CULTUREUNESCO and Indigenous Peoples: Partnership for Cultural Diversity
Indigenous peoples currently number some 350 million individuals in more than 70 countries in the world and represent more than 5000 languages and cultures. Despite their important contribution to the world cultural diversity and to the sustainable development of our planet, many of them live on the fringes of society and are deprived of basic human rights. Through its partnership with indigenous peoples, UNESCO seeks to support them in addressing the multiple challenges they face, while acknowledging their significant role in the world’s cultural landscape.
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Adapted from Fortress of Light ©Carlos Jacanamijoy 2001 | |
UNESCO’s activities with indigenous peoples are framed by its missions to protect and promote cultural diversity, encourage intercultural dialogue and enhance linkages between culture and development. The organization is thus actively involved in implementing the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (2005-2014) which is intended to strengthen international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous peoples in such areas as human rights, the environment, development, education and health, building on efforts initiated during the First Decade (1995-2004).
The adoption of the Second Decade reflects increasing awareness of the precarious condition of indigenous peoples and strengthened collaboration between indigenous organizations, governments, NGOs and UN agencies. This international mobilization has entailed significant advances such as the adoption in September 2007 of the UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples by the UN General Assembly, which the UNESCO Director General welcomed as a "milestone for indigenous peoples and all those who are committed to the protection and promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue".
Despite these advances, indigenous peoples remain particularly vulnerable to the impacts of globalisation and climate change. Often victims of displacements, dispossession of their lands, or lack of access to basic social services, it has become increasingly difficult for them to transmit their distinctive knowledge, values and ways of life from one generation to the next.
Through their spiritual relationship to the land and their holistic worldviews, indigenous peoples offer a valuable pathway in the search for global visions of sustainable development. UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy (2008-13), while mentioning indigenous peoples amongst the most vulnerable segments of society whose needs are to be prioritized, is also committed to enhance awareness about the important cultural contribution of indigenous peoples to sustainable development.
UNESCO’s partnership with indigenous peoples builds on several areas of focus, including:
- Tangible and intangible heritage
- Endangered languages
- Cultural and linguistic diversity in education
- Local and indigenous knowledge system and intergenerational transmission
- Enhancing communication capacities of indigenous peoples
- Cultural mapping
See also:
- Programme of Action for the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (A/60/270) (PDF document)
Adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 2005, this document is a reference that should orient the action of all the Decade’s stakeholders. It contains a number of recommendations which are directly addressed to UNESCO, notably in the areas of Culture and Education. - Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
The Permanent Forum is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights. Its website provides information on the role of indigenous peoples in international processes. - Des peuples autochtones francophones en mouvement
News
Message from Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, 9 August 2010
Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People: 9 August 2009
Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People - 9 August 2008
English-Speaking Indigenous Fellowship Programme 2008
Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the approval of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly
Events
UNESCO Chairs the United Nations Inter-agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues - Annual Meeting
UNESCO is chairing the United Nations Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues (IASG), for the period of 2008/2009. In this capacity, the Organization will host the annual meeting of the IASG from 15 to 17 September 2008 at its Headquarters in Paris. The meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss ways and means to advance issues of concern to indigenous peoples and reinforce collaboration among UN agencies. Given the importance the Organization attaches to these questions, the meeting will be opened by the Director-General. For UNESCO, the chairmanship provides an opportunity to strengthen house-wide efforts in support of indigenous peoples.
A roundtable on the theme "Indigenous Peoples: Development with Culture and Identity" will be organized as part of the opening event on 15 September 2008 at 9.30 a.m., in Room IV. Indigenous members of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, as part of their official visit to UNESCO, will participate in the roundtable alongside government representatives and UN agencies.
About twenty UN agencies are expected to participate in this annual IASG meeting, which will take place exactly a year after the historic adoption by the UN General Assembly of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The meeting will address questions, such as the following:
- How can the UN support indigenous peoples’ quest for ‘development with culture and identity’ and protect and promote cultural and biological diversity?
- What are the opportunities and challenges for joint UN country teams in protecting and promoting the rights and aspirations of indigenous peoples?
- How can the inter-agency group continue to strengthen collaboration with the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and respond to its recommendations?
The IASG was established to support and promote the mandate of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues within the United Nations system and throughout the broader inter-governmental system. Since its inception in 2002, the IASG has offered an important space for international cooperation and dialogue on indigenous peoples’ issues.
Learn more:
Official visit of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to UNESCO
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) will come to UNESCO for an official visit from 15 to 18 September 2008 and participate in the Annual Meeting of the UN Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues (IASG). The delegation will meet with the UNESCO Director-General and senior staff from programme sectors, while also contributing to the reflections and deliberations of the IASG.
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) undertakes official visits to UN agencies on a regular basis – at least one per year. These high level encounters represent a unique opportunity to reinforce dialogue between the UNPFII and specific UN agencies and to identify ways to strengthen collaboration on issues relevant to indigenous peoples’ issues. UNESCO is honoured to be the seventh organization welcoming such a visit following the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
The official delegation of the UNPFII is composed of the following members:
· Ms Victoria Tauli-Corpuz from the Philippines, currently Chair of the UNPFII
· Ms Margaret Lokawa from Uganda
· Mr Carlos Mamani Condori from Bolivia
The exchanges will provide an opportunity to share information on UNESCO’s activities in support of indigenous peoples’ issues. These activities are guided by the principles of the recently-adopted Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) and recommendations addressed to the Organization in the Programme of Action for the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (2005 to 2014). Both international frameworks emphasize the need to protect and enhance indigenous peoples’ cultures and the linkages between this diversity of cultures and biological diversity. They furthermore call for the development of education programmes and policies that respond to indigenous peoples’ quest for culturally and linguistically-relevant education.
Indeed, UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy (2008 to 2013) (pdf), which guides the organization’s work for the next six years, commits UNESCO to respond with priority to the needs of the most vulnerable segments of society, including indigenous peoples. The Strategy also aims at enhancing awareness about the cultural contribution of indigenous peoples to sustainable development, which is acknowledged in UNESCO’s standard-setting instruments in the field of culture.
Links to selected UNESCO Programmes relevant to Indigenous Peoples:
- Action in favour of indigenous peoples
- Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems – LINKS
- Endangered Languages
- Intangible Heritage
- Diversity of Cultural Expressions
- Indigenous Education
- On the Frontlines of Climate Change: a forum for indigenous peoples, small islands and vulnerable communities
Other relevant documents:
- 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage(pdf)
- 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions(pdf)
- UNESCO Medium-Term Strategy 2008-2013(pdf)
- Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the approval of the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly
Celebration of the World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
21 May
Within the framework of the Second Session of UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May 2003, UNESCO in cooperation with the Indigenous NGO Yachay Wasi (Peru) and Discovery Inc., organized a side-event on the occasion of the celebration the World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21 May) which coincided with the date of the interactive debate dedicated to UNESCO activities. The President of ECOSOC, H.E. Ambassador Gert Rosenthal, chaired this event.The UNESCO representative made a statement on UNESCO’s work in the field of Cultural Diversity which was preceded by an illustrative introduction on the indigenous cultures in Peru and followed by the projection of UNESCO/Discovery Inc. TV programme to celebrate diversity through Indigenous languages.
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