“Indigenous youth as agents of change”: For a more sustainable, peaceful future for our people and planet – International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August) – UNESCO

“We must consider the environmental dimension of justice now. The challenge of climate change is so enormous that it forces us to redefine ‘rights’.” – Droupadi Murmu | Find this and other speeches by the 15th President of India | United Nations on climate change >>

The United Nations General Assembly designates a number of “International Days” to mark important aspects of human life and history | Official list >>
International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August) >>

Indigenous youth as agents of change for self-determination
Violations of the rights of the world’s Indigenous Peoples have become a persistent problem, sometimes because of a historical burden from their colonization backgrounds and others because of the contrast with a constantly changing society.
In response to this problem, let’s remember every August 9 that Indigenous Peoples have the right to make their own decisions and carry them out meaningfully and culturally appropriate to them.
In this context of demand for self-determination, Indigenous youth are working as agents of change at the forefront of some of the most pressing crises facing humanity today.
For instance, Indigenous youth are harnessing cutting-edge technologies and developing new skills to offer solutions and contribute to a more sustainable, peaceful future for our people and planet.
But their future depends as well on the decisions that are made today. Their representation and participation in global efforts towards climate change mitigation, peacebuilding, and digital cooperation are crucial for the effective implementation of their rights as indigenous.
This International Day of Indigenous Peoples 2023, under the title of “Indigenous youth as agents of change for self-determination”, revindicates the role that indigenous youth must occupy in decision-making while recognizing their dedicated efforts in climate action, the search for justice for their people, and the creation of an intergenerational connection that keeps their culture, traditions, and contributions alive.

Commemoration event
August 9, 2023
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. EDT, New York time
Register for the UN event where speakers will share their expertise and experience about the role of Indigenous youth in exercising self-determination in the context of climate action and the green transition, mobilizing for justice, and intergenerational connections.

Source: “Indigenous youth as agents of change for self-determination”, United Nations
Address: https://www.un.org/en/observances/indigenous-day
Date Visited: 30 July 2023

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State welfare minister Louise Marandi showed her playful side [in Ranchi on 8 August 2016] when she wielded the long bamboo stick and indulged in a game of kati, much to the joy of those surrounding her.

The occasion was Aadi Samagam, a two-day Jharkhand tribal festival that started at Tribal Research Institute (TRI) in Morabadi, Ranchi, to mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which is observed on August 9 every year. […]

There is also a sports zone, where visitors tried their skills in sekor and kati, not-so-known tribal games that are played in the interiors of West Singhbhum and East Singhbhum districts, respectively.

Marandi, who inaugurated the festival, was one of them.

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is also the day for introspection and self-evaluation and charting the future path for improvement,” the welfare minister said on the occasion.

“While attempting to improve their condition or even after achieving the target, tribals must also retain their own identity and should never compromise with their culture and languages. The government is always keen to improve their lot and pays special attention to the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (earlier called primitive tribal groups),” she added. […]

Source: “Minister Louise game for fun at indigenous fair” by ACHINTYA GANGULY, The Telegraph Calcutta, 9 August 2016
Address: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160809/jsp/jharkhand/story_101339.jsp#.V6mVrY6MjUO
Date Visited: Tue Aug 09 2016 10:35:17 GMT+0200 (CEST)

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya calls on indigenous peoples to build on their capacities but at the same time protect their cultures and way of life.

Source: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – YouTube
Address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzjr0Ha_ofY
Date Visited: Thu Jun 30 2016 15:56:37 GMT+0200 (CEST)

“We shall first have to give up this hubris of considering tribes backward. Every tribe has a rich and living cultural tradition and we must respect them.” – Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on the constitutional obligation to respect the cultural traditions of India’s tribal communities

Gandhiji at Prayer Time, Parnakuti, Poona (1944) by Chittaprosad, the great advocate of the rights of workers and revolutionary artists. | Learn more in “Gandhi, Secularism, and Cultural Democracy” by Vinay Lal >>
Gandhian social movement | Constitution | Adverse inclusion >>

“Air is free to all but if it is polluted it harms our health… Next comes water… From now on we must take up the effort to secure water. Councillors are servants of the people and we have a right to question them.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi, Ahmedabad address on 1 January 1918; quoted by his grandson, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, in “On another New Year’s Day: Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘khorak’ a 100 years ago” (The Hindu, 1 January 2018)

“The world has enough for everyone’s need but not for anyone’s greed.” – Mahatma Gandhi quoted by Medha Patkar and Baba Amte (Narmada Bachao Andolan)

Indigenous Peoples and UNESCO

Indigenous peoples live in all regions of the world and own, occupy or use some 22% of global land area. Numbering at least 370-500 million, indigenous peoples represent the greater part of the world’s cultural diversity, and have created and speak the major share of the world’s almost 7000 languages. Many indigenous peoples continue to be confronted with marginalization, extreme poverty and other human rights violations. Through partnerships with indigenous peoples, UNESCO seeks to support them in addressing the multiple challenges they face, while acknowledging their significant role in sustaining the diversity of the world’s cultural and biological landscape.

Source: Indigenous Peoples | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Address: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/indigenous-peoples/
Date Visited: Tue Aug 09 2016 10:27:14 GMT+0200 (CEST)