Behind the scenes, keeping up with new radio technology is a major part of the project. With the advice of Cultural Survival Technology Committee member Nathan Felde and a group of 11 technical specialists at Alfred University in New York state, we worked out a plan to test the use of new Wi-Fi antennas in Guatemala. We selected a station in Todos Santos Cuchumatan and another in San Pedro la Laguna.

The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations is accepting applications for financial assistance for any representatives of indigenous communities who wish to participate in the 2007 deliberations of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, or the Working Group on the Draft United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Applications must be submitted by October 1, and must be in English, French, or Spanish. The U.N.

In the story about violence against indigenous women that appeared in the March 15 Weekly Indigenous News, the article failed to credit the international women’s human rights organization MADRE, from which much of the information was taken. Cultural Survival regrets the error. To learn more about the subject and read the original source material, visit the MADRE Web site: http://www.madre.org/

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is accepting applications for its remunerated 2006 Special Youth Program fellowship through February 17. Qualified candidates will be between the ages of 20–24, currently living in a developing nation, and will have some previous experience working on development issues. Accepted fellows will begin with a six-month fellowship at UNFPA headquarters in New York City.

Indigenous peoples concerned with bio-colonialism say they have ethical concerns about National Geographic's Genographic Project, which will study indigenous DNA to map human migratory history.

Launched in April and scheduled to span five years, the Genographic Project will be carried out by scholars in 10 regional centers around the world, lead by the National Geographic Society in partnership with IBM and the Waitt Family Foundation, which will provide technical and financial support.

Sunday, June 20, is World Refugee Day, as designated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Countries around the world will commemorate the day.

More than 1,000 indigenous people and indigenous rights advocates are gathered at the United Nations in New York City for the third session of the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Shopping Can Change the World!

Take the "Fair Trade Challenge" - buy ALL of your holiday gifts from Fair Trade sources!

The holiday season is upon us, and you may be wondering how to spend your dollars ethically, and ensure the gifts you give benefit those who made them as well as those who receive them. Thankfully, lots of great purchasing alternatives exist, such as fairly traded goods from around the world.