THE SECOND REGIONAL INDIGENOUS WORKSHOP ON ICT FOR THE AMERICAS REGION
When, where and who participated?
From 6 to 9 August ITU organised in collaboration with the Government of the Federal District of Brazil, through its Secretariat of Culture, the Brazilian Intertribal Council (ITC) and ICCT`A (ICT Indigenous Commission for the Americas) and with the support of Navajo Nation (USA) the “Second Regional Indigenous Workshop on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)” which took place in Brasilia.
The event accounted the participation of over 120 indigenous representatives from 21 countries of the Americas Region.
Background information:
During the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Phase 2 in Tunis, 2005, the Indigenous world representatives and leaders (Members of the Indigenous Caucus) requested, among others, the development of an Indigenous Portal to ensure the inclusion of indigenous peoples in the information society, and to contribute to the development of their communities using ICTs, based on tradition and self-sustainability.
Based on this request made by the indigenous representatives and, in accordance to WSIS requests, related Agreements (MoU between ITU Navajo Nation and OCCAM) and ITU Resolutions in general and Resolution 46 in particular, the ITU worked for the development of an «ICT Indigenous Global Portal». Considering that the ICT indigenous needs are quite different from a region to another and wishing to better respond to the indigenous requests as appropriate, ITU worked on «tailor–made» bases in collaboration with indigenous leaders of the Americas, to develop the first regional ICT Portal in the Amercas.
The tailor-made process included: development of a regional study on the ICT needs of the indigenous people; organization of a First Indigenous Regional Workshop on ICTs; technical development of the regional ICT Indigenous Portal; development of tailor-made for indigenous e-applications and related content; delivery of on-line training courses on the access, use and maintenance of the ICT Indigenous Portal to indigenous people Spanish and English languages; organization of a Second Indigenous Regional Workshop on ICTs, during which 71 indigenous representatives were trained (train the trainers) to disseminate the knowledge amongst indigenous communities. The ICT Portal Project was developed with the aim at facilitating its self-sustainability and to increase the preparedness level of the indigenous representatives in the region for the effective appropriation, use, content development, update and maintenance of this ICT tool.The development of guidelines and training material, together with the capacity building and ICT awareness raising components foreseen in this Project facilitated the appropriation of the ICT Portal by the indigenous leaders thus ensuring the Portal’s effective use in promoting digital inclusion while preserving the indigenous’ heritage and cultural legacy.
At the Closing Ceremony of the Second Indigenous Regional Workshop the ITU donated the ICT Indigenous Portal to its beneficiaries, the indigenous people.
About the workshop:
One of the main objectives of the workshop was to deliver a face-to-face training course on the access, use and knowledge of the ICT Indigenous Portal, and thus, facilitate and promote the ICTs to the indigenous communities of the Americas Region, while respecting their traditions and cultural legacy, targeting to facilitate their integration into the Information Society
The training course was designed to facilitate the “self-sustainability” of the ICT Indigenous Portal by increasing the preparedness level of the Indigenous representatives on the use and dissemination of the Portal tools. On this respect the ITU developed and provided training and knowledge to indigenous representatives on the technical development, use (including dedicated e-applications), content development, update and maintenance of the ICT Portal.As an additional value, the course provided an opportunity for the participants to share experiences and ways of better using ICTs creating a human forum network in addition to the already existing virtual one.
The 71 indigenous representatives that successfully completed the course received a certificate stating this accomplishment.
At the end of the training course each participant had the opportunity to evaluate the training delivered and signed a formal commitment stating that "After your return to your country or community you commit to apply the knowledge you have received in benefit of the indigenous people of your community/country or from any other (indigenous or country/community) that requires your assistance, aiming at contributing to the preservation and dissemination of indigenous culture and traditions through the Americas ICT Indigenous Portal".
The used methodology of “train the trainers” will enable these 71 indigenous representatives to disseminate the knowledge obtained to other indigenous from their communities and/or countries and thus, in addition to their integration into the Information Society - to contribute for the economic and social development of the indigenous communities in the Americas.
What is AREC?
On the last day of the event on the 9th of August 2009 was announced the creation of an "Americas Regional Editorial Committee" (AREC) aiming to ensure appropriate up date and content development of this ICT tool in the Americas region. AREC will be composed by 2 indigenous representatives from each country of the Americas and its mandate and members’ nomination will be under the responsibility of the indigenous representatives of the region.
Indigenous leaders in representation of the Brazilian Intertribal Council (ITC), Indigenous Commission for Communications Technologies (IICTA) and ICT Indigenous Taskforce (IITF) signed this formal commitment in the three main languages of the Americas Region: Portuguese, Spanish and English.
What does IITF stands for?
It stands for ICT Indigenous Task Force and it has been created in the context of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), during its second phase in Tunis, 2005, when indigenous delegates agreed to establish the task force to ensure the continuity of the WSIS work from the point of view of the indigenous peoples.
The IITF was set up by the Indigenous Caucus ([1]) at the Tunis Summit as an Indigenous mechanism for follow-up the WSIS work. Indigenous participation in the Indigenous ICT Task Force consists of members from each of the world regions as recognized by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: Africa, Asia, North/Central/South America and Caribbean, Pacific, Former USSR and Eastern Europe and Arctic.
The work of the IITF is based on the WSIS-related documents, that is those developed by Indigenous Peoples themselves and those adopted by Governments in the Summit proceedings. The IITF actively seeks to inform Indigenous Peoples on a broad scale on the WSIS process and it’s follow-up.
Transfer of the ICT Portal to indigenous people
The transfer of the ICT Indigenous Portal to the IITF was formally carried out and celebrated during the Closing Ceremony of the “Second Regional Indigenous Workshop on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)” and on the occasion of the UN World Day of the Indigenous Peoples. The corresponding Donation Certificate signed by the BDT Director was handed by ITU to an IITF representative.
The formal delivery of this ITU tailor-made project - developed not only for the indigenous people but with their participation - was celebrated by all participants with an indigenous ritual after the Closing Ceremony.
[1]Indigenous Representatives taking part in the WSIS organized themselves into an ad hoc working group in order to draft statements and make consensus decisions about any issues involving Indigenous Peoples. The mode of work of the WSIS Indigenous Caucus can be compared with the Indigenous Caucus of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP) where the Indigenous Caucus represents the opinions of all the Indigenous participants.
