Territories of Life

Territories of Life - Longhouse Screenings

7th Sep 2015 | Categories: LifeMosaic Resources, Land Rights, Popular Education

Next Generation Leadership Training

'Territories of Life' is being launched as part of a three-week residential training with 27 young indigenous leaders from across Indonesia. The training, organised by AMAN / BPAN and LifeMosaic, is being held in a remote Dayak traditional longhouse in the village of Sungai Utik, Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. A wide range of facilitation methods are being used to awaken a calling in the participants to defend their territories and cultures at this time of rapid change and increasing threats to lands. The training is focused on developing leadership skills and abilities to facilitate complex pre and post land rights recognition processes. As well as exploring the roots of the challenges they are experiencing, the training also aims to support widespread participation, movement-building, long-term visioning, and concrete actions in their respective indigenous territories. The video toolkit Territories of Life is a key tool throughout this training. As one of the facilitators said, “It is a humbling process, they are an inspirational group, the next generation of leaders who will be able to take forward the vision of the elders.”

From 20 to 25 September, the group will be joined by Jeremias Tunubala Ullune and Liliana Pechene Muelas, leaders within the Misak community in Cauca, Colombia. The Misak are the indigenous people that developed the Plan de Vida (Life Plan) approach that has since been taken up by hundreds of indigenous peoples across South America, resulting in many cases in much strengthened governance and defence of their territories, on the basis of self-determined development. One of the Territories of Life videos, Life Plan (Plan de Vida), is based on the Misak experience.