The PNG Bahá’ís Visitor Centre at Tokarara recently hosted a thought-provoking roundtable discussion on various topics – one of them exploring the growing tension between westernized education and the preservation of Papua New Guinea’s traditional knowledge and cultural practices. Participants shared personal stories and observations, noting that while western formal education offers recognized qualifications and formal employment opportunities, it has also led to the gradual sidelining of indigenous skills and cultural learning. Practices such as learning one’s mother tongue, carving a canoe, or understanding traditional governance systems are increasingly being treated as secondary, with little economic value attached. Speakers expressed concern that this mindset has fostered a perception of cultural inferiority among younger generations, discouraging them from acquiring knowledge that was once passed down freely within communities. Churches, historically instrumental in establishing schools in rural areas, were acknowledged for providing literacy and education but also for encouraging English over local languages. “We’ve succumbed to privileging one language, the one that gets you a job or an education, over others.” This shift, coupled with the influence of colonial religion and governance, was seen as contributing to the erosion of values such as respect, accountability, and trust; values once central to community life. The discussion also highlighted the decline of Tok Pisin proficiency, with some participants noting that foreign academics sometimes speak the language more fluently than local youth. “The first problem with Tok Pisin and English is that one language is privileged over another. This devalues indigenous languages. We were punished in school for speaking them.” The group suggested that language preservation and cultural skills should be formally integrated into school curricula to ensure they survive alongside academic learning. One contributor added that PNG’s many tribes should be viewed not as divisions but as interconnected strands in a strong cultural network, capable of unity as demonstrated when the country gained independence without conflict. The session closed with a call for more balanced education systems, ones that embrace modern knowledge while valuing traditional practices, languages, and cultural identity.