I recently went to a conference and one of the presenters, Denise McKenzie, discussed the impact of climate change on the island nation of Tuvalu. This article from BBC provides a little context and explains Tuvalu's attempts to digitize itself in the metaverse in order to preserve its culture. Tuvalu also signed a climate mobility agreement with Australia, so its citizens can legally migrate to Australia. There were a few questions brought up at the conference that I would love to hear your ideas on. I also thought they would be great discussion points for classes. If you do discuss in class, please let me know what your students think!
1. Can a sovereign nation continue to exist with no habitable land above water?
2. Can digital infrastructure help to preserve sovereignty and culture?
