By
allowing others to freely express,
we allow our own freedom of expression.
Vision
Culture and tradition is the essence of any society’s
identity and it is also important to the development
of a healthy community spirit. Within the cultural
and social experiences at the community level
there emerges the well rounded individual. It
is through the evolution of culture that our society’s
distinctiveness emerges. Traditions help to connect
us with our culture, its past and the natural
environment that surrounds it.
Current
Reality and Challenges
Loss of cultural and biological diversity is a
major issue. Conventional approaches tend to support
the continued decline of indigenous culture and
ways of living seeing them as obsolete. The solution
according to this model is for local regions to
emulate modern practices and cultural values.
The challenge is to get people to understand that
protect their natural heritage is very much tied
to their own survival and success - and
identity. Many people have lost, or stopped practicing,
the knowledge of sustainable living.
Global economy has promote cultural and aesthetic
homogenization - a monoculture of the collective
human mind now infects the global consciousness:
News
is increasingly homogenized - 80 percent
of images are taken from just three image
banks
The
consumption of information and cultural
goods according to the same logic that
that led to success of Coke, McDonalds
and Kraft singles
Competition
for finite resources is now further reinforcing
this process of cultural homogenization
to part of the world that until recently
had intact local cultures
Many indigenous societies were communal with
members of the communities working together on
common projects such as irrigation, harvests,
and building maintaining houses and agricultural
buildings as well as cultural events.
How we can use the sense of community commonly
seen in indigenous villages to bootstrap these
communities into the modern world, while also
learning from their perspective so as to live
more sustainably in this world as modern people?
The challenge is to use technology to empower
people at the local level. This is paradoxical
because technology has been key to disrupting
local cultural vitality and the co-opting of indigenous
values with modern ones. Can Unity Center ecovillages
utilize Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) to chart a path that enables local cultural
reconstruction?
Approach
Our method connects art, science, enterprise and
education with proactive actions on the ground
that promote more sustainable ways of living.
This includes setting up Multipurpose
Community and Unity Centers and Ecotourism
Programs that build relationships between developing
and developed parts of the world that are mutually
enriching. ICT is an important tool in enabling
people to share stories with others, and to feel
connected.
There appears to be a connection between the
loss of species and the loss of cultures.
Traditional
indigenous cultures evolved with the natural
world around them, in direct response
to its demands and opportunities. Many
remarkable indigenous approaches emerged
from this process. The effective collection
of this indigenous cultural and social
information may protect species and habitat.
Presenting
stories about people who live dramatically
different lives thinking through the issues,
resolving them, and taking action to protect
the beings they share the world with,
can be a powerful, compelling source of
insight and motivation.
Culture is an important of local indigenous community
that western people could learn from. We see one
example of this in the form of the drumming that
is an important way of life of many indigenous
cultures including for example the Yoruba in Nigeria.
Goals:
Redevelop authentic
cultural identity at the local level seeing
it as the cultural to effective and sustainable
economic development
Promote
knowledge sharing and cultural exchanges
through ICT and fellowship programs
Highlight Value of
Indigenous culture through the promote
and sale of art and crafts from these
regions
Create channel and
forums to enable global wisdom exchange
Promote
storytelling as well to preserve culture
and to share between people of different
cultures
Ecotourism
- The goal of OVF's Ecotourism
approach is to enable knowledge exchange
between cultures. It will involve the development
of a ecotourism and workshop program built
around Unity Centers. When fully developed
people will have a chance to experience
African culture and in the process heal
from the stresses and traumas of modern
life, becoming more effective and productive
�change agents� in creating a sustainable
global society.
Back
To the Root - BTTR is based on
the idea that culture and in particular
indigenous culture can help modern people
learn to celebrate life and live life in
the moment. OVF led by founder Joy Tang
has sought to create cultural events and
experiences that seek to help us get back
to our cultural and spiritual roots.
Storytelling
- An important of our educational
approach involves the use of story-telling
to build rapport and enthusiasm. This includes
celebrating the successes, creating proactive
solutions for the problems that show up
and then sharing them on the Web. Through
storytelling we recognize and honor Centers
of Excellence, both in the demonstration
areas and in each cluster (village).
Past
Culture Pillar Projects
Healing
Motion - Yusuf Ahmed, was born and raised
in a small area called Nima in Accra, Ghana.
He has been spreading African music to the
West through his lectures at UC Berkeley
on percussion instruments and about his
life history, performing throughout California
with his band, "The Village Culture
Kingdom", and via his CDs - All African
Tribe & Diaspora, Doxology and Healing
Motion--produced in collaboration with sociologist
and anthropologist, Professor Akinsola Akiwowo,
and OVF founder, Joy Tang, among others.
Hands
Project Featured at the AIDS 2004 Conference
- This Initiative connected People Living
and Affected by HIV/AIDS. It was coordinated
by The Life Home Project, which is based
in Phunket, Thailand. The multi-coloured
hand prints were pressed on a white canvas
with the signature of PLWHA and affected
persons.
Unity
Drum - OVF participated in a world event
in 2005 called One World Beat and we presented
'unity drums' in 3 countries to honor unity
and community life through traditional drumming
traditions of West Africa. We dedicated
the celebration for all children of the
world. The Back to the Root concept which
unity drums is based on, combines various
"indigenous technologies" such
as drumming, singing, dancing and chanting
to promote holistic healing and cultural
discovery.
