the Vanuatu IT Users Society as well as my membership in the Vanuatu
organising committee for the PacINET 2010 conference.
I'm sharing my reasons for doing so because I think it's in the
community's interest.
Since my arrival in Vanuatu in 2003, I've carefully adhered to one
fundamental rule: Support local initiatives, but DO NOT take the lead.
It's my firm conviction that the role of expats is to assist with
whatever needs doing, but at all costs to avoid having undue influence
over the decisions that get made.
In order for a community to function, it requires coordination,
cooperation and support. People need to talk to each other; they need to
work together; they need to help others.
With VIGNET and other sources of communication, we've been more
successful at communicating than just about any other Pacific country.
We should all be very proud of that.
We have had some modest successes in working together. Though the level
of activity is lower than many might want it to be, there have been a
few notable successes.
Support, however, is far, far too low.
Percentage-wise, involvement in IT community activities in Vanuatu is
about on par with other countries in the world. But in real numbers, the
group committed to bringing Kastom & culture into the Information Age is
unsustainably small. As things stand right now, the success of an entire
process often rests on the efforts (or lack thereof) of a single individual.
If things don't change, Vanuatu's technological progress will remain in
the hands of a few well-intentioned but overburdened individuals. I've
thought about this carefully for some months now, and it seems to me
that the necessary change is not forthcoming.
It's my sincere hope that my resignation will ultimately prove to be
mistaken. The people of Vanuatu have made me family and given me a home.
I owe this country a debt of love and gratitude that is greater than I
can express. Nothing would make me happier than to see the cleverness,
creativity and deep sense of community that make up the ni-Vanuatu
identity applied and extended into the digital world.
But right now, I'm tired. I'm also worried: I dare not work alone -or
even with such a tiny minority- because that runs counter to my
convictions against imposing outside values onto the community at large.
For that reason, I see no alternative but to step back from any official
involvement in these activities.
--
Dan McGarry dmcgarry@imagicity.com
Writing: http://scriptorum.imagicity.com/
Photos: http://www.imagicity.com/
organising committee for the PacINET 2010 conference.
I'm sharing my reasons for doing so because I think it's in the
community's interest.
Since my arrival in Vanuatu in 2003, I've carefully adhered to one
fundamental rule: Support local initiatives, but DO NOT take the lead.
It's my firm conviction that the role of expats is to assist with
whatever needs doing, but at all costs to avoid having undue influence
over the decisions that get made.
In order for a community to function, it requires coordination,
cooperation and support. People need to talk to each other; they need to
work together; they need to help others.
With VIGNET and other sources of communication, we've been more
successful at communicating than just about any other Pacific country.
We should all be very proud of that.
We have had some modest successes in working together. Though the level
of activity is lower than many might want it to be, there have been a
few notable successes.
Support, however, is far, far too low.
Percentage-wise, involvement in IT community activities in Vanuatu is
about on par with other countries in the world. But in real numbers, the
group committed to bringing Kastom & culture into the Information Age is
unsustainably small. As things stand right now, the success of an entire
process often rests on the efforts (or lack thereof) of a single individual.
If things don't change, Vanuatu's technological progress will remain in
the hands of a few well-intentioned but overburdened individuals. I've
thought about this carefully for some months now, and it seems to me
that the necessary change is not forthcoming.
It's my sincere hope that my resignation will ultimately prove to be
mistaken. The people of Vanuatu have made me family and given me a home.
I owe this country a debt of love and gratitude that is greater than I
can express. Nothing would make me happier than to see the cleverness,
creativity and deep sense of community that make up the ni-Vanuatu
identity applied and extended into the digital world.
But right now, I'm tired. I'm also worried: I dare not work alone -or
even with such a tiny minority- because that runs counter to my
convictions against imposing outside values onto the community at large.
For that reason, I see no alternative but to step back from any official
involvement in these activities.
--
Dan McGarry dmcgarry@imagicity.com
Writing: http://scriptorum.imagicity.com/
Photos: http://www.imagicity.com/
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