AI and the Girmitya Odrelā: Resilience, Heritage, and Shaping our Futures in the South Pacific: From Struggles of the Past to the Promise of the Future

Sharma AM PhD, D. (Speaker)

AI & Robotics

Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk

Description

This presentation explores how the remarkable journey of Girmitya laborers—their resilience, adaptation, and transformation—provides a powerful framework for understanding and navigating our current AI revolution. Both represent monumental shifts requiring courage, vision, and collective action to build a more equitable future.

Period	10 Oct 2025
Held at	Fiji Polytech + Global Girmit, Fiji
Degree of Recognition	International

Documents & Links

This is a biennial gathering of academics, researchers and all those interested in girmit heritage, slavery and forced labour inflicted on ppl and their displacement to various parts of the world against their will from India. 61k ppl were moved to Fiji by deceit and deception from 1879-1916. There is a huge history on this and how our ppl where challenged in the ordeal. A rich story to learn much from and understand how these ppl toiled to build their communities and futures. A story worth telling….I am very much a descendent of the girmitya heritage and am very much a living example success the girmityas stood for – resilience, loyalty, fair & hope from ordeal despite the breaking of humanity at the hands of our colonial masters. I gave a keynote last Friday to the congregation on how the modern progress through AI relates to the triumphs of the girmityas. Pls see if there is an angle through which we can cover this historical era that shaped a better understanding of humanity and its role in shaping our societies around the world that was impacted by the ordeal. I am happy to share my thoughts. Do read up on the history through girmit resources online.