In the recent Pacific Futures Forum hosted by UNDP and Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Manu Folau (Vice Chancellor) was invited to speak on the philosophy of time and its impact on development and our vision of the future. Professor Upolu Luma Vaai reminded the forum, “I want to acknowledge the fact that the concept of time has been used by the market as a colonial tool to control progress, to define civilization, and manage what development should look like. We work in a speed of time that resists the wisdom of restraint. That not only violates every fabric of the collective and relational wellbeing of communities, but also one that leaves many people behind. If we are to properly restory our development narrative, then we need a ‘whole of life’ philosophy of time that is relational and encompasses the entirety of time. That moves as a whole and not in linear fragmented eras and periods. That does not rush or force things to meet our cycle of project delivery or donor priorities. That respects complexity and the relational makeup of communities that is both conflicting and harmonious at the same time.”
