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On the last weekend in January 2012, Cultural Survival's partner network of pilot radio stations gathered together once again in San Mateo, Quetzaltenango to participate in a workshop about the Mayan calendar and spirituality.  Cultural Survival invited representatives of twenty different radio community stations to learn about the meanings behind the K’iche Maya solar calendar from two Mayan spiritual guides from the town of Momostenango, Totonicpan, who addressed in detail what the 2012 change means for the Mayans.

Felicia Huarsaya is one of many Indigenous artisans whose crafts were sold at the Cultural Survival Bazaars this year.  She comes from a small community in the Peruvian province of Azangaro about 15,815 feet above sea level near Lake Titicaca.

We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân, Anne Makepeace's award-winning documentary about the reawakening of the Wampanoag language in southeastern Massachusetts, continues to engage and move diverse audiences, while bringing hope and inspiration to Indigenous communities struggling with language loss and the challenges of revitalization.  The film was produced in collaboration with Cultural Survival's Endangered Languages Program as an education tool about Indigenous language reclamation and revitalization, and to benefit the Wôpanâak Languag

By Dr. Skye Stephenson

The Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador, who comprise fourteen nationalities and eighteen pueblos, have been at the forefront of many key human rights struggles in recent decades that have had an impact far beyond their own nation. A key goal of their united Indigenous movement has been the establishment of an intercultural university.  After many years of development, the Universidad Intercultural Amawtay Wasi “the House of Wisdom” (UIAW) was launched five years ago receiving accreditation for its unique education offerings based upon Andean ancestral knowledge.  Now, the Ecuadorian government is threatening to withdraw that accreditation and potentially close down the university.

Last week the community radio movement won a partial victory in the fight for democratic access to radio frequencies in Guatemala, with the congress's failure to vote approval on the bill 4404, which would have extended the current radio frequencies allocated to the mass media for another 25 years.  

By rejecting the bill in it's first round of debate, the bill will be delayed until it can be re-entered in the next calendar year when the newly-elected Congress takes office.  

The community radio movement publicly denounced bill 4404, as it disregards Indigenous Peoples' right to access media and is celebrating this measured victory.  "The news comes as such a relief," explained movement leader Alberto Recinos. "We feel that the actions we have taken to prevent bill 4404 from passing at this stage have really had an impact.  The decision to delay further debate gives us time to strategize our next steps."

In a recent editorial in Guatemala's major newspaper La Prensa Libre, UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and ally of the community radio movement, Dr. Frank La Rue, also expressed his disapproval of the legislation.  His opinion piece, entitled "Behind the People's Backs" is summarized in English below. Read his full article in Spanish, here.

 

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