World Conference on Indigenous Peoples

Every year on the 7th of April, World Health Day, a day championed by the World Health Organisation, is commemorated internationally.
The day was conceived in 1948, and the first annual WHD was celebrated in 1950 – In support of drawing attention to WHO, the world health organisation.
In this program, we interview Connie Hang, Youth Coordinator of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation.

In March we commemorate two very important international days, Zero Discrimination Day on March 1st, as well International Women's day on March 8th.
How are Indigenous Peoples discriminated against, and furthermore, how are Indigenous Women discriminated against?
In this program we pay homage to Xoroxloo Duxee, an Indigenous Woman from Botswana who died from starvation and dehydration because access to a water well in the desert had been restricted.

Producer:  Shaldon Ferris (KhoiSan, South Africa)

Interviewee: //Uruseb, researcher on Indigenous Peoples.

Recognizing community radio's role of keeping grassroots communities informed, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), proclaimed February 13th as World Radio Day. There is no doubt that radio is a powerful communication tool and a low cost medium suited not only to reach illiterate, remote communities and vulnerable groups, but also has a stronger and more specific role especially for delivering emergency and disaster relief communication.

It is world radio on February 13th, a day and according to the website diamundialradio.org, this is a day to celebrate radio as a medium, to improve international cooperation between broadcasters and to encourage major networks and community radio alike to promote access to information, freedom of expression and gender equality over the airwaves. We Interview the Programs Manager of X-K FM, a radio station set up specifically to broadcast in the !Xun and Khwe indigenous languages of Namibia/Angola/South Africa.

The world will indeed be a poorer place without the languages and cultures of Indigenous Peoples.
So it is necessary to celebrate and promote Indigenous Languages, thereby improving the lives of the peoples who speak the languages.
Producer:  Shaldon Ferris (KhoiSan, South Africa)

Interview: Kaimana Barcase, Hawaii and Denver Breda, South Africa.

Music : Whispers by Ziibiwan, used with permission.

Picture:  A man plays a Khwe finger piano, West Caprivi Strip. Photo by Julie Taylor 2007, Courtesy of Cultural Survival

December 10, 2018, Human Rights Day, marks the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being -- regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language or other status.

On the 1st of December, every year, the international community observes  a day that is dedicated to raising awareness  of the AIDS pandemic. 
As of November 2017, an estimated 36.7 million people worldwide are living with HIV, making it one of the most important global health issues.
This program looks at how HIV AIDS affects the International Indigenous community.

MUSIC
Sami Drum by Tyler. Used with permission.
Introduction: "Burn Your Village to the Ground" by A Tribe Called Red. Used with permission.

Interviewees:

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa was the scene of protest action put together by Khoi and San groups from South Africa. Echoes of the struggle song, “What have we done”, which is reminiscent of apartheid South Africa, could be heard in Maude Street Sandton, where the Stock Exchange is situated, the richest square mile in Africa.

Maasai are semi-nomadic pastoralists who migrate within semi-arid lowlands and more humid uplands to obtain water and pasture. The large majority of them obtain their livelihood through husbandry of cattle, goat and sheep. Their food culture is very unique as they rely on meat, milk and blood from cattle for protein and energy needs. But lately with the gradual loss of elder members of the Maasai community who carry most of this people’s indigenous knowledge, Maasai indigenous communities are losing their customary practices.

Producer : Dev Kumar Sunuwar

Dev Kumar Sunuwar interviews Dr. Phrang Roy, Khasi indigenous and biodiversity activist, from Shillong,  North-East India, on food security among Indigenous Peoples.