"Grounded on indigenous values and cultures, the Indigenous Navigator is providing digital tools directly to the Indigenous communities, supporting their own innovation towards contemporary problem-solving through community assessments, mapping, environmental tracking, and support for their livelihoods and social enterprises, thus empowering them to be well-informed actors in addressing the multiple crises confronting Indigenous peoples and nature."

Joji Cariño, Senior Policy Advisor of Forest Peoples Programme, shared the contributions of the Indigenous Navigator in assessing challenges to realize Indigenous peoples’ rights, the role of data during the virtual side event of 21st session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) on 27 April 2022.

 

 

Joji Cariño, FPP

 

Local Indigenous leaders from Latin America, Africa, Oceania and Asia shared their experiences in advocating for the respect and implementation of their rights and the critical role of the Indigenous Navigator in monitoring the rights of Indigenous Peoples and enhancing Indigenous Peoples' opportunity to collect data on their situation.

"Through the Indigenous Navigator, the Indigenous Peoples themselves will monitor how their rights are being protected, respected, and fulfilled', said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the Executive Director of Tebtebba, co-convenor of Indigenous Peoples Major Group on the Sustainable Development Goals (IPMG- SDG), and the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, who intervened in the said virtual event.

Tauli-Corpuz also highlighted the framework of Community-Based Monitoring and Information Systems (CBMIS), where Indigenous peoples themselves will monitor how their rights are being protected, respected and fulfilled, and identify challenges so that they can bring these to the relevant actors.

 

 

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Tebtebba

 

According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, collecting data and disaggregation on indigenous peoples can be ‘inadequate and sometimes non-existent’. This in turn has had significant consequences on how the problems that indigenous peoples face is addressed’.[i]  Thus, if there is no disaggregated data on Indigenous Peoples, and no effort to ensure that they are included in digital transformations, they will remain invisible, their rights will continue to be disregarded in the context of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and they will be left behind.

Timothee Emini of OKANI in Cameroon shared how the Indigenous Navigator addressed their community needs especially on the need for their citizenship documents. “Indigenous Peoples in Cameroon are faced with discrimination and violation of human rights. We find it very hard to provide evidences. With the tools provided by the Indigenous Navigator, we managed to collect data which enabled us to manage difficult situations," he said.

 

 Timothee Emini, OKANI

 

Experiences of Indigenous peoples in Latin America were also shared by Melania Canales Poma of Organizacion de Mujeres Indigenas Andinas y Amazonicas del Peru (ONAMIAP) and stressed how disaggregated data and tools like the Indigenous Navigator contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). "This is a tool that help us make problems visible," she remarked.

 

 

Melania Poma, ONAMIAP

 

In Asia, Shohel Chandra Hajang, Program Officer of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), presented situations being faced by Indigenous peoples especially women. "Indigenous Peoples have been threatened, and evicted from their ancestral lands. Women are also mostly absent in the decision-making process," he reported, focusing also on the current Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) participation barriers being experienced by Indigenous peoples in the region and how to overcome them.

 

 

Shohel Chandra Hajang, AIPP

 

"The data provided by Indigenous Navigator can help Saami communities to monitor the implementation of their rights in local or national level," Oula-Antti Labba from the Saami Council also pointed out the use of the Indigenous Navigator in the Saami context and the importance of data.

 

Oula-Antti Labba, Saami Council

 

For the future work of UNPFII, Sebastian Porter from the Department of International Partnership (DG INTPA) of the European Commission reiterated that the development priorities must be designed by Indigenous peoples themselves. He also said that the European Union, besides their long-standing political support for the Indigenous Peoples' rights, must ensure that their external actions are guided by the human rights-based approach. "We are currently looking at new ways to further build up the (Indigenous) Navigator by increasing its use by a wide range of development actors and also to explore new frontiers (countries and communities) for its application," he concluded.

 

 

Sebastian Porter, Program Manager, DG INPTA G.1.

 

Conceived as an enabling open-source tool that can be used by Indigenous Peoples worldwide, the Indigenous Navigator framework builds on international human rights instruments such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169, as well as relevant SDG targets and indicators enable Indigenous communities to capture the implementation and realization of their rights. 

Seeking to focus on gaps in the realities and on-the-ground stories of Indigenous peoples, the event aimed to bring together multiple stakeholders, including governments, Non-Government Organizations, international organizations and Indigenous peoples to enhance dialogue and find concrete pathways to improving Indigenous peoples’ rights and well-being.

Made possible with support from the European Union and the facilitation of the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), the said event shed light on the rights and development situation of indigenous peoples and on how they have been using the Indigenous Navigator as a transformative tool.

Established in 2000, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues (UNPFII)  is a high- level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council with the mandate to deal with indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights. The 21^stsession of UNPFII happened on 25 April to 6 May 2022, with the theme “Indigenous peoples, business, autonomy and the human rights principles of due diligence including free, prior and informed consent”.

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[i] https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/mandated-areas1/data-and-indicators.html

“Communications must be enhanced because all of the problems we mentioned stem from miscommunication.”

Anne Samante of the Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization (MPIDO) emphasized the need to improve communication and coordination efforts between and among the different consortium members and partners of the Indigenous Navigator (IN) initiative. In her presentation during the virtual IN coordination meeting, held on 28 March 2022, she stressed that “Communication gaps must be addressed because dialogues can yield very good results,” as she cited how the many good practices and initiatives of indigenous peoples’ are often underreported or misappropriated.

