NEW YORK, 9 August 2012: Marking the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, United Nations senior officials Thursday highlighted the key role played by the media in empowering indigenous people.
They stressed that traditional and new media are an essential component to help them preserve their cultures, participate in the social and political aspects of their societies and challenge stereotypes.
“From community radio and television to feature films and documentaries, from video art and newspapers to the internet and social media, indigenous peoples are using these powerful tools to challenge mainstream narratives, bring human rights violations to international attention and forge global solidarity,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day.
“Indigenous voices are recounting (fortæller) compelling stories of how they are combating centuries of injustice and discrimination, and advocating for the resources and rights that will preserve their cultures, languages, spirituality and traditions,” he added.
The theme of this year’s Day – ‘Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices’ – aims to highlight the importance of indigenous media in challenging stereotypes, forging indigenous peoples’ identities, communicating with the outside world, and influencing the social and political agenda.
The Day was first proclaimed by the General Assembly in December 1994, to be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, which ran 1995 – 2004.
In 2004, the Assembly proclaimed a second International Decade, from 2005 – 2015, with the overall theme of ‘A Decade for Action and Dignity.’
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