Affiliated Individuals

Some individuals affiliated with colonial organizations were especially influential in print culture development: whether as cultural mediators or as enablers or drivers of change. These might be individuals who developed and achieved personal goals within the parameters of public organizations. Sometimes individual sponsors fought against the status quo; other times they were hired at an opportune time, when an organization was seeking leaders, or catalysts, to effect change. Affiliated individuals tended to work for, or be associated with, colonial administrations, religious organizations, or educational institutions. However, they might just as easily be affiliated with newspapers, publishing houses, associations, or foundations.

These sponsors were often charismatic people whose extraordinary ability and determination placed a personal stamp on the activities of their organizations. The institutions with which they were associated often relied so much on the pioneering energies of one person that organizational programs faltered when that person moved to another post, or retired. It was amongst such individuals that mentoring was most prevalent.

Affiliated individuals might choose the following practices when serving as print culture sponsors:

• resourcing and establishing programs and institutions;
• encouraging print culture communities within the colony by serving as mediators between vested interests and by imbuing print culture with social capital through modelling the roles of writer, publisher, editor, critic, and the like;
• mentoring employees toward a specific goal of transferring public institutions to colonial peoples;
• developing a colonial market for the products of print culture activity.

Although the colonial era of print culture sponsorship is relatively short in Papua New Guinea, several individuals can be assessed for their personal contribution. Hubert Murray and Francis Williams of the colonial administration; Ulli Beier and Prithvindra Chakravarti of the University of Papua New Guinea; and Glen Bays of the Creative Training Centre are obvious choices; other affiliated individuals will be added to the website over time.