Cultural Survival's Community Radio Project team is in the final planning phases of what will be our one of our largest community radio events to date. This upcoming Tuesday, November 26, in Santiago Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala, we are holding a 3-day conference for Indigenous youth from Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador, in coordination with three other Indigenous rights organizations, ADECCAP, Tumul K'in Centre of Learning/ Ak'Kutan Radio and Africa 70.
This week, a member of our Cultural Survival Community Radio Program team attended the Second Conference on the Process of Central American Integration for Marginalized and Excluded Social Groups, in Sonsonate, El Salvador.
This Friday November 1st, or Day of the Dead in Guatemala, the municipality of Sumpango celebrated with their famous annual Kite Festival. Thousands of people from all over the country, as well as foreigners, travel to Sumpango on this day to see the magnificent, giant kites that various community groups from Sumpango have been working on for months prior to the event. There is music, food, drinks and dancing on this joyous event, which is the pride and joy of citizens of Sumpango.
By Jess Cherofsky (CS STAFF) “Food sovereignty is knowing the species we have on our lands, knowing what kind of seeds to plant in each territory,” said Clemencia Herrera from the Colombian Amazon in the working group on food sovereignty and the World Conference of Indigenous Women, which took place in Lima, Peru, October 28-30, 2013.
By María del Rosario Sul González
Carol Gonzalez Aguilar is the coordinator of Women and Family from Organización de los Pueblos Indígenas de la Amazonía Colombiana (OPIAC) located in the village of Sano in the department of Vaupéz in Colombia. She was a participant observer at the World Conference on Indigenous Women held in Lima, Peru, from 27 to 30 October 2013.
On October 5, Asociación Mujb’ ab’l yol celebrated their 15 year anniversary with a special celebration at their Capacity Building Centre in San Mateo, Quetzaltenango. Mujb’ ab’l yol has been a staple in the community radio movement in Guatemala for 15 years, supporting the fight for the democratization of speech in the country.
By Cesar Gomez
Recently, Indigenous men and women in the media from various countries on the continent of Abya Yala (North and South America, as it is commonly known) convened in Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, Mixe, Oaxaca, Mexico, to follow up on an initiative that goes straight to the heart of the struggle of Indigenous Peoples. This event, known as the Second Continental Summit on Indigenous Communication of Abya Yala, aimed to strengthen and empower communication among the Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala through dialogue, exchange, reflection, and proposals.
On the final weekend of September 2013, our Community Radio Program team worked with ally organizations ADECCAP, Africa 70, and Tumul K’in Centre for Learning to organize the First International Central American Youth Conference in Sonsonate, El Salvador. The conference was aimed at improving integration and participation for Indigenous Central American Youth, through the use of community radio, as well as other forms of communication and expression.
Por Cesar Gomez
Recientemente comunicadores y comunicadoras de varias países del continente de Abyayala se reunieron en santa María Tlahuitoltepec, mixe, Oaxaca-México, para darle continuidad a una iniciativa que nace de las entrañas de los pueblos originarios, la segunda cumbre de comunicación indígena, con el objetivo de contribuir al fortalecimiento y empoderamiento estratégico de los procesos de comunicación de los pueblos indígenas de abya yala, en un marco de dialogo, intercambio, reflexión y propuestas.
On the September 8, 2013 Cultural Survival's Community Radio team, along with a radio volunteer from Radio Ixchel, traveled across the country to visit the municipality of El Estor, Izabal, to discuss the possibility of opening a community radio. In the entire municipality of El Estor, where 85 percent of the population are Maya Q’eqchi’, there are no community radio stations. A large portion of the population only speak Q’eqchi’, and while many are bilingual, the majority of daily interactions in the region take place in Q’eqchi’.
On Wednesday, September 11, the Commission for Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala held a meeting in Congress to discuss the question of community radio in Guatemala. Congressman Carlos Mejia presided over the events. Cultural Survival’s Guatemalan team attended and participated in the meeting, along with traditional community leaders, or alcaldes, and other organizations that support Indigenous communities in Guatemala.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
