Melanesia 2000
Encyclopedia
Melanesia 2000 was the first festival of Melanesian arts, first held in Noumea
, New Caledonia
in September 1975, supported by Jean-Marie Tjibaou
. It had its origins in the womens' association, Smiling Melanesian Village Women's Groups which was formed in 1971 and advocated the idea of a cultural festival to promote Kanak
arts.
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
in September 1975, supported by Jean-Marie Tjibaou
Jean-Marie Tjibaou
Jean-Marie Tjibaou was a leader of the Kanak independence movement and a politician in New Caledonia. The son of a tribal chief, Tjibaou was ordained a priest but abandoned his religious vocation for a life in political activism...
. It had its origins in the womens' association, Smiling Melanesian Village Women's Groups which was formed in 1971 and advocated the idea of a cultural festival to promote Kanak
Kanak people
Kanak are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the southwest Pacific. They constitute 44.1% of the total population of New Caledonia. Though Melanesian settlement is recorded on Grande Terre's Presqu'île de Foué peninsula as far back as the...
arts.