(Re-)Defining Culture: Engaging Urban Fijian Youth in Sustainable Employment Opportunities in the Cultural Heritage Sector

As Fiji’s main economic revenue source, the tourism industry sells a packaged form of indigenous Fijian (iTaukei) culture that does not appear to represent the reality of the nation’s culturally diverse urban youth. The research team will work with urban youth communities, where disengagement from their cultural roots is being experienced, often leading to problems of alienation, to examine their perceptions of Fijian culture and associated implications for sustainable employment opportunities related to cultural heritage. Through youth-driven workshops, placements, open days, interviews and artistic displays, the project will identify how urban Fijian youth experience culture and how cultural heritage institutions in Fiji can engage youth while offering viable employment opportunities.