Assembling Papua New Guinea Melanesian Perspectives on Corporate Philanthropic Development Gifting

Abstract

This thesis explores Indigenous Melanesian ways of gifting and how Papua New Guineans view them in the context of corporate philanthropic gifting for development. I am an Indigenous Papua New Guinea (PNG) Melanesian woman, and I write from that perspective, focusing on the case of the Digicel Foundation in PNG. I draw on the work of Bernard Narokobi, a PNG philosopher who spoke and wrote about the Melanesian way but not as rigid traditionalism. Instead, he understood Melanesian indigeneity to be engaged with contemporary foreign ways, enabling PNG to function in a globalised world while at the same time grounded in being Melanesian and Papua New Guinean. I focus on understanding Melanesian ways of gifting, as distinct from corporate philanthropic development gifting, as a way to argue for how development in Melanesia can be enhanced. I engage with relevant literature on gifting and corporate philanthropic giving. I introduce the concept of the assemblage framework, which I use to organise the diverse Melanesian perspectives on gifting. I support my research arguments using various methodological approaches, including the Melanesian yumi tok stori approach. The data collected enabled me to look at the participants' relationships to their places (ples) in PNG and engage with the past and present giftings to provide contexts and understanding of gifting in PNG. My research found that PNG gifting is about long-term relationships, while corporate gifting, in many cases, is a short-term relationship. Moreover, it is essential to understand the relationships of Indigenous communities from a PNG Melanesian perspective. It is in understanding the relationships through a PNG Melanesian perspective that corporations’ attempt to do development can be achieved. The research showed that most of the 45 participants viewed corporate giving as reciprocity; however, corporate foundations may see reciprocity with the parent company as improving market opportunities for profit-making. Furthermore, the research found an absence of effective state monitoring of non-state entities, so there are opportunities for the government to develop monitoring systems that encourage effective development efforts by all development partners.