Viviane Obed

Viviane Obed

Viviane

Obed

2023

Further Arts Vanuatu

Vanuatu

General Manager

Viviane Obed is a cultural and community development worker currently serving as General Manager of the Port Vila-based charitable association Further Arts in Vanuatu. She is a strong advocate for cultural, gender, youth, environmental, and human rights, and takes the lead in making sure there is always space and voice for such issues to be heard in all aspects of development. Her work over the last 25 years developing roadmaps and models of community of support have been adopted as long-term frameworks by the various organisations with which she has worked, such as the Vanuatu Cultural Center, Habitat for Humanity Vanuatu, the Vanuatu Association of Non-Government, and Care International Vanuatu. Through practices of deep listening and prioritising local voices and cultural knowledge, including traditional, consensus-based governance, and deliberative processes, she actively addresses the availability of support to local artists to sustain their creative practices during and after disasters. Further Arts has used this approach to strengthen the leadership capacity of local residents and to empower them to play a central role in developing relevant solutions to the climate crisis and cultural loss.