The Bernard Mullu Narokobi Gallery is named after one of Papua New Guinea’s foremost philosophers and writers. Professor Narokobi is one of Papua New Guinea’s most widely published and read authors whose nation-building roles during the formative years included as a lawyer, politician, judge, activist and church layman of the Catholic Church.
Narokobi’s contemplative and introspective writings through his Melanesian Voice newspaper articles in the 1970’s and 1980’s culminated in the Melanesian Way Philosophy which was akin to the socialisation model of education. Papua New Guinea is a very diverse society but is striving to create an open society in the democratic liberal tradition. Each citizen must recognise the appropriate social relations required for interaction with the family, the village, wantoks, other economic groups, people from other provinces and nations. This process of socialisation requires a belief in the principles of the Melanesian extended family, dialogue, respect for others and a willingness to conserve and promote those aspects of our traditions which are consistent with integral human development. It also requires an awareness of the inter-dependence of individuals, societies and nations in the modern world.
Narokobi’s writings, like the objects in this gallery named after him, are a window into the level at which culture is ingrained in Papua New Guinean societies and how these Papua New Guinean values can continue to inform future developments in the country.