Indigenous communicator training: strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination

Written on 30 June 2021. Posted in News

During 2020, IWGIA provided the necessary support to consolidate the operation of Radio Wampis in Peru and the first cycle of students at the journalism school in Charagua, Bolivia.

The training of Indigenous communicators, particularly youth, was part of the strategy to consolidate the Indigenous autonomies of the Wampis people and of the Guaraní in the Chaco region of Bolivia. In both cases, Indigenous youth have been trained in different media.

“Our word travels through the air, directly to the communities,” says Evaristo Pujupat, one of the people in charge of the Wampis radio station.

“Communication is a fundamental part of the autonomous process. It strengthens our sense of identity and allows us to make our reality visible and share it.” - Dedé Yarigua Maraguari, student from the Charagua Norte area.

Communication is a human right that allows communities to exercise their right to freedom of expression and access to information. At the same time, information is essential to be able to defend and claim other rights. Since the establishment of autonomous Indigenous governments, Wampis and Charagua authorities have discussed the importance of having their own channels of communication, enabling them to focus on their agenda and their territorial and cultural challenges among themselves. Training in the use of digital platforms, social networks and communication tools is therefore indispensable for the creation of cultural content in their own codes and languages and which reinforces both recognition and appreciation of the Indigenous Peoples’ culture. The media play an important role in developing ideas and establishing realities. Indigenous Peoples must therefore be an integral part of and contribute from within to conversations on interculturality, their knowledge, wisdom and feelings. Communication training programmes provide young people with a space in which to reinforce their cultural identity and territorial commitment in the face of the growing pull for migration of young people to the cities.

Since 2016 IWGIA has supported the installation of a Wampis radio studio in the community of Soledad, on the banks of the Santiago River, powered by a solar energy plant and with an antenna that covers almost the entire Indigenous territory. At the same time, IWGIA began a pilot training programme for young journalists in 2019 and, during 2020, implemented a wider, intensive training programme for young Indigenous women and men from different communities. Among the programmes broadcast are updates and news on the illegal mining of the Santiago River and the oil contamination of the Morona River but there are also other very popular programmes such as the “Voice of the Wise” and different musical programmes. In 2020, an intercommunal radio system was further upgraded, establishing radio communication bases to enable immediate information to be obtained on events in the communities and for this information, in turn, to be disseminated via the radio station. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the radio communication system was crucial for the dissemination of information on both the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, given the lack of cultural relevance of State measures. A health official from the Wampis government highlighted the importance of the radio station during the health emergency and attributed the low mortality rate in the communities to the prevention and treatment campaign.

In the Charagua autonomous region, the start-up of the journalism school was received with enthusiasm by many young people. The course has also been recognized by the Ministry of Education. The school educates students in current affairs and debates. The courses include discussions on the importance of Indigenous autonomy, the situation of young people in Charagua and reflections on the environment, where pollution and degradation are directly harming and affecting their communities and territories. Communities in the region have a special interest in the fires that have affected the Bolivian Chaco in the last two years and the situation of the Ayoreo Indigenous People in voluntary isolation. The school has taken on a real commitment to gender equality and upholding women’s rights, drawing on the knowledge of Indigenous and peasant women, as well as on the experience of the battles fought in other Latin American countries.

This article is a highlight from IWGIA's Annual Report 2020, download the full report and read about our work.

Tags: Youth, Cultural Integrity