Papua New Guinea celebrates the 50th anniversary of its independence

In 2025, Papua New Guinea will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence, marked by a year-long international series of events linking museums around the world. The Museum of Ethnography in Budapest is also joining the programme, as its permanent exhibition gives special prominence to material from New Guinea, particularly the internationally significant collection and research of Lajos Bíró. The museum’s Oceania collection preserves exceptionally well-documented artefacts, manuscripts and photographs from the earliest period of colonisation, to which many researchers have contributed over the decades. Since no such early and richly annotated material exists in New Guinea itself, the Museum of Ethnography regards it as a key mission to make this valuable heritage accessible to source communities through digitisation. As part of its participation, on the programme day of 11 October the museum will host an improvisational theatre performance in honour of the contemporary communities of Papua New Guinea.

NM F 15453 Lajos Bíró with a group preparing for a mourning ceremony, former German New Guinea, 1900

NM F 15328 Two Jabim youths in full ceremonial attire, former German New Guinea, 1900

Our further digital databases are available here:

Online Collection Néprajzi Múzeum | Online Gyűjtemények - Műtárgygyűjtemény, Műtárgyleltár

Photo Database (with geographic search function) Néprajzi Múzeum | Online Gyűjtemények - Etnológiai Archívum, Fényképgyűjtemény

The project's website: WAN BEL: Connecting Papua New Guinea heritage across the World

Associated content (in Hungarian):

Fatál Új-Guineából | Néprajzi Múzeum

Aranyba rejtett arcok | Néprajzi Múzeum

Kovács János hajának öt élete | Néprajzi Múzeum