GID Presentation:

Indigenous Initiatives Towards Healing Memory

The following footage captures initiatives that have been started to support the safety and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples that have been or will be displaced as a result of the mining for gold in Indigenous Territories in Peru.

“Education is a tool and is the best way to exercise Freedom”

Nantu Uban, we are young students of different races and our objective is to promote peace, preventing conflict and promoting multicultural dialogue, we do not want them to go through what happened to our brothers in Bagua, we are not of any political party or any religion, we just want to help inform and teach for a community to excel on their own and the vast natural wealth they have, I hope many more students to join this cause without any financial, nothing is impossible is only a desire to want to do well Gracias.

Spinning Weaving the Future Life – I

Spinning Weaving the Future Life – II

The International Caux Conferences for 2010 are taking place between 2 July and 17 August in Switzerland.

In July/August 2010: Four week-long conferences on Multiculturalism, Human Security, Business ethics, Intergenerational relationships and two week-long training programmes in Caux, Switzerland

DATES AND LIST OF CONFERENCES

• 2 – 7 July 2010: Learning to Live in a Multicultural World
  Fundamental rights and multiculturalism in Europe
• 9 – 16 July 2010: Caux Forum for Human Security
  For peace-builders at all levels, and from varied sectors, around the world
• 26 July – 2 August 2010: Everybody Counts
  A dialogue across generations and cultures
• 4 – 10 August 2010: Leading Change for a Sustainable World
  For people who want to get involved in concrete change projects
• 4 – 10 August 2010: Training by Initiatives of Change
  Courses in peace education, teambuilding, dialogue…
• 12 –17 August 2010: Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy
  Exploring ways to help create a just and equitable global economy

SHORT INFORMATION ABOUT EACH OF THE CONFERENCES

2 – 7 July 2010: Learning to Live in a Multicultural World
This conference focuses on fundamental rights and multiculturalism in Europe. It will tackle the crucial issues of the current debate on fundamental rights in Europe: right pluralism, children rights, gender and the European migration policy. Through training modules on Religious diversity and anti-discrimination; Intercultural mediation; Citizenship; Intercultural teaching and Media ethics in a pluralist society, the conference provides an in-depth reflection on the individual contribution to defend fundamental rights in Europe.

9 – 16 July 2010: Caux Forum for Human Security
‘Caux as a resource for the world’s peace-makers’: the third annual Forum of a 5-year programme aimed at changing the traditional dynamic of diplomacy by encouraging greater listening, collaboration and attention to past hurts. The Forum will bring together people active in many aspects of human security – diplomats, politicians, academics, journalists, fieldworkers. www.cauxforum.net

26 July – 2 August 2010: Everybody Counts
A dialogue across generations and cultures about what really matters to us all. In a world of great challenges and possibilities it is with a sense of urgency that young and old – children, students, professionals, families, pensioners and grandparents – are invited to come and take the time to listen and to share, to reflect and to discuss. It is the aim of the dialogue that participants will become friends, supporting each other across generations and cultures, and together working for a better, healthier, fairer & more peaceful world.

4 – 10 August 2010: Leading Change for a Sustainable World
Drawing from Caux’s unique capital of know-how and experience, this innovative conference, lead by a team of young adults, will concentrate on initiatives to end poverty and to curb global warming with the participation of involved activists, entrepreneurs, policy makers and young people. It will be a time for skill-building, reflection and discernment for those who want to get involved in concrete change projects to build a sustainable future.

4 – 10 August 2010: Training by Initiatives of Change
These sessions will explore through various training modules the skills of leading and managing change in the world. There will also be lectures and discussion groups to provide participants with the opportunity to explore the values and life experiences that could help create a sustainable world. This session will use expertise developed in the successful Tools for Change workshops.

12 – 17 August 2010: Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy
The 2010 conference on Trust & Integrity in the Global Economy (TIGE) will explore ways to help create a just and equitable global economy. The conference will focus on the moral and philosophical base needed to underpin this change. It will also investigate where initiatives for an equitable economy are gathering momentum around the world and seek to support those who are working to create the shifts needed. Join a wide cross section of people who will gather at Caux to seek inspiration and breakthrough living and thinking in this exciting and urgent task. www.cauxbusiness.org

THE CONFERENCE CENTRE

Looking out over Lake Geneva from an altitude of 1000 metres, the Caux centre can accommodate up to 450 people. Formerly the Caux-Palace Hotel, in 1946 it became an international meeting place, thanks to the generous contributions in time, talent and money of many volunteers.

REGISTRATION

Registrations will be processed from April 2010 onwards.  Please check back after April on how you can register.

9th World Indigenous Women and Wellness Conference

www.larrakia.com

The Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation will proudly host the 9th World Indigenous Women and Wellness Conference between

Sunday 22nd August to Wednesday 25 August, 2010.

This exciting and prestigous event will be held at the Darwin Convention Centre and promises to generate considerable intellectual dialogue and debate, as well as create opportunities to strengthen existing networks and forge new ones. The conference will coincide with the Darwin Festival.This is a truly wonderful time to visit the Territory’s capital city and take in some of our unique cultural and social events.

The Caux Interns Program offers the possibility of doing an internship in Caux for energetic, self-starting young adults seeking experience leading international work teams of volunteers during the summer. Applications are possible from now on until 1 February 2010.

Caux Interns Program 2010 dates:
Session 1 : 27 June – 25 July
Session 2 : 19 July – 18 August

Go to http://www.caux.ch/en/caux-interns for more information.

Ray Minniecon’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the 2007 “Tools for Change” conference in Caux, Switzerland.

