1. Background Information
During the Pre-colonial Palau, the Palauan language did not have a written
system; therefore history, knowledge, customs, religion and elements of the
sociopolitical system were passed from one generation to the other orally. The
indigenous traditional education included training, cultivating and strengthening
memory to retain the knowledge of the culture. The Spanish regime from 1885-1899
did not establish a formal system of education in Palau. The first formal schools were
established during the annexation of Palau by Germany (1900-1914). In 1920, the
Japanese gained legal authority over Palau replacing the first schools with four
elementary schools offering education based on a curriculum in Japanese language.
In 1944, the U.S.A took Palau from the Japanese administration and by the end of
World War II the U.S.A Naval Administration established schools from scratch in the
country.
Until the 1960s schools tended to be Palauan-oriented but gradually the
educational system moved toward the U.S.A model implementing new educational
policies and hiring U.S.A teachers. In 1994, the Republic of Palau became a
constitutional government in free association with the United States. The new
education model created a disparity for Palauan children between the western
system within the classroom and the more traditional cultural values at home. In
terms of language, the Palau language has experienced an intensive language
contact with Spanish, German, Japanese and English due to colonialism. Nowadays,
there are five languages spoken in the country: English, Palauan, Japanese, Sonsorol
and Tobian. English and Palauan are the official languages (Palau MOE, 2006).
The Palauan educational system is closely based on the United States
education system. English and the Palauan indigenous language are both used and
taught at school, however, English gradually becomes the language of instruction in
high school and the predominant language used in higher education (Palau’s
National Government, 2014). The language shift from Palauan to English affects the
linguistic vitality of the Palauan indigenous language in the country.
UNDG Global Thematic Consultation on the
Post-2015 Development Agenda
Culture and Development
Swords, Faith (Ministry of Education of the Republic of Palau)
Ureña, Norma (UNESCO Office for the Pacific States)
Promoting Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)
in the Palauan Education System

2. Culture and Education in the Republic of Palau
People learn and transmit knowledge in different ways according to their
backgrounds, language and cultural environments. In the case of the Republic of
Palau, an upper middle-income country located in Western Pacific Ocean, the way
knowledge has been transmitted from one generation to the other has changed
dramatically over time. The Palauan government understands the importance of
preserving the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of the Palauan culture in order to
maintain the country’s cultural diversity in this globalized world. The Republic of
Palau became a signatory to UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011.
Considering the domains in which ICH is manifested, the Ministry of
Education (MOE) of the Republic of Palau developed the Palau Education Master
Plan 2006-2016. This plan includes the “Curriculum and Instruction” area as one of
the five priority areas. The main goal of this area is to further develop the
educational curriculum and instruction by achieving different objectives such as
improving the curriculum frameworks, increasing literacy, numeracy,
Palauan knowledge and essential life skills (Palau MOE, 2006).
The government also places a great value on incorporating Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD) into its educational system. Following the ESD, the
government promotes the teaching of traditional knowledge and the use of
indigenous languages; it believes that with the education of young generations, the
wealth of the Palauan knowledge and skills will be transmitted from one generation
to the next.
Promoting Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)
in the Palauan Education System
Thanks to the support of the Government of Japan with UNESCO, the Palau
Ministry of Education, in partnership with the Ministry of Community and Cultural
Affairs, was able to conduct the Palau Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Project from October 2013 to June
2014. The Palau ICH-ESD project produced high-quality lesson plans allowing
teachers to promote issues of intangible cultural knowledge and skills of oral
traditions of the Palauan culture. Additionally, the project addressed school needs
for teaching and learning materials by purchasing books, and reproducing existing
materials related to ICH and ESD.
The Palau ICH-ESD project produced high-quality lesson
plans to promote issues of intangible cultural knowledge
and skills of oral traditions of the Palauan culture

