to ask her mother for permission. Ninich, who is based in the US, but has roots in both Oro and Morobe provinces says that not everyone respects the connection between these ancient designs and the Oro people. “Tapa designs in the last three years have been commercialised uncontrollably,” said Ninich. “I feel like it should be appreciated and used ethi

Leanne Jorari is a Papua New Guinean media and communications specialist, producer and writer, based in Port Moresby. A former journalist and producer at PNG’s national broadcaster, EMTV, she is now a freelance writer for The Guardian‘s Pacific Project, which is supported by the Institute. We caught up with Leanne to find out more about her work in the Pacific, PNG’s recent political turmoil and what’s in store in 2021.

Rain pelts down as the monthly city markets opens its doors in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. Market sellers worry about the weather chasing potential shoppers away but organiser, Sylvia Pascoe is unfazed. She gets onto social media to encourage her thousands of followers to stave off the rainy day blues by coming to the markets for some hot Papua New Guinea coffee. Her perseverance and that of the mostly female sellers pays off when the sun creeps back out. Pascoe, who began

While across the Pacific communities are dealing with shrinking coastlines, one area in Papua New Guinea has an altogether different problem: a new island that has solidified and started supporting vegetation in the last few years has caused tensions and even outbreaks of violence as competing clans lay claim to the land. That fight has been intensified as communities struggle to deal with the consequences of warming oceans and the devastating impact of natural disasters.

The mine at the centre of the decade-long civil war between rebels in Bougainville and Papua New Guinea security forces is set to reopen 30 years after it was forced to close, following an agreement between local landowners. Panguna was once one of the world’s largest and most profitable copper and goldmines and still contains an estimated 5.3m tons of copper and 19.3m ounces of gold, which would make the reserves worth about $60bn at today’s prices. In 1989, amid rising community anger at the

For coffee lover and entrepreneur Georgina Benson it’s is all about flavour and quality – so she is introducing to Papua New Guinea a new way to prepare and enjoy local coffee. Like a tea bag … but for coffee. Yes, you read that right. Beautiful, ground coffee from the mountains of Eastern Highlands Province is now available in heat resistant porous bags.

Miss Papua New Guinea has been stripped of her crown after sharing a video of herself twerking on TikTok, with critics saying the incident reveals a deep-seated culture of misogyny in the country. Lucy Maino, 25, who has also served as co-captain of Papua New Guinea’s women’s football team, faced intense online harassment after she shared a video of herself twerking on the video-sharing app TikTok. Though twerking videos are common on the application, Maino’s now-deleted video was singled out

For all of Theonila Roka Matbob’s three decades, the scar on her land that was once the world’s largest copper mine has cast a pall. The Panguna mine in Bougainville, eastern Papua New Guinea, has not yielded a single ounce in her lifetime – forced shut the year before Matbob was born - but she grew up in the shadow of the violent civil war it provoked. When she was just three years old, her father, John Roka, was murdered by the secessionist soldiers who had forced the mine to close. Spending

Following weeks of anticipation, the people of Bougainville woke on Wednesday to news of a new president-elect. Former Bougainville Revolutionary Army Commander Ishmael Toroama, from Central Bougainville, will take up the mantle of president from John Momis. Toroama was a popular contender from the start of the elections, with a voter commenting on social media that he is the “people’s choice”. Following the decade-long civil war in which he served under former BRA leader Francis Ona, Toroama