Globalisation and Indigenous Peoples
Facing the 21st Century with Confidence, with the help of Information and Communications Technologies

 

  
 

 

 

  

Bario is a small, remote and isolated community nestled in the highlands of northern Sarawak, one of the Malaysian States on the island of Borneo.  It is homeland to the Kelabit indigenous ethnic minority who are legendary among anthropologists for their unique and fascinating culture.  Bario is also the site of the multi-award-winning e-Bario project, which introduced computers and the internet to this hitherto secluded community.

The Kelabit people, who emerged from isolation only within the last half century, have already wholeheartedly embraced education and are now forging new paths in Malaysian society with the help of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).  As they embrace the opportunities offered by new technologies with a mixture of enthusiasm and trepidation, many questions arise about their place in a modern Malaysia.

The Bario community has entertained many outside experts who came to study, analyse, learn and offer advice.  In almost every instance, such interactions were instigated by the visitor and conducted under their agenda.  The community was always willing to cooperate openly and freely.  However, the outputs of such exchanges served the purposes of the visitor but for the most part their value to the community, whilst being of some interest, was largely incidental.  Sometimes, the visiting experts published their findings without prior reference to the community and occasionally such findings, when published, were not necessarily endorsed by the community.

Arising from these experiences, the people of Bario have become aware of the interest that various groups around the world have in their community, its surroundings and the Kelabit people.  At the same time, they would like to be more proactively involved in the various enquiries that are made into their way of life, their environment and culture, their history and the ways in which they are coping with the various challenges of modern life.  In this, the people of Bario see an opportunity for capitalising on such world-wide interest, and doing so in a way that is under their own control and which is in accordance with their own agenda, not someone else’s.  

As the new millennium gets under way, the Bario community, the Kelabit people and their Highland homeland face critical challenges and opportunities within local and regional development.  These include;

  • the newly announced national park nearby; named Pulong Tau,
  • the encroachment into the area of the logging concession,
  • the re-organisation of the Malaysian Airline System, Bario’s lifeline to the outside world; there are no roads leading there,
  • the privatization of the e-Bario telecentre, and the pending withdrawal of external funding,
  • the potential for loss of cultural heritage, as the population ages and intermingles with outsiders,
  • the government’s call in the 9th Malaysia Plan for increased access to ICTs in rural and sparsely populated areas.

Bario now wishes to open up such issues for public debate, involving the people of Bario, the wider Kelabit community and friends and all interested parties.  This will take the form of a conference, to be held in Bario, organised by the e-Bario telecentre and the Kelabit people themselves, principally the residents of Bario, but with help from relatives and friends.  The purpose of the conference is as follows:

  • to harness the energy and goodwill of the worldwide community of friends of Bario and the Kelabit people towards preparing them for the challenges and opportunities that lay before them,
  • to share the experiences of e-Bario with other communities, especially indigenous minorities, and with the development agencies and NGOs that assist them,
  • to showcase the Kelabit culture of the 21st century, through direct contact,
  • to seek creative responses to the juxtaposition of tradition and modernity that will maintain harmony and  simultaneously promote acceptable and sustainable local development,
  • to create revenue generating opportunities for e-Bario and for the people of Bario.

The Bario–Kelabit Knowledge Fair is envisaged as a two or three day event, to be held in Bario, consisting of invited presentations, seminars, workshops, panels, focus groups, cultural events and festivities.  Utilising Bario’s well-honed event management skills and its legendary hospitality, all within the area’s idyllic natural surroundings, the conference represents a unique learning opportunity from a close encounter with a unique community at a critical juncture in its development. 

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