They called it Alcatraz. It was the Kuper Island Residential School, and it stood on a remote island off the coast of British Columbia. For almost a century, hundreds of Coast Salish children were sent to Kuper Island, where

they were forbidden from speaking their native language, forced to deny their cultural heritage, and often faced physical and sexual abuse. Some died trying to escape on logs across the water. Many more died later, trying to escape their memories.

Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh and Peter C. Campbell join survivors of the school, 20 years after its closure, as they begin to break the silence and embark on an extraordinary healing journey.

Please visit http://www.movingimages.ca/catalogue/Individual/kuperisland.html to purchase this film.

A story told by an Aboriginal man, Bob Randall, who lives beside the greatest monolith in the world, Uluru in Central Australia.

Based on Bob’s own personal journey and the wisdom he learnt from the old people living in the bush, Bob tells the tale of why Indigenous people are now struggling in a modern world and what needs to be done for Indigenous people to move forward.

A tale of Indigenous wisdom clashing against materialist notions of progress, this is not only a story of one man and his people but the story of the human race.

Visit Kanyini.com to purchase a copy.

Watch the KANYINI trailer

This feature-length documentary traces the journey of the Haisla people to reclaim the G’psgolox totem pole that went missing from their British Columbia village in 1929. The fate of the 19th century traditional mortuary pole remained unknown for over sixty years, until it was discovered in a Stockholm museum where it is considered state property by the Swedish government. Director Gil Cardinal combines interviews, striking imagery and rare footage of master carvers to raise questions about ownership and the meaning of Aboriginal objects held in museums.

Visit the National Film Board of Canada to purchase your copy.

Thursday September 25th 2008

Mark Bin Bakar, child of Muslim father and Aboriginal mother, is both a campaigner for Australian Aboriginal rights, and also Mary G, star of ‘her’ own radio show. Broadcast to more than 100 stations across Australia, Bin Bakar’s matriarchal alter-ego is adored by far more than an Aboriginal audience. He shares the story of his rise to cross-dressing fame

With Mary G’s popularity has come social responsibility, says Bin Bakar.

Mary G happened by accident. I was doing voluntary radio in 1992 and was alone in the studio. I put on this woman’s voice to create some new energy. It became instantly popular – so much so that the station offered me my own show.

I think the secret of Mary G’s success is her simple humour and motherly presence. She personifies the matriarchal personality; she is the grandmother who tells you off if you’re not pulling your weight. She talks about the issues that affect Aboriginal people, like addiction to drugs and alcohol, which has broken apart so many families. Every week she chips away, and hopefully her message is getting into the psyche of Aboriginal people. I think they see Mary G as a leader and not as a made up character; to them she is real.

I felt no embarrassment when I started to impersonate a woman. I enjoyed doing it right from the start and everyone just seemed to welcome the character with open arms. She is what a lot of people need. She brings Aboriginal humour to Aboriginal people and talks about serious issues with wit and comedy. She holds up a mirror to society and helps people to laugh at themselves. This is what we need. She is good medicine.

I was born to a Muslim father and a Catholic-Aborigine mother in the ethnically diverse town of Broome, Western Australia. It was a multicultural society before the term became commonly used. It was one of only two places, along with the Torres Straits, that were excluded from the White Australia policy. This is because it was a large pearling port and the government needed Asians to work on the pearling boats. So there were many Asians there and a lot of Aborigines. Everyone just got on together. We grew up calling everyone uncle and auntie.

I have one brother and two sisters, all younger than me. When we were growing up we had no idea of the pain and abuse our forebears had endured – particularly my mother, who was one of the Stolen Generations, the children who were taken from their families to be “assimilated” into white culture.

When I was a child I never knew what had happened to my people or my mother. My parents were not good at expressing love or teaching us about our history; it was too painful. It was only when I started getting educated that I was told the full story. I have never asked my mother why she didn’t tell us, but I want her to open up about her experiences and what she feels.

A huge moment for myself – and millions of others – came in February when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd officially apologised for the treatment of the Aboriginal people by previous governments – and specifically to the Stolen Generations. At the start of the Stolen Generations era the Australian government saw the Aboriginal people as part of the flora and fauna of the country, something they owned. If an Aboriginal woman had a child by a white man, the child was taken away from its mother and all ties were severed. We lost our language and culture because of this.

John Howard, the previous prime minister, was in power for 11 years and caused a lot of damage. He thought Aborigines should integrate themselves into the rest of society and if they didn’t want to then they weren’t worth looking after. He put our people into a deep abyss of pain. He refused to apologise for the crimes of the past. He said that it wasn’t his generation who did these things so it wasn’t his responsibility. Our people began to switch off and shut down. The addictions and problems that have hurt us for years got worse.

I have a fairly important role now back at home: Mary G is popular and a lot of people are influenced by her. It has given me phenomenal power. I had to make the choice between becoming radical and using that power against the authorities or trying to help my people get the same opportunities as everyone else. It seemed natural to me to use Mary G to make a difference for my people.

I still live in Broome with my wife Tanya. Mary G’s radio and television schedule is getting busier and she tours Australia with her band, the G-Spots. But I stay involved with several organisations. I founded Abmusic, an indigenous music school, and the Stompem Grounds music festival, to create new opportunities for Aboriginal musicians. I am also involved in the Stolen Generation Oral History Project, which aims to change the way Australian history is taught in schools.

I hope that through Mary G I can continue to build bridges between Aboriginal people and other Australians in what could be a crucial period in our country’s history. I hope I can help to spread the messages of change that this whole country desperately needs.

• Mark Bin Bakar was talking to Doug O’Kane at the Renewal Arts conference in Caux, Switzerland.