Kopkop College students visit IPNGS

Researchers at the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies (IPNGS) welcomed over 50 grade seven students from Kopkop College last month.
The visit by the grade seven students to IPNGS on June 24 was tied into their class studies.
It related to their explorations of the topic, music and PNG studies: politics, government, and people.
IPNGS director, Don Niles, introduced the students to the work of the institute as a government organisation focused on cultural research. John Himugu discussed his ongoing work in ethnology, particularly in relation to using oral histories to document the groupings of people in Hela.
Gedisa Jacob described the importance of the archival collections at IPNGS, and how they were organised, looked after, and maintained in documenting and preserving the cultural traditions of the country.
The archived audiovisual materials at IPNGS dated back to 1898 and were essential aspects of the important and unique work of IPNGS.
Both during the presentations and particularly following them, students were encouraged to ask questions.
Some questions related to the presentations, but others extended further to consider various cultural matters of more general concern.
Dr Naomi Faik-Simet, IPNGS’s assistant director in the dance division, helped to field their questions and provided the answers.