“Strengthening communications work is important as this is one way to reach out to the different partners and really get a sense of what we are doing to achieve this initiative,” pointed out Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Tebtebba executive director and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as she welcomed the participants in the said meeting. “These [community efforts and generated reports] are the things that we are going to communicate to the outside world and among ourselves,” she added.

 

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Tebtebba executive director and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

 

Meanwhile, Carla Madsian of the Vereniging van Inheemse Dorpshoofden in Suriname (VIDS) posited that the “continuous generation of reports [can] be used by relevant stakeholders [including the government]” specifically in their development of policies and projects that impact indigenous peoples. “[It would also be beneficial] to establish a communications network among all indigenous peoples in Suriname,” she said, noting that the challenge for such an endeavor would be the internet difficulties experienced in the area, among others.

Other presenters similarly provided updates with regard to the IN initiative in their respective countries and offered recommendations in terms of amplifying communications work as the shift to online advocacy work was spurred on by the travel and face-to-face limitations imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which, in turn, heavily affected operations especially because most development efforts were previously formulated and implemented in direct and continuous on-site consultation with indigenous community leaders and members.

Maribeth Bugtong-Biano, training coordinator of the Elatia Training Institute, also shared a summary of the Workshop-Training on Social Media for Advocacy that occurred on 16, 18, 23, and 25 March 2022, an event that was conducted for both Elatia and IN partners through the facilitation of Tebtebba and the Elatia Training Institute with support from the Christensen Fund through International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA). “It’s very heart-warming to know that some of the participants [in the workshop-training] have learned to use for the first time some of the tools in creating content,” she enthused, enlisting the key takeaways from the said event such as the “(1) Appreciation of the significant roles of indigenous peoples as communicators, (2) Acquired knowledge and skills on using some tools, e.g. Canva, in creating contents for advocacy and information through social media, and (3) Enhanced capacities on creating and delivering contents or messages in social media.”

 

Maribeth Bugtong-Biano, training coordinator of the Elatia Training Institute

 

“We still have five years to do IN work but we do not have the resources that we should have—we only have minimal,” mentioned Helen Tugendhat of IWGIA. She, however, agreed that “communication between and from [the consortium members and partners] is really important to gather the materials [and updates]” regarding all the efforts being done in focus indigenous communities. She asserted that the said inputs presented during the meeting has, indeed, set the next steps of the initiative. “This, then, is a period of planning to further prepare for the work that we are already doing anyway,” she encouraged.

Joined in by 78 indigenous leaders from all over the globe, the coordination meeting was facilitated by Tebtebba for the IN communications arm with support from the Christensen Fund through IWGIA.

Initiated by and for indigenous peoples, the Indigenous Navigator is both a framework and a relevant set of tools, to monitor how indigenous peoples’ rights are respected, protected,  and  fulfilled and how the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are achieved. It is piloted with the support of the European Union by a consortium composed of IWGIA, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), Danish Institute of Human Rights (DIHR), and Tebtebba as the steering committee and 14 indigenous peoples’ organizations from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and the Caribbean..

 

 

“I got more insights about social media and these are very important tools to reach our communities. I am very motivated to implement the things I learned.”

 

Gilliamo Orban, Communications Officer of De Vereniging van Inheemse Dorpshoofden in Suriname (VIDS), expressed his thoughts during the last session of the Training-Workshop on Enhancing the Use of Social Media for Advocacy. Conducted virtually for four three-hour sessions last March 2022, the training-workshop aimed to strengthen communications and advocacy works at various levels of both ELATIA and Indigenous Navigator partners in amplifying their different self-determined and sustainable development programs and activities while pursuing better visibility of indigenous peoples in various social media platforms.

 

The training focused on the basic elements and principles of creating contents for social media such as news articles, picture quotes, videos, photos, as well as delivering these messages. “One of the key reasons that video performs so well on social media is because it’s an easy way to tell a story. Before you start creating content, first, you must have a plan on how you will go about your social media videos,” Paul Micheal Nera, Publication and IT staff of Tebtebba, said as he provided tips on shooting videos and taking pictures. In addition, Doris Borna Mae Esteban, Communications Staff of Tebtebba, shared about the effective delivery of advocacy-related messages and news updates via the different social media platforms.

 

 

Participants had hands-on application on the elements and principles as well as the different tools of creating contents asynchronously. The participants’ outputs were reviewed and commented on by the trainers and presented on the last session for further discussion.

Ronnie Balong, Advocacy Staff and Community Development Worker of Silingang Dapit sa Sidlakang Mindanao (SILDAP) in the Philippines, said during the last session that planning is the most difficult part in creating and editing videos as he critiqued his own video output. He also advised the other participants to have more patience in creating their social media contents.

At the culmination of the training, Elie Chansa, the Information and Communications Officer of PINGO’s Forum in Tanzania, stressed that the training filled in the space of communicating for indigenous peoples to the world. “I think this training has been a great eye-opener to us, telling us that we have a part to do – we have a great burden to do for our community and for the world. We are the connectors of the communities and the world. We bridge the gap,” he said.

 

 

On the other hand, Luis Edpis, Community Organizer of the Indigenous Peoples Biodiversity Programme of Tebtebba, was very optimistic during the last session. He said he needed to practice more on developing social media audio-visual materials. “Someday, I hope I can also make my own video,” he said.

The training was made possible with support the from Brot fur die Welt and the Christensen Fund through the International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA). About 24 participants from all over the world participated in the said online event. The Strategic Communications and Knowledge Management Department staff of Tebtebba, in collaboration with the Indigenous Navigator and ELATIA Indigenous Peoples Training Institute, conducted the said training.

 

 *Some participants’ faces have been blurred to maintain their privacy.