3. The details of the ICH-ESD project were discussed through several meetings
between the Director of Education Administration and the Palau Ministry of
Education Leadership. The project was oriented to help the Palauan Studies and
Social Studies subjects in order to find a solution for the lack of standardized
materials for Grade 5 and Grade 6 classroom instruction in these areas. The project
was focused on developing ICH lesson plans for Grade 6 of primary education, but
later, it was expanded to include the writing of lesson plans for Grade 5 as well.
In order to follow the Ministry of Education standards of the Palauan Studies
and Social Studies subjects, the ICH project included the teaching of Palau’s
geography, customs and practices, tools for farming, fishing, carving, Palauan
money (store disk) and the cultural heritage of the Palau’s tradition. Additionally to
the content, in order to continue promoting the maintenance of the Palauan
indigenous language, the Palauan language was still chosen as the language of
instruction to conduct the activities in the classrooms.
To guarantee the success of the ICH-ESD project the Ministry of Education
Leadership created the Palau ICH National Team composed of a group of experts on
Palauan cultural heritage. Following the community based approach to curriculum
design; the group was formed by the director of the Belau National Museum and
people selected from the MOE central office staff, teachers, principals, staff of the
Ministry of Community and Cultural Affairs. Later in the development of the project
students were also invited to participate.
The Palau ICH National Team
developed the national guideline
outlining for the project, aligned the
materials to the appropriate
standards and objectives, designed
the Lesson Plan Writing Workshops,
created a list of teachers from urban
and rural schools who later were
invited to participate in the
workshops, selected three primary
schools to receive an ICH-ESD
program lesson plan trial and agreed
to use the existing MOE Classroom
Observation Tool during the trails.
See Table 1. for the distribution of the
times and activities of the project.
Table 1. Palau ICH-ESD Project
Palau ICH-ESD Project
Activities Content Date
Activity 1 MOE Leadership
Meeting
October-November
2013
Activity 2 Appointment of the
Palau ICH National
Team
November 13, 2013
Activity 3 Palau ICH National
Guideline
November 15, 2013
Activity 4 Alignment of
Resources
November 19, 2013
Activity 5 Lesson Plan Writing
Workshop Preparation
November 21, 2013
Activity 6 Lesson Plan Writing
Workshop Design for
Grade 6
November 26, 2013
Activity 7 ICH Lesson Plan
Writing Workshop for
Grade 6
December 2-6, 2013
Activity 8 ICH Lesson Plan
Training for Grade 6
December 7, 2013
Activity 9 ICH Lesson Plan Trail
for Grade 6
December 9-13,
2013

4. During the Lesson Plan Writing workshops,
the Palau ICH National team and the invited
teachers were constantly reminded that the
transfer of knowledge and skills must be
present in all the lesson plans to assure the
sustainability of the project. Once the lesson
plans were written, Grade 6 teachers, from the
three selected schools, were trained in how to
use the lesson plans and asked to prepare a
demonstration class for the lesson class trial
activity.
The ICH National Team conducted class observations during the Grade 6
lesson plan trials. It recorded the reactions that teachers and students had to the
activities in the lesson plans finding out that students were more engaged in hands
on activities. The ICH National Team organized a workshop to improve the lesson
plans reflecting on the lessons learned from the trials. The lesson plans for Grade 5
were designed based on the feedback received from the process of writing the
Grade 6 lesson plans.
The Republic of Palau Context Analysis
As presented in the country’s background information, the Palau’s culture
and language has been influenced and changed by other cultures. The Palau ICH-
ESD project helps the country to preserve its history, knowledge and customs by
incorporating the Palauan traditional knowledge into the educational system. The
activities in the lesson plans address the main domains in which cultural heritage is
manifested: Palauan oral traditions and expressions, performing arts, social
practices, rituals and festivities, traditional craftsmanship. Additionally, current
issues such as climate change and disaster risk management are also considered in
the activities. The incorporation of these domains in the education system assures
the transmission of the Palauan ICH from one generation to the other in a sustainable
way.
The involvement of different stakeholders at different stages of the Palau ICH-
ESD project helps the successful development of lesson plans that are culturally
relevant to the Palau context and will benefit not only the current and but also the
future young generations of the country. The Palauan society has traditionally been
an oral society and therefore not many school materials have been produced in this
language.
A community-based
approach to curriculum
design was used in order
to invite different
stakeholders to
participate in the project
at different stages.

5. The Palau ICH-ESD project addressed this problem by developing appropriate
school materials in the Palauan language for Grade 5 and Grade 6 that not only
contribute to the teaching of the Palauan ICH but also to the maintenance of the
Palauan indigenous language.
As stated previously, the Palau ICH-ESD project was successful in the Palauan
context because it not only helped to preserve the Palauan ICH, but also contributed
to the creation of school materials in the Palauan language. Also, this project helped
to create a stronger connection between the Palauan culture and language through
education enabling talent development of the young generations. The ICH-ESD
project could be a valuable resource to be used as a guide for the design of future
projects. Even when the project was successful in the Palauan context, it could be
replicated in other Pacific Island countries with similar social, political and linguistic
backgrounds in consultation with various stakeholders from the local community.
The ICH-ESD project reflects the importance of considering culture as a key driver
and enabler when planning education reforms for sustainable development.
Currently, the attention given to culture is not sufficient; targets and indicators
on culture must be considered as a thematic area in the development of the set
of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the post 2015 development agenda.
Culture has always been a cross cutting theme that has influenced the established
thematic areas. In order to reach the current Millennium Developing Goals,
countries had to consider the way its people learn and transmit knowledge
according to their backgrounds, language and cultural environments. Therefore, it is
time to place culture as one of the predominant pillars in the post 2015 agenda due
to the fact that it can enable a transformative change for sustainable development.