Music and culture project for Bougainville, Pacific women

Kamalita Tibou. Photo by K. Verrell

Wantok Musik Foundation of Australia has been in the forefront of a unique and very important music project for Pacific women.

Titled, Music for Change: Pacific Women, the project is a women-led music and storytelling project supporting women's leadership, creative expression and skills development across the Pacific, with the core programme delivery taking place in Bougainville and Tonga in 2026.   

Through collaborative songwriting,   mentoring,   recording,   performance,   filmmaking and    storytelling,   the project strengthens creative and technical capability while building pathways for cultural and economic participation in the music and arts sector.  

The initiative is grounded in Pacific-led delivery and shaped through collaboration with local women's organisations, cultural leaders and community partners.

Funding and technical help for the project comes from the Pacific Women Lead at the Pacific Community (PWL at SPC) programme, supported by the Australian Government.

Toubanis Cultural Band. Photo by K. Verrell

The  team on  the  ground  from  Wantok Musik  includes  artistic  director  Dr  David   Bridie   and Australian project  manager Dr Jodie   Kell.    They  have   curated a  group of  mentors to take to Bougainville and  Tonga  and  will also  work  closely with local organisations to support the delivery and  promotion of the project.

"This project starts with listening. It's about creating the conditions for women to tell their own stories, in their own voices, and to build skills that endure well beyond the time we spend on the ground," said artistic director David Bridie.

Jodie Kell - project lead, said:  "We are so excited to be working in Bougainville and Tonga, alongside dynamic and talented local mentors and artists. The standard of the applicants, both for participants and mentors, is so high. 

“We believe the outcomes will be powerful, exciting and great listening."

The Bougainville programme, takes place in Tubiana, Central Bougainville from 22 June to July 10, 2026 and is named the Meri Singsing Strong Project.  Sixteen to 20 women take part, with support from Bougainville Project Manager Llane Munau and mentors Beatrice Lewis, Monique Brumby, Theresa Miria and Tziyon Mogu, as well as local artists Kamalita Tibou, Tasha Kabano, Emma Getsi and Mary Diao. 

Wantok is thrilled to have these incredible women as mentors and participants, who bring significant expertise to the programme. This project is to build on the Lek  Mak Project , a music and  culture project facilitated by Wantok Musik celebrating the cultural depth and significance of Bougainville in the context of their transition to nationhood. Both Tibou and Diao are artists on the Lek Mak album released in 2025, which is a good place to listen to their songs, and to hear the music of Bougainville.

Bougainville project manager Llane Munau will be working as a filmmaker during the project. She will   mentor the participants to develop their filmmaking and storytelling skills creating documentary content as well as music videos. Munau says that the project reflects the central role women play in Bougainvillean culture and community life.

Munau said: "Singing and music is part of us. It expresses who we are as Bougainvillean women. This project will elevate women musicians by creating opportunities to have their voices heard - locally, regionally and internationally. Then everyone will see it's not only men who can do this, women can be empowered through music too."